Science Nature Books

This is one of my favorite books. I recommend it to anyone who will listen. I just love it. I've read it twice and I'll probably read it again sometime. I want to live in Gaviotas!

Wonderful book, highly recommended, inspiring. A real look at sustainable development in a highly unlikely place in the world. MUST READ!!

The vision described in the book is inspiring and very hopeful. The idea is to use our ingenuity in ways directly adapted to our environment so that small towns can be self-sufficient. Along the way, very clever uses of wind and water are discovered and described. If the reader is looking for great general ideas or approaches, this book would be hard to beat. On the other hand, if you are a garage-tinkerer and would delight in building the clever devices described, this book is close but no cigar. The drawings offered in the book purposely omit the most important details required to fabricate the devices in a proper working form. If you are a tinkerer and want to build these "goodies," you have three options. In the U.S., you can e-mail with the "Sustainable Village" web site and get the plans (eventually---they are not quick in responding). You can contact the Gaviotas offices in Bogota, Colombia. You can, of course, also take the basic idea and think through the details for yourself. That could take longer and be a little more expensive---perhaps. If you primarily want the ideas and the inspiration, then buy the book, by all means. If you primarily want to tinker and build, go straight for the plans.

This is an amazing story about an amazing REAL place... It is an obligated reading for all of those who care about sustainability and renewable energy and wonder whether there is an alternative for our society.
Read this and you will be full of hope and energy for action.

This book shows people solving ecological problems as a community. Weisman engages the reader by showing the people involved, not only the ones with training in certain disciplines, but also natives with practical solutions for living in a Columbian village. Even the children got involved in problem solving in Gaviotos.

They have learned to live in a place where there are many dangers due to drug wars, yet their survival skills are exceptional.

I highly recommend this eye-opening book

Barbara Spring

The book was given as a gift to my son, who found it rather boring, quickly discarding it in favor of books about soccer and American football. This allowed a careful perusal of the book and its content, which, truth be told, I found lacking as well.

In order for its suggestions to be relevant, in order for its impact to be felt, the science behind Ms. David's book has to be correct. As has already been mentioned, this book has a major flaw, which it has carried over from the related movie An Inconvenient Truth - e.g. the data sets for temperature and CO2 are reversed. When one learns that simple fact one discovers that temperature leads CO2 concentrations - not the other way around - which makes sense when one considers that CO2 is less soluble in water at higher temperatures. And the lag is fairly consistent and predictable between the two.

That Ms. David, a non-scientist, has opted to perpetuate this rather glaring error suggests one of two things - either that she really is a vapid celebrity of little brain or that she perhaps has some other reason for inducing nightmares in children than the good of Planet Earth. It could be, perhaps, that she would like for us to forget about her jet-setting narcissistic lifestyle and her own huge carbon footprint - and also her opposition to renewable energy projects when they impede her view from Martha's Vineyard.

Ms. David has stated many times that "the debate is over" - and for her it probably is, but our children will have to live with the results of the smothering policy initiatives she proposes as the solution to this non-existent problem. They will be affected by the inevitable reductions in standards of living in David's new era, where every Carbon atom is counted.

The debate for the rest of us is NOT over - not by a long shot. Some of us remember what we learned about geology - that the carbon got underneath the ground somehow or other, and that it was floating around in the Earth's atmosphere at far higher levels than we see now (as evidenced by ice core data David does not mention).

One star because zero was impossible to give.

Potential of unlimited methane gas can release from the ocean in a couple yrs. 2/3 of the population might be gone if we don't go veg or at least cut down on meat info. Don't believe me. Check this out.
youtube. com/user/StopClimateCrisis

I bought this book for my 9 and 10 year old boys. Both are above average students and were vaguely familiar with the concept of global warming. This book was PERFECT for them. It was easy to read, held their attention and was about as clear and consice as it gets. As my 9 year old told me after reading it: this books tells you (1) what is causing global warming (2) what we can do to stop it (3) and what is going to happen because of global warming. Our kids are going to have to deal with this issue. As parents it is up to us to help them begin to understand it. This book is AN EXCELLENT place to start.

This is a wonderful book, chock full of information about what we are doing to our Earth, as well as great tips for making a difference, all in a very USER FRIENDLY FORMAT. Forget the doom and gloom, just do something! I bought several to give out as gifts (I usually only borrow books from the library, but this is printed on recycled paper...).

As the title summarizes, this book discusses the topic of global warming. The book is split up into chapters that describe what global warming is, how it can effect our planet and everything living on it, and what we can do to stop this problem. A glossary and an index are included. To fit with the earth-friendly subject material, the book is even printed with soy inks on recycled paper.

This book is a great introduction to the topic of global warming. Since this topic is something that people sometimes disagree on, readers can use the information in the book to form their own opinions. I think that the authors do a very good job of not only discussing their opinions, but also using facts to back them up. I think the best chapter in this book is the one discussing what we can do to help the earth. The ideas in this chapter are ones that young people can do on their own, like not leaving the chargers for their cell phone or mp3 player plugged in when the device is not connected to it. The bright bold pictures are what drew me in to this book and they would definitely keep readers interested.

Ward has provided a fair and balanced assesment of current issues in the science/Faith controvesy. This work is scholarly, temperate and best of all HONEST with the data. Because the truth of the matter is that neither atheism nor theism has in its posession a smoking gun. And this is exactly what we would expect if indeed God intention with regard to create was to create an environment for humankind where freewill could in fact flourish untainted and uncoerced by absolute truth's stemming from scientic data. What a previous reviewer interpreted as Ward's attempt to stay neutral so as not to offend anybody, is in reality Ward simply being true to the data which is exactly what scholarship demands. If one desires to read Christian propaganda, then check out the young earth creationist literature. Having the courage and intellectual honesty to be fair with the data is a virtue few authors in this day and age posess. Notwhithstanding the opinions of the previous reviewer, I believe Ward did in fact present in clear and lucid terms what I percieved as the overwhelming evidence for the Christian Faith. Admitting to the fact that the evidence is subject to alternate interpretation is simply a fact and has nothing to do with Ward trying to "not offend" anybody. Ward didn't have to write the book at all, if that were the case. In short the book is great.

Questions? Yes! Answers? No! The author does not "confront" these questions. It is a compendium of opinions from many sources that ends in a stalemate. The author keeps a very low profile and is careful to offend no one. Perhaps that was his goal. While it is a good source of history, I had expected more from a Professor of Divinity.
Gerry

My students learned so much. But it would've been nice to have typed text.

The explainations of each body part and system are simple and easy to understand, and my three preschool children love the coloring, cutting, and gluing they get to do when we do this activity... and I think they are actually learning about the body.

A great resource for parents who teach their young children at home, this book would likely also work well in a classroom setting.

My Body is a great book for anyone interested in teaching young people about the basic functions of their bodies. The book provides clear directions to help students construct a "replica" of themselves with scale sized parts. There are coloring guidelines for each part so that children also grasp a clear idea of what the body part looks like. The book then explains the function of each part in simple terms (appropriate for a 6-9 year old). I recommend this as a teaching aid for any health education teacher.

This books been around for quite a number of years now but has to be simply the BEST illustrated book on Gems there is. It's absolutely jam packed FULL of all the information you need to learn about precious stones.

an encyclopedia of knowledge on stones and gems.

This is an excellent book for anyone wanting to learn about the physical properties of gemstones. It would be especially useful to students interested in the scientific properties of gems. I found it useful because it describes where gemstones are found and how and when they were discovered. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the subject.

Well written but a bit out of date. Scientific data often ages like egg salad on a warm day.

and it is a little more technical than the rest (explains things like twinning, establishment of density, calculating specific gravity, cleavage, moh's scale, refractive indices, law of refraction, genesis, cutting, cutting styles etc).
it includes gem descriptions in much detail (thou the order in which they are arranged is a mystery to me and really bugs me, as i have to flip and flip until i find what i need).
for diamond it includes a table comparing 4 color grading systems used (which is cool).
large section on organic gems and synthetics.
all in all i see it as a really good (almost) professional level book on gems and precious stones.

Purchased as a gift for my granddaughter who loves rocks and shells. I prefer this to buying "princess" products, as it encourages her interest in science.

I promised my grandson books about rocks for his birthday. I was very suprised about this book for the price. It is very, very, good book for children. He is 7 years old and is very happy.
A very happy Grandma!

All DK Eyewitness books are fabulous. If you are a classroom teacher you must attempt to purchase all of them and have them available in your classroom library. My students love to read these books and use them as references.

A great book, but I gave it to my granddaughter just as she began her quest for infor about chemistry after a few years of loving rocks. She is six.

My son is six years old and this book captivated him for a good four nights, a few pages a night, for his bedtime story. It is very visually appealing with vividly colored pictures and thick glossy pages. It is written very well, easy for a young child to understand, yet filled with information about rocks and minerals. I have to read it to my child as he's not an independent reader yet, but an independent reader would also really enjoy this book. It is made for children but not at all "babyish." A great way to either learn about rocks and minerals, or introduce a child to non fiction.

I'm very impressed with this book and will be purchasing more DK Eye Wonder titles. I've looked at their other titles and they all look like wonderful books.

The history of ecology cannot be learnt without reference to the work of Odum, neither the important shifting that will be necessary to build sustainable societies.
Is this book the reader will find the fundamentals of ecological processes and why they are so important to maintain stability and diversity, including too the basic concepts of energy and material flows being studied in sustainable development issues.
It's a classic and fundamental book for students all over the world.

i was a little unsure about getting a book that made the universe a consciousness being. but i have to say that the way in which this book, and the first in the series, are written is very easy to read, and very easy to understand. some books in this genre are harder to read, because they are more like text books with words. this book flows smoothly, and reads like a story book, and keeps my daughters interest the whole way through. my daughter is always asking me to "read the universe story" and "read the lava book!" i have not purchased the 3rd in the series, but after reading the first 2, i will definitely be purchasing this author's take on evolution!

After reading this book, my five-year-old grandson brought me a picture he had drawn of a eukaryote with a twisted DNA helix and mitochondria. I promptly order its sequel. I even reread the book on my own to help my understanding of the terminology of early evolution.

From Lava To Life: The Universe Tells Our Earth Story by storyteller, educator, and environmental advocate Jennifer Morgan is the second volume in an amazing summary series for readers ages 8 through 12 of what science can tell us about how the Earth came to be, and how life arose upon and in it. Vividly illustrated in striking color by Dana Lynne Andersen, From Lava To Life is a most fascinating introduction to science for young readers, beginning with the formation of the earth and concluding with the age of the dinosaur. From Lava To Life is also available in hardcover. Also very highly recommended for young readers is the first volume covering the birth the universe and the development of the solar system, Born With A Bang: The Universe Tells Our Cosmic Story: Book 1.

As a scientist who works on early evolution I was looking for a book for my 7 year old cousin who is fascinated by science that would counterbalance the creationism he is getting in Sunday school. I purchased this book after reading reviews but was skeptical that it would be accurate. I was beyond thrilled while reading through it! Jennifer Morgan does an excellent job of taking the origin of life, evolution of eukaryotes, prokaryotes and metazoans, the oxygen crisis, migration from sea to land and mass extinctions and making it understandable to children (and lay adults!)
I found no true errors in the science, only things that I wish were expanded on such as calling the "mounds of bacteria" what they are, stromatolites (though I may be biased as I work on these and other similar structures!)
Evolution is never mentioned by name though she does a wonderful job of saying that certain animals are "your ancestors" and, for example, how dinosaurs evolved into what are ancestors to modern birds.
I honestly believe that not only should every child be reading this book and that it would be an excellent addition to grade school science curriculum, but that every adult in the United States should read this as well. I had several adult friends and family members read it and they said they finally understood certain concepts that I work on and have tried to explain to them in the past. One friend actually said "oh so that is the difference between a eukaryote and a prokaryote!" I'm going to purchase a second copy to keep for myself to help explain the origins of life and early evolution to others.
I look forward to purchasing the other two books in this series and highly recommend this book to anyone.

Told as if the Universe has patted her lap & invited to you up for grand story, she takes you back into a time before time, when the Earth was formed, long, long before you or I were motes in the storm. Long before dinosaurs were born & flowers grew.

Told in a confidential, amusing & lyrical turn of phrase, FROM LAVA TO LIFE spills the beans on how life began here from microscopic cells in a churning brew of chemicals as our raw orb rolled around the heavens.

Fascinating images! Dana Lynn Andersen captures our imagination with her broad strokes of things bigger & smaller than one pair of eyes can see. Jennifer Morgan's sense of humor is both reverential & irreverent, charming & instructive.

If you are stumped when your kids ask the oldest of questions: "Where did I come from?" Then FROM LAVA TO LIFE & its prequel BORN WITH A BANG are for you!