Science Nature Books

This book is a really good basic geography book! If you want a solid reference book where you can get the basics and a good understanding of geography-then I do not think you will be disappointed. It might dwell more on social geography then I would like but it is very good

The book serves the purpose of brushing me up on locations, but it also catches my son's attention while I am reading it. The layout and pictures are enough to "squeeze" in a geography lesson.

This is an excellent book for all ages.

My only complaints about the book are that maps of individual countries are not included on the country's pages, but on pages for the regions. The book also needs to be updated in some regions. For example, it still list Saddam Hussein as the ruler of Iraq. I'm also not sure why it includes the number of televisions per 1,000 people as a statistic. I would have thought that income or infant mortality would have been more important.

Other than those issues, I truly love this book, and found it to be easy to read. It addresses native people of each country, rulers, currencies, food, and countless other aspects of life in every country in the world. There are sections on religion as well as on the oceans and both the Arctic and Antarctic regions.

I highly recommend this book.

Recently revised and superbly illustrated with full-color photographs and art on every page, Geography Of The World: The Essential Family Guide To Geography And Culture is an informed and informative, country-by-country, "user friendly" reference for home and school. Geography Of The World offers a straightforward survey of terrains, nations, and cultures all around the globe. Enhanced with full-color, detailed maps referencing the latest border changes between nations, and up-to-date information concerning climate, literacy, life expectancy, health care, ethnic groups, agriculture and industry, recent history and more, Geography Of The World is superb and highly recommended school and community library resource suitable for all ages.

This reference is organized, attractive and complete. I recommend this for anyone wanting to learn more about the world. It is great for teachers and students. I teach social studies and have many resources. This is one of my favorites.

My third graders fight over this book! I am going to buy more copies so that more can share it at one time! The combination of excellent poetry set in eye grabbing fonts and shapes, with the camouflaged photographs intrigues and fascinates. What a great way to introduce and involve students in poetry.

I bought this book to share with my niece (age 6) and nephew (7) during a recent visit. They loved it, especially my niece, who asked at least a dozen times to read it (using "read" loosely, since it's really photos and you have to find the camouflaged animal). Even I had some trouble the first time through finding the critters, and the book is genuinely inspiring in terms of the wisdom in nature and the importance of respecting the earth that supports it. I recommend this book without reserve!

THis gift for a 7 year old boy was a big hit! Photos and explanations of camoflaged animals are truly inspired.

Although I bought his book for my daughter, I have enjoyed it as well. The book is beautifully done. Fun,livily poetry about different creatures is accompanied by vivid photographs of the animals and their habitat(with the animals cleverly camouflaged). Can't find the animal hiding in the photo? Just lift the flap...the faded background shows the animal clearly. If that weren't enough, there are interesting facts (on the fold out pages) about each creature as well. This book is truly a treat for the eyes and ears of both children and adults alike.

Very fun photography and information about camoflauged animals. My girls, ages 4 and 8, both enjoyed this book.

A very good introduction to Quaternary paleoclimatology and projections of things to come.
The older edition that I own leaves the question of AGW somewhat open. The latest edition appears to indicate Ruddiman's acceptance of the latest IPCC findings.
Recommended for upper division geography and earth science students who've mastered basic meteorology and/or oceanography.

This textbook was assigned for a mid-level course on climatic environments of the past, with a focus on the Quaternary Period. As a graduate student with an ecology undergraduate degree currently studying Quaternary vegetation dynamics, I found this to be an excellent introduction for those without a background in climatology while still having a lot to offer more advanced students.

The book itself does not focus merely on the Quaternary, but on the general climatic history of the earth and the dynamic processes that govern it. Ruddiman gives a full treatment of the various scales of variability (tectonic-scale, orbital-scale, millenial, and finally historical and future). He includes a thorough treatment of various paleoclimate proxy methods, the processes of internal and external climate forcing, and gives a geological context for the current trends in climate change.

One of the most valuable aspects of this textbook are the excellent illustrations, which are concise and consistent throughout. These graphics make a variety of potentially confusing or complex processes seem much simpler and more approachable, and are superior to other treatments of the same topics I've seen in other textbooks. Each chapter has suggestions for additional readings, key terms, and review questions, making this an excellent resource for students.

The work is comparatively up-to-date, and includes current issues and debates in paleoclimate studies as well as references to various contemporary projects, groups, and researchers. The writing style is succinct and clear, and follows an intuitive progression. More advanced students will find it easy to find the information they need without slogging through elementary readings. All in all this is an excellent reference for anyone interested in studying climate dynamics in order to understand current trends. Beginning or advanced students, professionals looking to expand their range of knowledge, and the serious inquirer with an advanced high school background in physical science will all find something valuable in this text. My only wish is that the book, now five years old, be updated to include the most recent advanvements in the field.

I am a community college professor who uses this text. The course is designed for non-science majors who need a lab science elective to satisfy their liberal arts degree. The climate course that I teach is a paleoclimatology course which is primarily about the forces that have caused climate and climate change over the past 300 million years. My course differs from the more traditional method of teaching climate (typically an "atmospheric science" course for the first half of the course followed by some climate change materials in the second half.)

The Ruddiman book is outstanding and I will highlight the pros and cons below but the pros greatly outweigh the cons:

Pros:
1) Extremely well-written
2) Ruddiman uses the scientific method to build his topics. He begins with a hypothesis, explores the data, and then discusses if the hypothesis is valid or not. I love this style because it shows students how scientists approach problems and possible solutions.
3) Superb illustrations

Cons:
1) Really a two-semester text. There is no way that students can do more than 10-12 chapters per semester.
2) Although appropriate for college-level, this text will read at a higher level than other books typically used in non-majors courses.

Bottom line: this is simply the best climate book I have reviewed to date for community college non-major students and I have reviewed many over the last 20 years.

I read this book twice, and wished I had had something like this available to me a few years ago, when I started venturing out into the unnumbered feedback loops, geochemical vagaries and regional idiosyncracies of Quaternary paleoclimatology, trying to form a general picture of it all. But this text isn't just about the Quaternary, mind you, this is a complete introduction to the main issues in Earth's climatology.
That it's mainly PALEOclimatology is unavoidable, since in my opinion "present climatology" is like a nonsense... Climate is an averaged evaluation of regional or global meteorological parameters through time, and the "present" is always too short for such an evaluation. Insight on climate evolution is only gained looking back in time, and projecting our analyses to an immediate future, so it's a science strictly dependent on timescales and perspectives... What we can tentatively tell about our climatic future is still too uncertain, but what was in the past is still available to inform and inspire us to further research, that's why Ruddiman's work is mainly about understanding what happened in the past...
My cheap philosophy aside, I think the author's aim was to introduce the subject from the basics, at a simplified level, in order to teach what kind of processes and interactions are involved in determining Earth's climate and its variability, without having inexperienced readers bogged down into technicalities of all sorts and all together (the necessary way of scientific articles delving deeper into any one very specific topic!). Hypotheses, problems and events are introduced gradually, with a captivating detective-like style, and the telescopic time-perspective (from longer geotectonic time-scales all the way down to centennial and decadal patterns and phenomena, dutifully lingering upon the Milankovic pacemaker) is just what's needed to have the right feeling brought home to students of how the Earth system evolves..
Details of this and that research threads are omitted to aid understanding of the general picture. Bibliographic references provide other information sources for those interested in more..
My own perplexity is on the second chapter: I doubt that such a quick overview of the workings of atmosphere and oceans is enough for those students that never touched any textbooks of meteorology or oceanography. A chapter twice as long would be more informative, I guess making those processes clearer at the outset of the journey would make several students more confident and help them grasp more of what will follow. I know the book is bulky enough already, but more pages and explanations need to be added to the second chapter for teaching's sake...
I have to disagree with the previous reviewer's negativity.. This is an introductory textbook, if any (paleo)climatologist's views had to be included, an encyclopedia would hardly be enough room for all of them!! The last two chapters, on global warming and future climate variability, are the best example of Ruddiman's balance and caution in explaining hypotheses, alternatives, possible fallacies and biases of sorts. As to the reviewer's question, "Who couldn't get a five-star rating discussing climate change and global warming with such a leitmotif?", I invite him to read my review of W.J.Burroughs' "Climate Change: a Multidisciplinary Approach" on the Amazon.co.uk website...
I really hope to see a second edition of Ruddiman's work in the next years, when times will be ripe for exciting updates and more hypotheses to tell...

Here is a very flashy book. Superb illustrations. Nice layout. Important subject.

Who couldn't get a five-star rating discussing climate change and global warming with such a leitmotif? Apparently this author.

When you read through the lines, you find the same old cant. Look, everyone knows that climate changes; however, Ruddiman seems to think he knows WHY more than anyone else. But he does not. By neglect, he dismisses arguments of other climatologists that are equally (if not better) informed. I wish he could explain better why our climate is so variable, without resorting to computer models that everyone knows don't work very well. But alas he did not discuss this in adequate detail.

All of this means that the core of this book, while a noble attempt, is flashy and hollow. I hoped for better on this important topic, and (sigh) I still await the real, objective textbook on this fascinating subject.

All this is too bad, because Mr. Ruddiman is a very "highly rated" scientist. Maybe someone of lesser status will surprise us with a real book about the true complexities of climate change. Maybe someone who isn't a climatologist can explain all this stuff.

I don't know who that might be, but I expected more guts and less fluff from this book.

We live in the country and my two boys love taking this book with their dad and heading outdoors to start learning and identifying. Great learning tool!

This book is so interesting. There is so much information inside this little book it is just great. Easily readable for kids and tells them everything they could want to know about trees, from the very top, to the very bottom. Makes a walk through the woods so much fun, being able to point out all the different trees and seeds you now know from reading this book. We love it!

I myself, living in the Northeast, bought this book hoping for a lot of specific information for amateur or wanna-bee shroomers. I was hoping for very specific information on where and when to find edible wild mushrooms in my area. But was profoundly disappointed in this pretty, and scholarly textbook. If you want to be a fungi freak, this is your book. But if you just have an insatiable appetite for mushrooms, and take nature walks anyway, so what the heck, I don't think this is what you'll be looking for.

This book misses one edible mushroom in particular that is of great interest to amateur hunters. Grifola frondosa is one of the world's best edibles and can grow to huge size. I am very surprised that an author with such prestigious honors missed it (although he did find a similar mushroom in the same group, the non-edible "Berekley's Polypore"). Grifola frondosa is common and widespread, and grows up to a huge size. To write about each of these other mushrooms, and not to have at least walked onto frondosa, is impossible. I suggest the Audubon guide, although the pictures aren't as nice, the black and white plates in the back can help identify the shape of a mushroom more clearly. To make up for the keys in this book, it is easy to scrounge around the net. (Keys help identify mushrooms even if you have no idea what they are.) Best of luck in your hunting.

This is a great book with color photos of mushrooms of North east america.

I've had this book two years, and since that time have been hunting fungi to take pictures. They are interesting and make good subjects - and this book is motiviating with its beautiful photographs. A good 'guide' to read in the evening before going out the next day..

This is my favorite of a growing 'fungi guide' library, and the first I use when returning home from the field to look at my photos. [A bit tall for the pocket, but narrower than most field guides.] It does not cover everything I find, but neither do any of the others. You have to use multiple sources to get a feel for what you saw, and I now routinely collect a few specimens of the more common things I see to make spore prints to aid identification (but don't eat them!!). Being able to review your own photos helps. Different books have different pictures of the same species, and sometimes I think they look very different (not the same). That tells this newcomer to be even more wary of thinking I know what I'm looking at! Time and experience do make a difference, however, and as with any hobby one knows more as you go along. One thing I learned is to take a specimen of common things you find and make a spore print. This book sorts them that way.

I do like this book best for its treatment of edibles. It lists a dozen or so that are "easy" to recognize and not likely to confuse with dangerous species. Of course if you don't see one JUST like the picture AND matches the details of the description, beware. Other books may differ on the edibility of these, or even offer some that this book says to avoid. So one must start by assuming all specimens are dangerous. That whittles the amatuer's selection down to those half-dozen or so kinds that all the books agree on. Nothing wrong with that! as I've found several of these 'basic' edibles already (morels, black trumpet, inkycap, puffball).

I've recommended this book to friends, and now do so to you, too.

I love this book. Dr. Barron's field guide is filled with gorgeous photos and valuable information. There is no better field guide to the mushrooms of northeastern North America, and Dr. Barron has an incredible knack for describing mushrooms succinctly. Many, many species featured in this book are not featured in other field guides. "Mushrooms of Northeast North America" is a must for anyone interested in identifying mushrooms.

it's ok, everything's just like expected and it got here on time.
it's good i guess

Thanks alot this book was great and it was in great condition like the seller said!

I love this book. Koodsma describes a brilliant, unique method and approach to teaching oneself the art and science of recognizing bird calls and songs while also delivering a very absorbing read. Koodsma is a gifted story teller. The book is built out from beautifully detailed field work diaries, rich with the emotion of discovery and an infectious appreciation for the unique character and "song" for each individual bird he's tracked and grown to know as if they were kin.

I really liked the looks of this book. I got it for my mother who is a bird enthusiast but she said it required far more knowledge of music than she had.The last we talked she was going to send it back. Bummer.

The book is a fun & interesting read with many unique insights.
I have actually played the CD during these winter months just to hear the great outdoors. It makes the house sound like spring time with the windows open.

With over 1,000 "Bird Books" in my collection;it takes something real special to excite me. This book is such a special book. There are many books,records,tapes CD's and DVD'd that do an excellent job of teaching and describing bird songs so that with some practice you can recognize a large number of birds in the field.
Howerever,much more than showing a few ,typical songs of birds,so that you can recognize them when they call or sing;this book goes far deeper in showing you how to understand and appreciate bird song. There is much more to the song of a Chestnut-sided Warbler than the common "Pleased-pleased-pleased-to-MEETCHA." or the "whip-poor-Will" of the Whip-poor-will than one could ever imagine.In the case of the American Robin the author has found out how to tell one robin from another right in your own backyard. Obviously,it would take many years to learn and understand in detail all the songs of a large number of species as the author has done;but then he has studied birdsong for over 30 years and was recognized as "the reigning authority on the biology of avian vocal behavior"by the American Ornithologist's Union in 2003.
In this book,Kroodsma gives us the benefit of his vast knowledge,and it will certainly become "the book to have" for anyone who wants to give bird song serious study.His writing style is such that a very complicated subject can be understood and helpful;be the reader one who is a relative amateur or an extremely experienced birder.
One could almost start reading at any point in the book;but I would suggest,after the first chapter,turn to page 366,"Bird Sounds on the Compact Disc" and play the CD and follow the description for each track.You might even want to do do this a couple of times.
Another suggestion, once you have purused the book, would be to pick one of the birds the author has gone into detail with,and that are abundant near your home ,such as the American Robin,and really study the songs as the author explains.This can be done simply,as long as you don't try to get into advanced recording.A notepad,pen,seat and a cool drink will suffice.
At first glance this book might overwhelm you ;but don't let it.
I have two wonderful friends,sisters Joan and Gail,who I meet each spring at Point Pelee in Ontario. Joan was given this book by a friend,thought it was "too deep" for her;so she gave it to me. Thanks Joan,I love it.

I was looking for a book on bird song to give to a friend who is graduating from music school, and I bought the Kroodsma book on the recommendation of other Amazon reviewers, whom I can't thank enough for encouraging me to purchase this book. Having also purchased "Why Birds Sing" and "Birdsong: A Natural History" for my friend, I find that the Kroodsma is by far and away the better book, not only because it contains a cd, but because of the unique writing style that reflects a lifetime interest in and knowledge of the subject matter.

This book is really beautiful the scenes are like a gentle lullaby and to boot its educational I recommend all Thomas Lockers books!

My students loved this author and his illustrations. I have since bought more of his books. An excellent book to read to a class.

Thomas Locker creates an interesting way to learn about clouds in this beautifully illustrated book. As the reader turns the pages of this book, they encounter numerous types of clouds. The first illustration shows the many different sizes and shapes clouds can assume, from the light and wispy cirrus cloud to the puffy cumulus cloud. With each turn of the page, clouds are seen in different seasons and times of day, under various weather conditions. The illustrations are eye appealing oil paintings. As you view each picture, it is like you are standing on the ground and seeing the vast sky with the clouds creating a mosaic of lights, shapes, and colors. You can almost feel the rain hitting your face when you look at the painting depicting clouds in a rain storm. The painting of the clouds that "shimmer in the moonlight" gives the reader a sense of calm. Each painting in this book causes the reader to feel some emotion--from the suppressed anger of a developing thunderstorm to the warm peace of a sunset. At the end of the book the author includes factual information about clouds. The scientific names are given for all the clouds along with a description. Answers are also given for such questions as "How are clouds formed?" and "How high does the sky reach?" This book would be a good way to introduce a science unit on clouds and weather. The illustrations would stimulate a student's imagination and could be a starting point for them to begin thinking about what clouds look like at different times and in a variety of conditions. Cloud Dance would be a valuable addition to anyone's library.

This is an absolutely beautiful book. I am an art teacher attempting to integrate the visual arts and science. This book came highly recommended by a school librarian and I am so grateful for her direction. I will definitely share the book with my students.

I, Smith T. Aames, have a secret. I was not always Smith T. Aames. Nay, I was raised an indigenous person. My original family was a small tribe of Native Americans called the Hopi, centered in Arizona. When I was a Hopi, my job was to gather succulent weeds and grasses for the tribe to eat. I think this early job was responsible for my interest in having dogs--I mean, it's very similar how I go about Washington, D.C. collecting roadkill and abandoned housecats for my dogs to feast upon. Just the other day I was able to capture an injured squirrel for my Pomeranian, PomPom P. Aames. PomPom really enjoyed the tasty, tender squirrel meat, although she did get some blood on my lovely white couch. I actually discovered a great upholstery cleaner as a result of this incident, but that is another review.

So anyway, I grew up a Hopi youth, clad in leather tunics made from the hides of the bison and dodo we hunted for sustenance. I eventually left the reservation at the age of 21 for the big city. There I learned to read, write, and make frantic love to beings of all types. After leaving the lovely arid mesas of Arizona, I began to miss many things from my youth. I would remember the beautiful Native American women lolling about the reservation, the euphoric highs I got from chewing on peyote and other plants, and the occasional visits of Kevin Costner so that he could observe our way of life for his epic movie. When I found this book, Cloud Dance, I knew I had found a way to recapture my youth--my former self, Barks-With-The-Hounds Aames.