Science Nature Books

I was assigned this book for a Water Law & Policy class. I absolutely love it. It has SO much information for such a small book.

Carle engages one of most contentious and complex issue that our culture ignores - water. So we don't have enough water in California- you probably knew that. This book explores the nuances of California water - nature, culture, agriculture and infrastructure - in an concise volume that is suprisingly enjoyable for a such a dry topic.

There is enough information packed into this little book to serve as a textbook - as such, Carle has created a valuable primmer and users guide for the Golden State.

Do you know how rain is formed? Do you know when tornado season is? If you want to know these questions read the Magic Tree House book Twisters by Mary Pope Osborn and Sal Murdocca. Read this nonfiction book and learn how hail is formed,learn what is the worst storm. Also there are some sweet experiments. This is an awesome book I loved it a lot. Go to the book store near you and get this book or any Magic Tree House book.

The book that I'm reviewing in school is Twisters and it's by Mary Pope Osborne. I think this book deserves four stars because it is an interesting book to read. The book I'm reading is about weather. They talk about twisters, hurricanes, storms and other cool things. One thing that I learned is hail can be the size of a golf ball. Also, there are different kinds of hail sizes, like the size of a ant. I would recommend this book to a friend because if you're doing research you could find great information. Other books by this author are research guides on other topics.

Emerson, NJ Fifth Grader

Twisters are tornadoes. I learned about them in the book Twisters by Will Osborne. Twisters wreak everything. Twisters can destroy homes because the winds go 300 miles per hour. They hit in the midwestern U.S. in April, May and June. I feel excited about this book because it's good to know about natural disasters so if it happens you'll be prepared.

The book's appearance is quite appropriate to its genre and has immediate appeal. From a graphic standpoint, its organization seems intuitive and inviting. The text is engaging and accessible, clearly written on an introductory level, but also providing detailed, specific information that suffices for intermediate-level comprehension of the distinctions among species. In some cases, these distinctions are not widely known to most professional naturalists -- for instance, in rodents, moths, or lizards -- and this guide provides the only readily accessible material in English of any sort. The combination of the very basic with the genuinely obscure lends the book great utility and great charm.
It is refreshing to see a field guide that has had so much care taken in its preparation and layout, such careful attention to small details and to the ways in which readers would approach and use such a book. The pioneering use of floral backgrounds with key species seems one of the book's real strengths.
The guide is essentially a set of six field guides with brilliant front matter and back matter that answer many of the questions that arise in the context of travel and learning. Any student of natural history would find the book essentially indispensable for reference, although the material makes very nice reading outside the background of travel or research as well. And travelers will appreciate the coverage given to Chilean Antarctica, Easter Island and the Juan Fernandez Archipelago.
Other than Alvaro Jaramillo's excellent bird guide to Chile, or Shirihai's impressive guide to the Antarctic, I cannot think of a book that would overlap much at all with the content of this book. A few other books exist that offer "overviews" of Chilean wildlife, but these are not at all comprehensive. In brief, the book has no competition, either in print or out of print.
Few countries have a handbook so robust, and I can't think of any similar volume that's as portable, with the possible exception of much smaller areas such as the Galapagos. I know that I will certainly take this book with me on my next trip to Chile.
A Wildlife Guide to Chile: Continental Chile, Chilean Antarctica, Easter Island, Juan Fernandez Archipelago

This is not a specialized guide book, though birds predominate. But I particularly like the much wider spectrum this book offers. There are no range maps, and it took me a while to get to grips with the range info. But basically, range is indicated by using the administrative regions shown on page 3 of the book. Species pictured are mostly digital cutouts from photographs. This results in some odd outlines and in many missing claws in the reptiles, to just name the most often encountered drawbacks. Depending on the photos used, the quality of these illustrations varies, and their size as well. This variable picture quality is the reason why I have not given five stars. But the illustrations should serve very well for their main purpose; i.e. they are usually quite adequate for identifying the species. Photos, even in this form, however, rarely allow to illustrate all the plumages of the more variable bird species. Nevertheless, many species have flight pictures as well.

The book tries to cover the more common species of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and butterflies. The flora is treated according to the major habitats with a few rather conspicuous typical species. For the marine environment, some commercial fish, molluscs and crabs, as well as some marine algae are presented.

Generally, both English and Spanish, as well as the scientific names are given. Often, more names are mentioned as well, with at least some names in other languages. For those birds that are included, there is always a German name as well. The texts for the individual species vary considerably. But they are usually quite comprehensive for the birds and mammals.

As a birder, I would not want to take along only this book, but this guide has definitely enlarged my view of nature in Chile. And a special benefit is the inclusion of the outlying islands that belong to Chile. There is also a section on where to go for wildlife observations. The paperback version is quite compact and lightweight, and it is thus the perfect travel companion. But it's a fine book for preparing a trip or just to get an overview as well. Definitely worth getting if you have any interest in that area of the world.

Be aware this book is "job practice manual" & not an actual text book. It is designed for actual workshop practices and does not get into actual howto, specifications, and code rules.

Great Book for anyone who is in a position that deals with other people!!! (also for anyone who wants to improve on their communication skills with day to day people)

One of the best resources to really understand the "Social Styles" personality typology. Written by the pioneer researcher, the book is written with the rigour of a personality theorist, but is very accessible and applicable.

The person who reads this book will be the most likely to succeed in any endevor where other people are involved. The ability to mirror someone's behavior and thus earn their confidence and trust is the skill that the reader will gain, if they take the concepts in this book to heart. All of the interpersonal skills a person has accumulated come together when applying the concepts of 'versitility'. It is the morter that holds everything together. Read the book that lays the foundation for all human behavior techniques and you will be able to effectivly motivate others to reach THEIR potential and help YOU get what you want.

I used this book when I was in 6th grade. Our school's science curriculums uses the Science Interactions: Courses 1-3 depending on what grade. This book is good material and makes reading interesting. I recommend this book.

An Educational Assessment of a Science Text The sixth grade at Lansing Intermediate uses a textbook entitled, Science Interactions, Course 1, in their science course. The intent of this paper is to evaluate this text and its effectiveness in the classroom. The text was published by Glencoe, and has a copywrite date of 1995. The book has eleven authors, of whom, three are university professors, and eight are high school or middle school science teachers. The text also used twenty-three consultants who are listed in the beginning of the text. The consultants are listed by his or her area of expertise. These areas include: chemistry, multiculturalism, earth science, physics, reading, life science, middle school science, L.E.P., and safety. Also listed are twenty-six reviewers from upper middle schools, high schools and colleges. Although this text had many noteworthy scholars who served to publish it, there are many problems associated with its use. The authors, reviewers, and consultants, are mostly people who work with children above the level of sixth grade. Therefore, the text assumes that the child has prior knowledge of the subject to be built on by using the text. While the intent of the text may have been to promote higher learning, the authors did not consider the fact that these children would see much of the material presented in the book for the first time. The text also assumes that the school is able to afford the expensive experiments listed in the text. These experiments are central to the curriculum presented in the text. Since Lansing does not have the budget for the laboratory materials that are required, the

An Educational Assessment of a Science Text: 2 teachers have had to develop a multitude of their own experiments, and hence, the text has become somewhat obsolete. The text offers a wide array of supportive interactive materials. Laboratory manuals, at-home activities, performance assessment guides, study guides, CD ROMs, overhead transparencies, and even Spanish instruction are offered. Lansing chooses to use only the overhead transparencies, and the study guides. Again, this is due to the cost of the materials needed for the laboratory experiments. The text is very aesthetically pleasing. The pictures are well done, and appropriate for the material. Many races and ethnicities are represented throughout the text. The book is also gender neutral, and provides pictures and activities that would be appropriate for both genders. However, this text would not be appropriate for children with special needs, nor does it depict any of these children in its many pictures. This text would be far too confusing for a child with special needs. However, it could be used appropriately in an enrichment class, since its content would be challenging enough for these students. This text assumes that all learners are visual learners. If that were true of all children, then there would not be a problem using this type of textbook in any sixth grade science class. But such is not the case, and a major assumption like that should never have been made.

An Educational Assessment of a Science Text: 3 Activities in the book are student-centered. The questions in the book are mostly open-ended questions, and the curriculum in the book is geared towards hands-on activities. The only problem is, that the text lacks the detailed information needed to complete these activities; hence the children are forced to supplement the book with information off of the Internet. The book does, however, have a helpful appendix and skills handbook in the back. These help, somewhat, with understanding terms, graphs, measurements, and charts, but are only a reference guide, and do not serve to explain the many vague concepts presented in the book. These concepts require in depth explanations. The layout of the text indicates that it attempts to encompass too many elements. It moves from earth science to life science, to physics and chemistry, to science and society, to technology, and finally to a section that could be labeled miscellaneous. The miscellaneous section has anything from the study of natural disasters, to astronomy, to hot springs and geysers. This is a lot for sixth graders to cover in one year. By incorporating so much into one text, students are may not be able prove mastery of the any of the concepts presented. Science Interactions, Course 1, provides ideas for cross-curriculum connections at the end of each chapter. Topics such as diversity, art, health, and historical connections are represented. The problem with these suggestions is that they are not appealing to the students. In fact, the students described them as boring, so the sixth grade class at Lansing Middle School do their own projects created by the science teacher.

An Educational Assessment of a Science Text: 4 From a business perspective, it could be said that the teacher is the sales agent for the book, and the student is the ultimate consumer. With that in mind, an interview was conducted with a student who has an aptitude for science, as well as an "A" grade point average. In the interview, the student expressed more dislikes than likes with regard to the text. He believed that, although the text was very eye appealing, it was lacking in substance. Many areas in the book were lacking in explanation, and were, sometimes, confusing. He felt that some points in the book could have been enhanced by a pictorial chain or web, to promote a better understanding of the subject matter. On occasion, the teacher had the students create webs that would aid in understanding some of the more complex concepts presented in the text. The student stated that the book should include more age-appropriate activities. Many of those in the text were either boring or too difficult to accomplish. He felt that, while the language was somewhat understandable, the explanations were vague at best. He stated that he was especially perplexed by the lack of explanations and activities offered for the section on classification and kingdoms. Since this was the first time these students studied certain classifications and kingdoms, the teacher felt that it was best not to utilize the book for this subject. The student expressed a few items that he liked about the text. The student liked how the book shows side views and cut-aways of organisms. He also liked the few times when the book offered detailed steps as explanations, for example, the movement of an amoeba, which was listed in four detailed steps. Also, in the chapter on animals, there An Educational Assessment of a Science Text: 5 was an exceptional pictorial regarding the food chain. Lastly, the student liked the few times the authors used detailed descriptions with regard to the many figures presented in the text.

After the interview, the teacher was consulted as to whether the student's opinion was valid. She confirmed that this particular student had expressed sentiments that accurately reflected her beliefs as well as those of the class. She was, less than thrilled to have to use this text. She stated that the class would be using a new text next year. What would philosopher John Dewey have thought of this text? Dewey may have liked the fact that the text is student-centered. He may have also liked the attempt the text made to present hands-on materials and the text's experimentalist philosophy. However, Dewey would probably have been disappointed in general with this text. It basically goes against some of the philosophies that Dewey so strongly believed. Dewey would find that, while the text promotes inquiry and challenge, it does not provide enough information for accurate problem solving. Also distressing for Dewey, would be the fact that the book assumes prior knowledge that is nonexistent. Since Dewey was adamant regarding his belief that knowledge builds upon prior experiences, he would be disappointed in Science Interactions, Course 1. Dewey believed that for learning to be meaningful, it must be tied in with a learner's prior experience. This in turn, would lead the learner to make real life connections. If prior learning does not exist, then the connections could never be made. While the authors' genuine intent was to promote higher learning through the use of beautiful visual photographs and illustrations, they have fallen short of their goal. The An Educational Assessment of a Science Text: 6 primary reason for this is a lack of quality testing. If the consultants had used test groups at the appropriate sixth grade level, the school system would have had an easier time using this text as a teaching tool. The authors should have also tested their laboratory experiments for cost. If the authors had known that some schools could not afford many of the experiments, the book was built around, they would have been forced to rethink them to meet cost requirements. The Lansing school district is also at fault for choosing a text that is obsolete because of the high cost of its experiments. Proper foresight would have prevented th

I have owned this novel for over a year, and I still have not been able to complete the whole thing from cover to cover! Some chapters make me cry. Some chapters make me angry. Some chapters remind me more of a Hollywood-ized "story" that McLean created to make money.

Jessica Johnson was my best friend, and McLean describes her character (as well as another whom I love and respect) inadequately which only makes me want to rip pages out, crumple them up, and throw them in the fireplace! The Thirty-Mile Fire is an epic fire that firefighters can still learn from to stay safe and still do their jobs. Fighting fire is a tough job that I respect and I appreciate all the fire men/women out there!

There are some well written reencounters at the scene and McLean does a good job at describing the confusion and miscommunication from up the line... But I would suggest you check it out from your local library, rather than fill up John McLean's wallet.

I have spent over 30 years in wildland fire, 29 of those on the line. Most of my work has been as a Division Supervisor or Type 3 IC. This book hits the nail on the head in the fact that the bureaucrats will always try to blame the line personnel for any entrapment/burnover incident. I was in a shelter deployment once and was crucified for it. Of course that's a long story, but I was vindicated in the end. But before that, judgment was passed by those without the experience to know what they are talking about. Maclean does a good job digging into this phenomenon. Blame the dead people is standard operating procedure for the agencies in wildland fire. Ken

John has a very easy writing style which makes it an enjoyable reading experience. The content in the book provides a lot of lessons to be learnt and studied. The issues discussed don't just focus on this one incident but can be applied worldwide. A must read for any Wildfire firefighter from the rookie to the leaders of these men and women. John discusses some of the "Human factors" that contributed to this disaster.

This is a comprehensive review of the ThirtyMile Wildland Fire in 2001 that claimed the lives of four Federal Forest Service firefighters compiled from all the survivors, investigators, government officials, witnesses, and families affected by this incident. The Official Report of this fire laid blame on the firefighters themselves for the loss of there lives, and the report made was taylored to protect upper-level managers and the Forest Service from blame.

Mr. Maclean sorts through all of it and presents a clear picture of the events that transpired before, during, and after the incident where the time of the fire, the lack of resources, communication breakdowns, environmental rules, fatique, failure to follow fire safety rules, and tunnel vision lead to this tragedy. This book addresses questions that were not asked in the official report. It goes onto describe what happened to those in charge, and what did not happen to those administrators involved.

As a result of this fire, along with the 1994 Storm King Fire that killed 14 federal wildland firefighters, this book describes how through legislation the investigation responsibilities for large incidents shifted from in-house Forest Service to unprepared and unqualified outside government investigators. As a result of this political shift an overzealous US Attorney leveled four charges of manslaughter and five charges of lying to investigators about what happened at the fire, almost five years after the incident happened.

Mr. Maclean also chronicles the almost absolute abandonment of the firefightes and survivors involved in this incident, the heartless measures the Forest Service showed to families involved, and the failure of the wildland fire system involving the US Forest Service.

This book is important to all firefighters because the potential exists now for Fire Incident Commanders to be criminally charged if an injury or fatality occurs on a wildland fire incident, and what it may lead to in the future. Anyone involved in wildland / forest firefighting should read this book and learn from it.

John Maclean is an excellent writer and it shows once again in this book. It's obvious he's done his research on the Thirtymile Fire. As a wildland FF who studies fatal fires and near miss incidents, I devoured the information on this fire and the lives lost from the day it happened. I waited several years to get more than just news articles and investigation reports. Thankfully John Maclean stepped up to the plate. This read has been fascinating and educational. Most importantly, this is not just a book about a fire or mistakes made at a fire. This book is about four "kids" who lost their lives while living out their dream.

Ott is a great editor and his collection of books on NPOs are interesting and easy to read.

The Buzz about Bees: Biology of a Superorganism

I found this book to be extremely well written and easy to understand. The detail provided in all the information in this book really gives excellent insight into the structure of the hive and the behavior of the bees without getting bogged down in incomprehensible jargon. Additionally, the plentiful photographs are incredible. Anyone who is interested in honeybees should read this book.

I could not put this book down. I found the approach to not only be refreshing but it makes sense. I will never look at a beehive in the same way again. I planned on raising bees next year, now the honey will be the secondary reason, learning and observing will take precedence.

Last year I was fortunate enough to read Juergen Tautz book, "The Buzz about Bees". It was hard to put the book down, once I started reading it. Finally it has been published in English and I am delighted that I can share this book with all my friends here in the US. "The Buzz about Bees" is a fascinating and groundbreaking book! Tautz and his team have done an excellent job presenting their research and studies, also the photographs are of very high quality and are quite beautiful. Tautz's approach to understanding the life of the bees is very innovative and inspiring. Many new and mesmerizing facts about bees are presented such as the mammal-like qualities of the bees. The journey through the book continues from "the bee colony - a mammal in many bodies" and moves to the "super-organism", which describes the honeybee colony as an undividable entity and as "an organic interpretation of an individual". The captivating facts put forth by the author are many. Tautz explains "propagated immortality" which is the unique way in which bees proliferate, and the flower wisdom of the bees illustrated with impressive details (ex. bees can gather and carry the amount of nectar of almost half their body weight). Tautz goes on to reveal more aspects of pollination, such as how the flowering world and the bees coevolved on earth, to the extent to which we depend on them - critical in this time where many pollinators are endangered species! He introduces the concept of the "comb-wide-web" to describe the important relationship between wax comb and communication capacities of bees. The talent of the author is evident in his ability to combine excellent scientific work within a wider philosophic framework. As a gifted communicator, he launches this charming and intriguing journey into the beautiful world of the bees and enables us to understand the life of bees on a new and deeper level. In this book you may find, why bees have held humans in their thrall since millennia. All together, "The Buzz about Bees" is a fascinating book, with numerous facts and detailed photographs, compelling for readers of different ages and backgrounds. Educational, impressive, entertaining till the last page, this is a book for anyone who is interested in bees, nature, and the miracle of life.