Last Chance to See


Book Description

New York Times bestselling author Douglas Adams and zoologist Mark Carwardine take off around the world in search of exotic, endangered creatures. Join them as they encounter the animal kingdom in its stunning beauty, astonishing variety, and imminent peril: the giant Komodo dragon of Indonesia, the helpless but loveable Kakapo of New Zealand, the blind river dolphins of China, the white rhinos of Zaire, the rare birds of Mauritius island in the Indian Ocean. Hilarious and poignant—as only Douglas Adams can be—Last Chance to See is an entertaining and arresting odyssey through the Earth’s magnificent wildlife galaxy. Praise for Last Chance to See “Lively, sharply satirical, brilliantly written . . . shows how human care can undo what human carelessness has wrought.”—The Atlantic “These authors don’t hesitate to present the alarming facts: More than 1,000 species of animals (and plants) become extinct every year. . . . Perhaps Adams and Carwardine, with their witty science, will help prevent such misadventures in the future.”—Boston Sunday Herald “Very funny and moving . . . The glimpses of rare fauna seem to have enlarged [Adams’s] thinking, enlivened his world; and so might the animals do for us all, if we were to help them live.”—The Washington Post Book World “[Adams] invites us to enter into a conspiracy of laughter and caring.”—Los Angeles Times “Amusing . . . thought-provoking . . . Its details on the heroic efforts being made to save these animals are inspirational.”—The New York Times Book Review




My Ideal Bookshelf


Book Description

The books that we choose to keep -- let alone read -- can say a lot about who we are and how we see ourselves. In My Ideal Bookshelf, dozens of leading cultural figures share the books that matter to them most; books that define their dreams and ambitions and in many cases helped them find their way in the world. Contributors include Malcolm Gladwell, Thomas Keller, Michael Chabon, Alice Waters, James Patterson, Maira Kalman, Judd Apatow, Chuck Klosterman, Miranda July, Alex Ross, Nancy Pearl, David Chang, Patti Smith, Jennifer Egan, and Dave Eggers, among many others. With colorful and endearingly hand-rendered images of book spines by Jane Mount, and first-person commentary from all the contributors, this is a perfect gift for avid readers, writers, and all who have known the influence of a great book.




Environmental Biology


Book Description

"Environmental Biology offers a fresh, problem-solving treatment of the topic for students requiring a biology background before further study in environmental science, sustainable development or environmental engineering. It begins with an environmental theme that carries through the text, using three major case studies with a regional focus. Key foundational knowledge is introduced and developed as the text progresses, with students encouraged to integrate their accumulated learning to reach solutions. A comprehensive coverage of scientific method, including field experimentation and field techniques, is an important part of the approach. While emphasising the environmental theme, the book introduces all facets of the biology discipline, including cell biology, evolution, ecology, conservation and restoration."--Publisher.




So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish


Book Description

Now celebrating the 42nd anniversary of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, soon to be a Hulu original series! “A madcap adventure . . . Adams’s writing teeters on the fringe of inspired lunacy.”—United Press International Back on Earth with nothing more to show for his long, strange trip through time and space than a ratty towel and a plastic shopping bag, Arthur Dent is ready to believe that the past eight years were all just a figment of his stressed-out imagination. But a gift-wrapped fishbowl with a cryptic inscription, the mysterious disappearance of Earth’s dolphins, and the discovery of his battered copy of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy all conspire to give Arthur the sneaking suspicion that something otherworldly is indeed going on. God only knows what it all means. Fortunately, He left behind a Final Message of explanation. But since it’s light-years away from Earth, on a star surrounded by souvenir booths, finding out what it is will mean hitching a ride to the far reaches of space aboard a UFO with a giant robot. What else is new? “The most ridiculously exaggerated situation comedy known to created beings . . . Adams is irresistible.”—The Boston Globe




Surface Ocean


Book Description

Published by the American Geophysical Union as part of the Geophysical Monograph Series, Volume 187. The focus of Surface Ocean: Lower Atmosphere Processes is biogeochemical interactions between the surface ocean and the lower atmosphere. This volume is an outgrowth of the Surface Ocean-Lower Atmosphere Study (SOLAS) Summer School. The volume is designed to provide graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and researchers from a wide range of academic backgrounds with a basis for understanding the nature of ocean-atmosphere interactions and the current research issues in this area. The volume highlights include the following: Background material on ocean and atmosphere structure, circulation, and chemistry and on marine ecosystems Integrative chapters on the global carbon cycle and ocean biogeochemistry Issue-oriented chapters on the iron cycle and dimethylsulfide Tool-oriented chapters on biogeochemical modeling and remote sensing A framework of underlying physical/chemical/biological principles, as well as perspectives on current research issues in the field. The readership for this book will include graduate students and/or advanced undergraduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and researchers in the fields of oceanography and atmospheric science. It will also be useful for experienced researchers in specific other disciplines who wish to broaden their perspectives on the complex biogeochemical coupling between ocean and atmosphere and the importance of this coupling to understanding global change.




Ocean Nomad


Book Description

Catch a sailboat ride across the ocean and make a difference for a healthier ocean. Ocean Nomad inspires and informs about a nature-minded way of adventure travel: as crew on someone else's sailing boat. The active travel guide is a combination of stories, photos and actionable information for anyone interested in sailing and ocean conservation.




And Another Thing...


Book Description

And Another Thing ... will be the sixth novel in the now improbably named Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy trilogy. Eight years after the death of its creator, Douglas Adams, the author's widow, Jane Belson, has given her approval for the project to be continued by the international number one bestselling children's writer, Eoin Colfer, author of the Artemis Fowl novels. Douglas Adams himself once said, 'I suspect at some point in the future I will write a sixth Hitchhiker book. Five seems to be a wrong kind of number, six is a better kind of number.' Belson said of Eoin Colfer, 'I love his books and could not think of a better person to transport Arthur, Zaphod and Marvin to pastures new.' Colfer, a fan of Hitchhiker since his schooldays, said, 'Being given the chance to write this book is like suddenly being offered the superpower of your choice. For years I have been finishing this incredible story in my head and now I have the opportunity to do it in the real world.' Prepare to be amazed...




Where the Ocean Meets the Sky


Book Description

'Nobody grows old living a number of years; people grow old only by deserting their ideals. Years wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.' When Crispin Latymer hit 50 he had a 'What now?' moment - and decided he wanted to sail the Atlantic solo. But he was no intrepid adventurer - Latymer was an ordinary sailor, used to cruising the coasts of the UK, who wanted to do something memorable before he was too old. His voyage turned into an epic. Only two days into his trip, Latymer was caught by Tropical Storm Delta. During the following 23 days he also broke two ribs, was followed by pirates in a scary incident off the Mauritanian coast, and then broke a toe. He describes it all as 'magical'. Writing in an understated, inspirational way that speaks to ordinary sailors just like himself, Crispin's captivating story will encourage other cosy cruisers to break out of their comfort zone and dare to push their boundaries to where the ocean meets the sky.




Alien Oceans


Book Description

Inside the epic quest to find life on the water-rich moons at the outer reaches of the solar system Where is the best place to find life beyond Earth? We often look to Mars as the most promising site in our solar system, but recent scientific missions have revealed that some of the most habitable real estate may actually lie farther away. Beneath the frozen crusts of several of the small, ice-covered moons of Jupiter and Saturn lurk vast oceans that may have existed for as long as Earth, and together may contain more than fifty times its total volume of liquid water. Could there be organisms living in their depths? Alien Oceans reveals the science behind the thrilling quest to find out. Kevin Peter Hand is one of today's leading NASA scientists, and his pioneering research has taken him on expeditions around the world. In this captivating account of scientific discovery, he brings together insights from planetary science, biology, and the adventures of scientists like himself to explain how we know that oceans exist within moons of the outer solar system, like Europa, Titan, and Enceladus. He shows how the exploration of Earth's oceans is informing our understanding of the potential habitability of these icy moons, and draws lessons from what we have learned about the origins of life on our own planet to consider how life could arise on these distant worlds. Alien Oceans describes what lies ahead in our search for life in our solar system and beyond, setting the stage for the transformative discoveries that may await us.




In Oceans Deep


Book Description

In this masterful account in the spirit of Bill Bryson and Ian Frazier, a longtime deep-sea diver masterfully weaves together the science and history of Earth's last remaining frontier: the sea. In an age of unprecedented exploration and innovation, our oceans remain largely unknown, and endlessly fascinating: full of mystery, danger, beauty, and inspiration. In Oceans Deep celebrates the daring pioneers who tested the limits of what the human body can endure under water: free divers able to reach 300 feet on a single breath; engineers and scientists who uncovered the secrets of decompression; teenagers who built their own diving gear from discarded boilers and garden hoses in the 1930s; saturation divers who lived under water for weeks at a time in the 1960s; and the trailblazing men who voluntarily breathed experimental gases at pressures sufficient to trigger insanity. Tracing both the little-known history and exciting future of how we travel and study the depths, Streever's captivating journey includes seventeenth-century leather-hulled submarines, their nuclear-powered descendants, a workshop where luxury submersibles are built for billionaire clients, and robots capable of roving unsupervised between continents, revolutionizing access to the ocean. In this far-flung trip to the wild, night-dark place of shipwrecks, trapped submariners, oil wells, innovative technologies, and people willing to risk their lives while challenging the deep, we discover all the adventures our seas have to offer -- and why they are in such dire need of conservation.