Science Nature Books

This was a great introduction to so many key, elementary principles in sustainable thinking/living/product design. I learned a lot! I hope enough people are informed and inspired by it to create the kind of real change that is being discussed in this book in terms of truly ecological product designs in everyday things (e.g., cars, homes, and other "products" that incorporate biomimicry, etc).

Terrific book. Easy to read and the topic is absolutely relevant to the times. This should be required reading in Architectural schools, Engineering schools, Technical schools, Scientific studies and in our middle and high schools for sure but also in any studies done on the environment. The ideas put forth in this book are only the beginning I am sure but I believe they offer the only salvation for our beleaguered Earth. What a pair these two authors make. I look forward to anything they may have to say in the future.

This book is a compilation of research from two renowned professionals- biologist and architect- who seek to make us aware of what our senses are exposed to due to the use of and effects of toxic/chemical substances, unsustainable measures and detrimental environmental processes in the production of basically everything down to our basic survival need items. A persuasive voice calls for action against and change in current methods of production and localization of the same with no weak fundamentals. After reading this book I pictured myself stranded in an island [earth] with just what I needed to survive or even more;actually having caught the attention of a rescue team but unfortunately and surprisengly still dying right when the rescue team came due to the poor quality of materials/substances in my survival kit! Then you wonder if that's possible; if -assuming a non-stress life-you can still die while trying to eat healthy, excercising, etc. only because of the effects of the bad chemicals inherit in the very things you need to lead such a life what should be done? Certainly the authors desire that we be aware [very detailed information and examples are given], cautious [effects/cons, statistics revealed per example], demand better products [possibilities/solutions already in prog

There has a lot of good ideas for our earth.
Something you never think about it.
Trust me, you must read it "cradle to cradle"!

this book introduces one to a new way of making things and eliminating the worry about pollution and garbage. It should be read by every manufacturer, politician, teacher, parent... in short by everyone who lives on this planet!!!!!
it shows the right approach to production and consumption ....cradle to cradle, where waste becomes food or is comletely reused by the industry without leaving toxins behind. A fabulous and quite obviously a doable concept. Therefore animals, plants, water, air and soil can recover from the effects of our past practices.

I have to admit that I did not finish this book. I got to the part where the author talks about really feeling his he-man roots and enjoys killing an animal. From a person who grew up inside a hunting culture, I can only say that from my perspective, he gets it all wrong. His conclusions are based upon an educated adult outside the hunting community and he assumes that hunting is "naturally" enjoyable. I can only say that my upbringing shows me that it is a terrible and terrifying experience to boys and that it is only peer pressure that causes them to start to like it in order to be part of the "adult" group. And then, they perpetrate this horror on their own children, and the whole sadistic cycle begins again. Please don't bother with his over educated conclusions, I think he just wants people to think he is "manly".

I could barely put this book down! The writing style is casual and gets a bit wordy and technical sometimes, but it's so worth it! All the information is really necessary to open our eyes about factory farms, our food supply and who's in charge of it!(I'm still shocked about all the conflicts of interest! YIKES!) I've seriously changed my eating habits! Read this book, I highly recommend it!

When I opened this book, I expected something along the lines of the social history of food...but what I got was something much better!

Pollan's writing, always self-effacing, humorous and insightful, became the perfect and certainly never preachy vehicle for a painless exploration of exactly what's on my plate and how it got there. Politics, animal rights, organic foods, economics and even mushroom-hunting all make an appearance amid farm machinery and well-cooked, tasty meals. Marvelous!

His always-witty first-hand observations of the increasingly tragic state of affairs in American (and perhaps World) farming were not only informative but thought provoking. Visits to the grocery story will never be the same.

I strongly recommend this book to anybody who has never set foot on a farm, to those who (like me) grew up surrounded by cows and corn, and to those who simply like to cook and eat...and would like to keep eating.

We owe it to ourselves and our world to understand that our foodchains do not begin with the supermarket.

Pollan creates a very informative and interesting book that us simple folk can enjoy and learn from.

Omnivore's Dilemma traces our food back to its sources - and in many cases finds corn of all things! The author discusses industrial food production and the primary food chains from their sources to our kitchens. He covers processed foods, mainstream industrial farming, and organic foods. He also addresses how animals are treated - pretty scary. The information in the book is important and eye opening. The poignant take home message for me is that what we eat is so fundamental to life yet we leave it in the hands of others to grow, produce, and deliver to us. This book encourages a consciousness of where food comes from and persuades the reader to look for local organically grown foods or grow some themselves. I recommend this book along with another life-changing book, THE 3:00 PM SECRET: Live Slim and Strong, Live Your Dreams

I wasn't sure what to expect when I started to read "The World Without Us." Its premise is intriguing--what would happen if an unspecified global catastrophe, such as a highly selective disease, completely wiped out the human race but left unscathed the buildings, roadways, cities, bridges, factories, shopping malls and other cultural and technological artifacts of civilization? How long would it take for the slow but inexorable forces of rot, decay and erosion to eradicate all evidence of the existence of homo sapiens on the Earth? What effect would the vanishing of the human race have on the other fauna and flora with which we now share our ecosystem?

I thought "The Earth Without Us" would be rather dry. One of the things I expected to find was an analysis of how a typical city would decay over time. Without humans around to repair them, for example, roofs would soon begin to leak, letting in rain, snow and dirt. Then the interiors would become habitats for rats, birds, feral dogs and cats and other creatures. Then the mortar between bricks would crumble, and exterior walls would fail. Steel bridges would rust away and crumble, etc., etc. I didn't see how author Alan Weisman could sustain such an analysis for a few hundred pages without becoming repetitive and boring. Well, there IS such an analysis, but it is neither repetitive nor boring. There is MUCH more to "The World Without Us."

It is actually nothing less than a superb, wide-ranging, single-volume evaluation of the myriad effects that humans have had on the Earth over the millennia, and of the ways in which natural processes might eliminate those effects in the far future (if ever). It is a highly readable, lively, scientifically accurate ecological primer that explains, in terms that anyone can understand, the environmental issues that often capture today's headlines--ozone depletion, PCBs, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), nonbiodegradable plastics, global warming, and a host of others. "The World Without Us" is also an eloquent wake-up call. For example, the chapter "Hot Legacy" explores what would happen to commercial nuclear power plants and their waste-storage facilities if humans were no longer around to tend them. Imagine the Soviet Chernobyl disaster repeated 441 times--the number of nuclear power plants in the world. This chapter should be required reading for anyone who thinks that building more nuclear power plants is the answer to the world's energy problems.

I cannot recommend "The Earth Without Us" too highly. I doubt that it can convert diehard anti-environmentalists--nor do I think that is its purpose. But it is an immensely valuable and informative resource for those who believe that humans HAVE adversely affected the earth, and who think it may not be too late to do something about it. A "must read" for every thoughtful homo sapien.

I really enjoyed the book and unlike some reviewers, did not feel like I was being chastised but rather, I felt more informed. I had never heard of the tiny polyethylene beads/granules before this book but discovered them in several liquid soaps we buy, even ones that touted "natural" essences. The book also includes a lot of history--how things were; such as how New York numerous brooks and streams, what plants/trees were native, and typically seques into how thing might revert back to that state or which newer species might survive. I found the history just as interesting as what the world might look like if humans were suddenly gone.

I have extensively reviewed this book for another publication, and I have to agree with all those who noted a certain "bait-and-switch" tactic employed by Weisman. There is not as much science in this book as a fully worked-out thought experiment should contain. It reads not so much as a tale of the world without us as it does a lamentation over what we have done to the world.

I give it two stars on the Amazon rating system because Weisman is indeed capable of some emotionally resonant writing. I would recommend the chapters on Cappadocia and the Korean Demilitarized Zone as coming closest to justifying the price of admission. My complete review can be read at southern literary messenger (all one word) dot com. It's in issue #1, and it's called Declinism Declined.

The World Without Us is a journey of discovery that shows us what the Earth may be like after mankind disappears, for whatever reason, and nature is allowed to take over without barriers or man made order being forced onto it each and every day. What will happen to our pets? What would happen to our cities? What would happen to all our stuff? The plastic bags? The steel cars? The power plants? The atomic missiles?
Well, nature would do its best to break it all down, to clean it up, to absorb it and change it into something useful. That's what would happen. Poisons would be washed away, cats would go wild and trees would grow in such numbers that soon the forests would cover much of the Earth.
Is this book a warning? There are warnings within the pages, sure. Is it a suggestion on how future generations could change the way we live and, in the end, save both ourselves and the planet Earth? Yes, it is. And maybe we should listen. Because there is no turning back. Even if we stopped doing all the stupid things we do RIGHT now, it would take thousands, if not millions, of years for the damage we have done to be undone.
A great general resource for those of us who enjoy seeing all the links in the web of life. And hope that one day we may start knotting the threads back together.

As a confessed lover of post-apocalyptic fiction, I was instantly sold on the concept of this book...someone did the research, talked to the scientists, and is theorizing about what would *really* happen in the 'world without us.' How would our cities fare; how would the rainforests and deserts be reclaimed; how long would the Pyramids, Mt. Rushmore, and the Great Wall of China last; when would tectonic activity plow even our nuclear waste into the core of the Earth?

Unfortunately, despite some very interesting teasers and an obviously large volume of research, that is not what this book is about. This book is a warning...chapter after chapter containing description of the "damage" that humans are doing to the Earth, with a decided one-sided style that made me feel chastised for the better part of this book's 275 pages. This sort of information has its place...and I am even in agreement with the sentiment...but this book left me feeling tricked.

I still gave two stars because there are indeed some very interesting thought experiments and case studies into the 'world without us'...including nature's reclamation of Chernobyl and the abandoned city of Varosha on Cyprus, the rapid downfall of New York City in the absence of proper maintenance, and isolated Pacific islands recovering from long-absent human activity. Many of the examples above, such as Mt. Rushmore, the Pyramids, and nuclear waste were given some service. It was because of these juicy bits that I continued to the end...but those looking to check on the reality of "I Am Legend" or "Battlefield Earth" are sure to be disappointed.

I had low expectations for this book but my 6 month old loves this book. She giggles every time I lift one of the flaps!

It is a nice educational book, and my daughter ( between 1 and 2.5 years) used it and liked it a lot. I would recommend it.

So far, my son can't seem to get enough of this book. Delivery time was short. Would definitely order from Amazon again.

This is one of the only books that my little guy will read over and over again. He loves to open the flaps and it's long enough to keep his interest without over stimulating him.

Oh, how my baby loves this book! She squeals with delight as soon as I pick it up because she knows what's coming. I read Katz's Counting Kisses to her every night and we also have Daddy Hugs. The illustrations in those two are also engaging. But nothing delights her as much as the lift the flap aspect of this book.

It's especially intriguing how she "reads" the last lift a flap. I point out the bear, ball, and wagon and I say "but where's baby, where could he be?" Then I lift the flap to reveal the baby, my daughter squeals, claps and smiles big and then thoughtfully looks back over at the bear, ball and wagon and then back at the revealed baby. It's like she knows the entire scene has changed by the revealing of the baby. How can a parent not love a book that elicits such engaged thoughtful behavior?

I'd recommend it highly for babies from the peekaboo stage to the learning body parts stage.

I can't add much to the good reviews, but I wanted to suggest that if your child is taking history in school or shows an interest before that, please buy them this book.

This action will reflect the main premise of this theory, it will create the environment for growth.

Mr. Diamond must be admired for this epic work on humanity. Is it perfect, of course not, but what is perfect. He gives us a different way to view history and how geography has influnced it. I enjoyed the read and have assigned it to my students for reading and reviewing. The majority of them said it was worth the effort and it has given some instances of lively discussion in the classroom. We should tip our hats to a man who at least gives us something to think about.

Pulling together research from a wide variety of fields, Diamond sets out to answer the question of why civilization as we know it developed and flourished in some parts of the world, while other areas were left behind.

The gist: it's all about the geography. In order for civilization to develop, people have to be living in large groups, with food plentiful enough so that some people can be spared from the business of survival to specialize in organization and crafts. In order for that to happen, they must have agriculture and livestock. In order to have agriculture and livestock, they must have either native animals that are domesticable or trading opportunities to obtain them. In other words, it all comes down to where they started from.

I admit to a little hesitation before I chose this book. I read through several reviews, and quite a few reviewers claimed it promoted the concept of racial superiority, and I really didn't want to end up reading several hundred pages of racist propaganda. Still, the majority of the reviews were positive, and there were also quite a few negative reviews complaining that it overlooked the racial factors, so I was intrigued enough by the question to give it a try.

Guns, Germs, and Steel is decidedly not racist propaganda. Diamond bends over backward to ensure that it's not, and even raises the very intriguing question of who's actually smarter--the westerner with the comfortable lifestyle or the jungle native who has to depend on his own knowledge and judgment for survival.

What I enjoyed most about the book was how thorough it was, putting together... well, I was going to say all the pieces of the puzzle, but when it comes to human history, that's just not possible--but enough of the puzzle to see the big picture, rather than just the small segments you get by focusing on a single discipline. It's not enough to describe, for example, how the development of language affected civilization--it's put into perspective along with all the other developments happening at the same time.

G, G, & S is pretentious but shallow and illustrates the corruption of too much of American academia where political correctness masquerades as objective scholarship. It is as false as Lysenko's "biology." Diamond sets up a strawman, "biological differences," and destroys him with his academic beanbags of dubious validity.

I won't recount all of this unfortunate book's deficiencies, as many reviewers have already done so in voluminous detail. It is a strained and selective exposition of history in a vain attempt to support the author's preconceived opinions, i.e., that geography determines everything, which even casual observers would conclude is nonsense. It completely ignores the roles of human creativity, innovation, energy, drive, and motivation. To Diamond everything is predestined by geography. This sounds vaguely religious, i.e., politically correct.

To Diamond, physics, engineering, and mathematics would have been developed in New Guinea, if not for what? Who knows?

An alternative exposition on roughly the same topic is, "Carnage and Culture," by Victor D. Hanson. It displays vastly superior, i.e., objective scholarship.

Diamond's final analysis proves a good point. Many dominant countries today are not only in Europe and East Asia, but are also ones that have been largely repopulated by the descendants of those peoples, like the U.S., Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Taiwan, and Singapore. Other countries rising to power today, like Southeast Asia's "Little Tiger" economies (Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines), also contain descendants of invading conquerors nearly 10,000 years ago. China and India are now back in power to their historical positions. The Eurasian continent is the only one with a advanced history since the beginning of the Neolithic or Agricultural Revolution. Look at South America, and you'll find that the Newly Industrialized Countries (NICs) are ones with mostly European-descended populations like Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile, and the poorest ones are the ones with the largest indigenous, native populations like Peru, Bolivia, and Guatemala. Diamond is so right in this regard.

An amazing woman and book: the beginning of the us taking responsibility for pollution thanks to this book.

While Rachel's theories were ahead of her time 40 years ago, many now believe DDT is not the toxin/poison that her book helped label the chemical as. One thing is for SURE: malaria kills millions, including children, in Africa each and every year. DDT could prevent those deaths at a very affordable cost. Malaria in Africa -- one of those unseen ripples in the pond....

Perhaps her cause was just in writing this book, but her short-sighted ignorance of the repercussions was inexcusable. Because of the ban on DDT which largely resulted from Silent Spring, the WHO has estimated that around 20 MILLION children have died of malaria.

DDT was, & still is, one of the very best insecticides to control mosquitoes, the sole transporter of this deadly disease. Best of all, DDT is very NON-toxic to humans.

The need for DDT is so urgent that even the Sierra Club is justifying it's use inside houses in malaria stricken locations of Africa, South America, & Asia.

Way to go Rachel. Save the Birds, Kill the Children...Wake Up People!!

I thought that "Silent Spring" would be an interesting book to read. After all, is supposedly launched the modern environmental movement. However, after reading about 80 pages into the book I started to feel like I was reading the same thing over and over again: pesticides and herbicides are bad and should not be applied to the side of the road. OK, I get the point. I then flipped to page 250 or so, and do you know what I saw? More discussion of how pesticides and herbicides are bad!

Maybe back at that time it was not a self-evident truth that it is a bad thing to go around spraying shit all over the side of the road. But even then, you would think that a disucssion of this matter could be confined to 100 pages or less. A final issue is that the book does not seem to possess a modern understanding of certain subjects (since when do hydrologists refer to groundwater as "underground rivers"?). Although this is not the fault of the book, I do not know why anyone other than a science historian would want to spend much time on it.

Oh Yeah, this book also killed millions of people. The banning of DDT probably led to millions of deaths from malaria. Even today, about 2 million people die from it every year.

Joni Mitchell perhaps most aptly summarizes the driving idea of Silent Spring in her song "Big Yellow Taxi": "Hey farmer farmer / Put away that DDT now / Give me spots on my apples / But leave me the birds and the bees. Please!" While both the book and the song are a bit outdated in the United States as DDT was banned in 1972, it's still an interesting analysis of insecticides/herbicides, societies relationship with science, and the effects a capitalistic driven culture has on the environment. Likewise, the interaction of the natural web and human's impact on it is greatly emphasized. Something I've always found interesting about Carson and her book was the publics (often misogynistic) reaction to her as being "hysterical" and my favorite quote from a board member of the Federal Pest Control Review Board: "I thought she was a spinster. What's she so worried about genetics for?"

arrived in good time and the cover was in good shape, the inside seemed to have some sort of printing defect; there were white smudges here and there on a few of the pages but ultimately did not affect the pictures or readability.

Plan on reading this one A LOT. One of the first pieces of "Potty Propaganda" we exposed our daughter to, it quickly became her favorite. We read some and she fills in the blanks..."Different kinds of animals have different kinds of_________________", she shrieks, "POOP!!!"

That being said, I believe she has practically named all of the poops in the book. The Rhino makes a meatball poop, etc. Also, we changed the words JUST a little bit so it says "Some children poop in the potty and BABIES poop in their diapers." Obviously, she doesn't want to be a baby. All in all, its our go-to potty book that we read constantly. Definitely worth the money.

Very humerous and fun to read, especially if you are potty training! Two thumbs up! Its also funny to watch the grandparents read it to the grandkids. ;o)

this book is great for kids AND adults. I read it as a child & loved it and I still read it to this day. i suggest reading it while on the can. It really helps facilitate things, if you know what i mean.....

It's a funny book and my child has enjoyed learning that everything does really poop.

It probably is better suited for boys, as it does have art that is anatomically correct....so if you don't want to explain what a wee-wee is to your daughter, this might not be for you.

My son, who is turning 4 next month, loves this book and often "reads" it by himself.

If you had any other books in this little series, you'd probably already knew what I found out after I got this book - they're just illustrated children's songs. The illustrations are cuter than anything, but this one starts off with a separate page for "head," then "shoulders," and "knees," etc. but then starts sticking them all on one page. And the last few words of the book are on the back cover. I don't know why they tried to push the song into too few pages (see "Ten Little Fingers (Board Books for Babies)" for what happens when it's done right), but the results were less than stellar. I give it three stars mostly for the illustrations...

This was purchased for a friend to give her granddaughter. It was colorful and sturdy. She was very pleased with it.

This book became one of our favotites at 4.5 months. My son loves looking at the pictures and hearing the song. We have this and row row row your boat. He chooses these two often when choosing stories, and he's only 6 months. The babies in the book are really cute!

i got this book to complete a 4-for-3 deal, so i wasn't expecting much. however, my 13-month-old daughter and i both love this book! i sang the song while flipping through the pages in the beginning, and now she brings me the book whenever i sing the song. i didn't realize that my daughter could associate songs with specific items until now! don't worry if you don't know the song, because they even included the melody notes on the back cover (of course, that means you need to be able to read music or play an instrument). the book is twice the size of many of my daughter's other board books, but she doesn't seem to have much trouble turning the pages as long as the book is on the floor.

This book surpassed my expectations. It's written with such simplicity and the illustrations are very well done. It even includes the words and musical notes for the song, "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes". Our grandson is 19 months old and I'm sure he's going to love it!

The connections between plants and people are fascinating. Michael Pollan writes so well, I was pulled through the book. This is a view of the web of life that I haven't seen before. Highly recommended. Another book I enjoyed some time back (not by Pollan) is "Biomimicry".

If you are at all interested in evolution and biology, and man's relationship with the natural world, this is a must-read. Pollan presents the material in a way that makes it digestible to individuals with only a lay-person's knowledge of science.

This was a gift,and what a great gift! I hear botanists say it is not a substantive book, but I am not a botanist! I loved it, everyone I loaned it to loved it. Made me look at my tulips and apples differently, and the birds and the bees and everything -- and as an organic gardener and cook it made me appreciate the natural thoughtfulness behind the varieties we grow and enjoy! Buy, read, and gift his book -- from 16 to 85 have enjoyed it!

The easy and subtle way this book allows readers to view life on earth from an entirely different perspective is unprecedented (at least I've never read anything like it.) Pollan's style is so smooth, so full of humor and humanity, it's impossible not to become totally captivated. Even for someone like myself who doesn't read a lot of non-fiction, this is a true page-turner. Pollan's hilarious and inspiring dissection of Johnny Appleseed, reality versus myth, is in itself worth the price of admission.

You'll notice that a huge majority of readers found this book to be informative, thought provoking, and even enjoyable. It's the type of reading material that sticks with you, and changes your view of the world. It has changed my eating habits and gardening routines. A very few people felt the book was worthless. Hmmmmmmm. Once you read the book you'll probably be able to figure out who those people are. Gee, I don't know... maybe anyone connected with the Monsanto Corporation? Or other greedy monoagriculturalists? Anyone who doesn't care one bit about the future of the planet, or the health of its people? Yup, there is surely a population out there that would take exception to the facts presented in this eye-opening book.

This is a great book...fun for both kids and adults. I love how the pages have cut outs that clue you in to the next page. Fun!

Great simple illustrations with bold colors - neat thinking - leaves age-old question unanswered, which does come first - chicken or the egg?

I love the book. I bought it for my son last Christmas, but it's a little too conceptual for a three year old. Still, it's beautiful. I'll try this out with him in a year.

A lovely book for young people, with die cut pages that explain some of life's mysteries in an age appropriate way.

Which came first--the chicken or the egg? Finally, someone is here to tell us. But the answer later.

"First the egg," written and illustrated by Laura Vaccaro Seeger, is a Caldecott honor winner for 2008 and an honor book for the Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss) Award. What makes it special? Both the artwork and the story, or actually, in this case, concepts that lead from one transformation to the next. Two previous clever winners are Flotsam (Caldecott Medal Book) by David Wiesner and Black and White, an earlier Caldecott by David Macauley.

I took this book from a display in our bi-annual Book Fair. I read it in just one minute. Then reread it. And reread it. Every time I pick up this seemingly simple book, I see something else I missed. Even the covers are part of the story. This book is more than clever--it is brilliant, as in illuminating.

Listen, here is the story. Get comfortable and let me read it to you:

First the EGG
then the CHICKEN
First the TADPOLE
then the FROG
First the SEED
then the FLOWER
First the CATERPILLAR
then the BUTTERFLY
First the WORD
then the STORY
First the PAINT
then the PICTURE, First the CHICKEN
then the EGG!

Well? Exactly! Without the bold colors and almost in-your-face images in the background, the words are fine, but...? A Caldecott Award is given to the most distinguished picture book of the year. Please look at the cover image with this review. That gives an idea of the power of the colors and paint technique, which is impasto on canvas, providing two layers of texture. That is what this book has--texture: layers of texture in the art and the concepts.

Art? A creative, bold enterprise that can make the chicken or the egg first. Think it, do it. Create. That is exactly what Ms Seeger did. She created a bold, creative way to examine this age-old riddle.

"First the egg" is highly recommended, not only for children, who will adore it, but also for adults, who will be reminded of the grandeur of creation in all its many forms. Great children's books belong in the collection of adults as well as in children's.