Science Nature Books

We have a son who is a rising senior in an engineering program at a well regarded "secular" state school. He sailed through his freshman chemistry there, since he had seen it all before in this book at home. His math wasn't so good, so he traded chemistry help for math help.

If I were to give the *first edition* of this Jay Wile text a grade, it would receive a "D." I was hired as a tutor for a homeschooler using this text while I was finishing an undergraduate degree in Biology. My pupil had been having a great deal of difficulty using the text for a self-directed study, and her parents felt ill-equipped to fill in the blanks.

A few "gaps" that needed filling in, after using the text for a month or two on her own, were:
-unit conversions using the "factor-label" method,
-significant figures / digits
-organizing scratchwork while solving problems,
-and some measuring techniques (graduated cylinder, balance, electronic balance, etc.)

These are difficult points for almost *all* secondary students when approaching Chemistry for the first time, but it seemed to me that these topics were very insufficiently addressed by the text. I saw no progression from familiarity through the levels of learning up to mastery, and had to start over again with my student before we could continue with the course material.

Some faults we found with the text are:
-a condescending tone (not quite age-appropriate for a junior or senior; maybe not sophomore)
-too chatty about stretching labs to connect them to Biblical culture
-much too concerned with topics of evolution/chemical evolution (has very little to do with Chemistry at a secondary level, and Jay Wile's editorial contributed nothing to students' understanding of Chemistry). We felt it did not belong.
-Examples not narrated, therefore difficult to use without prior experience or a knowledgeable parent
-multiple typos, misleading questions, "stretched" questions/problems, and a few incorrect answers
-labs do not supply students with skills needed for starting College Chemistry
-text does not delve deeply enough into the material - Massachusetts Frameworks standards not met on numerous counts
-text needs to address multiple intelligences more aptly, and supply many types of problems and assignments geared towards more than just the verbal and mathematical skills. problems come in similar format each unit, and writing assignments are rarely beneficial to a deeper understanding of the material
-I felt the curriculum had not addressed recent developments in Chemistry. Perhaps the second edition is more up to date?

I felt it was a moderate attempt by a team that was inequipped to write a solid Chemistry curriculum for secondary students. It is too basic to be sufficient college-prep, yet too hands-off to help the struggling student. Perhaps with some editors and planners more experienced with Chemistry Curricula, this project could be improved.

I feel bad writing such a poor review, but I would not recommend this text to anybody.

For the past 4 years, I have taught homeschool chemistry classes in my home using this text, as well as Biology and Physics with Wile's curriculum. Wile's texts are so truly readable, making the concepts very understandable. In reading his texts, even I as a teacher have had some "aha" moments, as he has connected some things for me that had not been clear before. If you want your student to truly understand the concepts in addition to being able to work problems, get this text. I do enjoy adding extras to my class, including more high-powered labs, to make an honors class, but this course (as is) is certainly sufficient for a college-bound student. I have taught out of several different texts over the years, and this one is by far my favorite. Most texts are so unreadable that I never assigned reading, using the text only as a source of problems, but with Wile's texts, my students read from cover to cover.

The other reviewer is very misinformed. This site is for the second edition, which explains and practices sig figs, the factor-label method, and basically everything else very clearly. I feel like everything I'm learning in this book is a piece of cake, and have thus wondered whether this book is rigorous enough for homeschoolers, but looking around more, I find that this book does teach hard chemical concepts, but somehow makes them feel like second grade math.

(...)

I am in 10th grade and have done Dr. Wile's Apologia books for 4 years. I love them. They cover hard concepts (infact I and a couple of other homeschoolers passed the CLEP test for biology) but he is very clear with the way he explains them. Everything makes sense. The website mentioned in the front of the book is very helpful too.

Lois Ehlert takes you on a colorful, intriguing story about the life cycle of a butterfly. Excellent for art students at any level! Text is simple enough for preschoolers and can be enjoyed through the elementary grades. Enjoy this exciting trip through nature and its wonders!

As usual, Lois Ehlert stimulates and educates the young reader about the mysteries of caterpillars to butterflies. Not only are the colors absolutely stunning, she provides factual information about different species. This book was a fabulous preparation for my classroom of small children as they watched their own caterpillars prepare for their magical transformation!

Waiting for Wings is a picture book showing the life cycle of a butterfly. The story uses tantalizing pictures and simple words to explain how a caterpillar becomes a butterfly. The book takes the reader through the stages of the caterpillar's life. Once the caterpillar has become a butterfly the story changes to how a butterfly lives its life. The illustrations pull the reader into this book. The print is large and easy to read for young reader. The text also rhymes for two pages at a time. As the caterpillar grows the pages become larger, until the butterfly hatches. As the butterfly begins its flight the pages are full size. The illustrations and page sizes are wonderful for young readers. This book also contains identification pages on butterflies and the flowers they eat.

I have a three year old daughter who must be read to before sleeping. I also have a three month old baby girl who is often in the bed with us while we read. Often, the baby is restless and cries before we finish our books. Waiting for Wings is a fabulous solution. I find this interesting AND educational for my toddler. In addition, the colors are bright and contrasting, allowing my baby to be entertained while the book is read.

This is a beautiful and very clever book. Pages are cocooned within larger pages, with individual illustrations blending seamlessly into the background illustrations. Like the natural world itself, this book rewards the patient observer, with rich details on the surface and others folded in more subtly. Your kids will be focused in on a little book within the big book, as the caterpillar goes on its journey. It makes the launch to the story within the bigger background pages all the more dynamic, striking as the shift from Kansas to Oz.

It starts with the eggs "hidden from view,/ clinging to leaves with butterfly glue." As we turn the pages of a little book enshrouded in the bigger book, we see the caterpillars hatch, "each one knows what it must do," and we follow the path to metamorphosis. Ultimately, the reader will be rewarded with multiple beautiful butterflies launching up towards the sky, a nice Lepidopterian metaphor for the developmental adventures in store for our little ones. It's a good job of story-telling when we know exactly where the story is going but still find ourselves awestruck.

Finally, as if Ms. Ehlert hadn't done enough, we get several pages at the end on butterfly identification, with information on colors, wingspans shown in actual size, the corresponding caterpillars that precede the butterflies, and the like. We get flower information, and then tips on growing your own butterfly garden. Nice stuff.

Get this book, drill it for a few night-night times, and then take your toddlers to a butterfly pavilion to see the real deal. Good times.

The Great Neighborhood Book is full of examples and ideas for
down to earth you and me kinds of action that inspire and energize
to make things happen in our neighborhoods. It includes getting to know
neighbors, putting benches out at natural pausing places, greening and
gardening ideas, and simple suggestions. Recommend it for community
organizations, individuals and planning groups.

Written by Jay Walljasper, a Senior Fellow of the Project for Public Spaces, The Great Neighborhood Book: A Do-It-Yourself Guide to Placemaking is a how-to guide for local communities to improve the quality of life for their residents through building shared bonds. From creating great places to hang out (a park with few hidden spaces and scattered vendors selling refreshments is more likely to deter homeless people and drug dealers from using it), to reducing crime (ordinary people's eyes and physical presence on the street are much more likely to deter crime than iron bars on windows), foster economic vitality (promoting locally grown/cooked/made food is kind to the environment as well as the local economy), and much more. Drawing heavily upon real-life examples in communities that made a measurable positive difference, The Great Neighborhood book blends practicality and inspiration into an uplifting whole and is enthusiastically recommended reading for concerned citizens, neighborhood watch groups, and municipal boards, among many others.

Fr Wallace has an wonderful little gem here. Reflecting his experience both as a physicist and a philospher in the tradition of Aquinas and Aristotle, Wallace demonstrates how Aristotelian philosophy of nature, that of form, prime matter, powers, etc. coalesces nicely with the current understanding of modern physics, biology, and chemistry. One need not be a science or philosophy major to follow Wallace; he does a very good job of relating scientific and philosophical concepts in a manner that makes them interesting to the layperson. Highly recommended for anyone interested in how ancient and medieval philosophy coincides with the discoveries of science and modern physics.

William Wallace presents himself and science, philosophy, physics, and astronomy very well in this book. I can only imagine how many years of research it took to find all the information. There are five main sections to the first part of the book. In part 1, the Philosophy of Nature, Wallace explains how power comes from different parts of nature. Those being vegetative, animal, human and physical. Nature itself is in the form but Wallace's main historian in chapter one is Aristoltle. The four causes of every sensible reality are matter, form, agent and end. Nature acts towards an end. In chapter 2, Modeling the inorganic, Wallacefirst tries to describe the difference between an atom and a molecule. We are elements and compounds just like every other thing is on the earth, wether inorganic or organic. All of the elements in the periodic table are composed of the same elementary particles. Cosmology tells us how th universe came to be, which started with a certain protomatter. In chapter 3, Plant and animal structures, Wallace goes on to speak of species:are actula natural kinds thgat result from processes at work in nature and are therefore manifestations of nature itself. All living organisms derive their energy from the sun, and then metabolize, and engage in the essential feature of all living things-homeostasis. Also, there are added powers when organic (living) things come into play. Reproductive power, developmental power, homeostatic power and metabolic control. Animal powers go on to include external senses, internal senses, behavioral response and motor power. Chapter 4, the Modeling of the Mind, tries to emphasize that the use of mental representations is essential to understanding cognitive processes in animals and humans. Knowing has both an objective and subjective character. Aristotle's four internal senses: the central (common sense), the imagination, estiminative sense and memory are all part of the higher human powers. Chapter 5, Human nature, describes the only two faculties that make humans different from animals. The Intelect and the will. Part two of the entire text really is the magnificent part-years of research, organizing and selection have seemingly gone into trhe generation of this text. Chapter 6, Defining the philosophy of science, names all the idea makers of science chronologically. Bacon, Descartes, Locke, Hume, Kant, Whewell, J.S. Mill, Mach, Pierce, Poincare, Kuhn, Popper, Lakatos, Harvey, Newton etc. Chapters 8, 9, and 10 go deeper into proving the earth is round, how ellipses are formed, motion parallax and many other astonomical measures. Wallace truly proves that he is a philosopher of science-debating, cutting up, agreeing with the many different thinkers our time has allowed. How much longer canthe earth take all of this?

Llegué a este libro debido a que era ganado del presitigioso Aventis Prize, lo que significa un sello de garantía.
De no haber tenido el premio no lo hubiese comprado, pues el fondo del mar no está dentro de mis intereses.
Lo que hubiese sido un gran error...
Este libro muestra la fascinante aventura del descubrimiento del fondo del mar, así como que tan poco sabemos al respecto. Sabemos más de la superficie de Venus que de nuestro propio fondo marino!
Pero Robert Kunzig narra, como si fuera una novela, la historia del conocimiento del fondo marino de una manera que hace que den ganas de volverse oceonógrafo.
Absolutamente recomendable para quien quiera leer algo novedoso.

This is a fascinating read for any one interested in ocean science and its history. I'm on my second copy because the first one was the book I carried with me everywhere I went and it wore out and started falling apart. Every time I read this book I get something out of it.

Kunzig is a decent writer who devotes a chapter each to thirteen of the most pivotal discoveries in oceanography. These range from geological (plate tectonics, seafloor spreading) to biological (creatures living off sulfur at high-temp deep sea thermal vents, phytoplankton) to physical (ocean currents) to chemical (carbon and its role in seawater ecology). Anecdotes involving the personalities of the scientists involved lend a human touch to the stories.

There are some moments of confusion, most of which occur when Kunzig doesn't properly introduce the background of certain scientists (like Henry Stommel), or when he seems to stretch certain hypotheses to their breaking point in order to make things a little more interesting. However, taken as a package, the book is a rare gem in a field ripe for public interest. And not totally depressing, either, if you skip the last couple of chapters (climate change and the thermohaline circulation).

A wonderful and easy to read book about the history of Oceanography. When I first received the book as a Christamas gift from my wife, one of my first thoughts was "I hope it's not to dull." What a delightful surprise, Mr. Kunzig has woven a story of the ocean that is very entertaining and easily held my attention. His book includes chapters on the early explorers, their theories, their findings and their misunderstandings and their conflicts. He discusses the role that microscopic organism of the oceans play in the climate of our earth and our connection to them. I highly recommend this book.

Exploration is sexier than understanding. That's probably why we say Newton discovered the laws of motion, rather than understood the relationship between mass, force and velocity. Amongst the many disciplines of science, perhaps none is so dominated by exploration as oceanography.

In this book, Robert Kunzig takes us on a tour of the exploratory deeds of ocean scientists that has lead us to our present knowledge of ocean science. From young scientists camped on coral cays, to biologists in deep-sea submersibles, and geologists climbing South American mountains, this is an exciting and fascinating read.

I would recommend this book for anyone wishing to learn about oceanography in an easy to read format. But really, this book is for people who want to get excited about oceanography. Perhaps you are considering a career in oceanography, or you are a professional oceanography, or just like science? No matter. I think you will come away feeling inspired by the deeds of marine scientists, and the ocean itself.

If I felt one dissappointment, it was that the issue of global climate change, and the role of ocean scientists in this critical science, was not given their due. I think we understand more about the climate than Kunzig gave us credit for. But this is a book about exploration, and climate change, sadly, is for the future.

This is one of the best books on the Anasazi, or ancestral Puebloans, that I have ever read. Rather than being a dry, archeological text, the author hoofs it across the Southwest and Mexico tracking the remains of the ancient ones who migrated there. All of Childs' books feature him on foot exploring places that few dare to tread. This book allows him to get inside the hearts and heads of a people who supposedly vanished over a thousand years ago. A great companion to David Roberts book on the Anasazi.

There always have been conflicting theories as to what has happened to the people, commonly called the Anasazi, who occupied the abandoned villages throughout the southwest. Working with various archeologists and visiting numerous abandoned sites you get a feel for how life was prior to the arrival of the european settlers. Craig Stevens gives his analysis of the reasons the "Anasazi" left the area of the abandoned villages. Read the book and you will be able to give your own ideas as to where they went and why they left the area.

This is a jaw-dropper of a book. Of all the books about the Anasazi, this is the only one that tells it all, puts it all together. Craig Childs has trudged his soulful way through all the dwellings, all the literature, tracing these mysterious people's movements over hundreds of years and hundreds of miles. He has given full rein to common sense and intuition in figuring out who they were, what they did and why. Adding to the excitement of continuous discovery, the reader is led through mile after mile on foot through dangerous terrain and weather, into caves, straight up mountains and deep into canyons. And as the story unfolds, each moment is as astonishing as if one were there. There is no impenetrable archaeological jargon here; plain English reigns. It is thrilling reading, understandable in every way and immensely satisfying.

House of Rain weaves anthropology, desert experiences, and backcountry interactions with archeologists and family. The focus is field archeology, which academic publications cover formally and in much greater detail. They are cited in 22 pages of bibliography. The pictures are few and printed on pages with text. Stylized maps appear on the section headers. One might appreciate large color pictures and traditional, functional maps. But consider the $25 cost of this 500 page book. I've become accustomed to paying $30 - $35 for such a book and suspect that reduced photos and maps played a role in restricting the cost. There are other books with superb photographs of most of the ruins and artifacts Childs describes, or with maps at all scales depicting the northern regions covered by House of Rain. This book purposely and successfully blends education and entertainment. Becoming tired of speculation about ancient migration from a site? Childs shares his adventure there. Soon enough you are returned, refreshed, to the past. For unadulterated archeology House of Rain cannot compete with the referenced publications; for sheer life-threatening adventure it is no match for typical accounts of Himalayan climbs. And probably the descriptions of his toddler in the backcountry are eclipsed by Silverman's "Backpacking with Babies and Small Children", which I admit I have not read. But Childs set out to narrate passionately a mix of his ideas about southwestern archeology and his experiences in acquiring them. I find his attempt to be very successful.

As a former journalist fascinated by the people we call "Anasazi", I was totally captivated by Craig Childs' House of Rain. The writing is highly readable, the research thorough, and the information fascinating. It's a particularly compelling read for someone who's traveled the Southwest. This book is by far the best of several I've read about pre-Columbian peoples in the Southwest, and seems to present the most balanced view.

I bought this for my 3 year old daughter, and she loves it. In fact we both do, and every time my 9 year old niece comes over I find her looking through it too. So much fun to look at!

Beautifully illustrated. A little look and find,.. better explains, visually, about the fairy's living, and interests. It is great for imagination,.. but I sort of hoped they would have done more fairy homes in the book. I needed it for art purposes,.. so it found a new home with the other look and find disney fairy book by someone who collects disney stuff.

this book is great, my two girls who are 5 and 7 love all these books and this one just adds more fun to it all. you really get a feel for each fairies personality when you see inside their home. my kids could relate to how their rooms are and loved finding the objects on each page. very nice book.

This wasn't exactly what I had in mine when I ordered this book. It doesn't fit my needs for creating fairy homes for my fairys. But, it won't go to waste, I will pass it on to my 2 year old grand-daughter.

This book is so detailed. All little girls, ages 5-10, that love fairies will love this book! Is is an insider's look into how the fairies live and it sparks a fairy lover's imagination. My daughter loves to draw fairies and their houses and this book is a big inspiration!

The beautifully DK illustrated books have always been winners. This one is especially good for kids over seven and also forces them to read to find out what's pictured. It's a book that can be read over and over, lots of good interesting stuff is explained.

Having been trained in science (PhD in Physics) and having taught physics at the university level for 40 years, I think this is the best tool I have ever seen for presenting basic physical principles at a level that intelligent people 8 years old and up can really understand. It has no competition that I am aware of. Outstanding idea and execution.

Having been trained in science (PhD in Physics) and having taught physics at the university level for 40 years, I think this is the best tool I have ever seen for presenting basic physical principles at a level that intelligent people 8 years old and up can really understand. It has no competition that I am aware of. Outstanding idea and execution.

My son doesn't like reading much, but he loves this book. He comes back with all sorts of odd and interesting facts and is developing a really clear understanding of how things work. I think D&K publishers are consistently good and this is better than their usual high standard. I would definitely recommend, for home and also as an excellent gift.

Ideal for both classroom and homeschool curriculum supplementation, The Way Science Works is an exciting introduction for young readers to the deductive process of science and the marvels that mankind has discovered about the natural world. Offering more than sixty experiments and hands-on projects suitable for budding scientists age 10 and older (with safety precautions detailed where needed), The Way Science Works offers a fascinating glimpse into everything from the workings of the atom to understanding the true nature of gravity, to optical illusions and magnetism. Hundreds of excellent color photographs illustrate this superbly organized instructional reference. Although filled with fascinating revelations which would appeal to readers of all ages, The Way Science Works is particularly geared to show younger folks just how much amazing fun science can be!

This work is known to be a classic, and in my opinion, it is the best written last century. I even enjoyed R. Niebuhr better than Tillich and Barth. His erudition and conclusions are powerful and engaging. I recommend reading this for those familiar with political thought and philosophy of the modern era. By no means is this work parochial, it scope makes it a enthralling read even for those who find themselves outside to sprectrum of Christian belief.

Niebuhr has developed the most balanced statement of our character, identity, and core behavior motivations. He references all major worldviews from Eastern Naturalisms to Western Rationalism to Bibilical Revelation. The Bibilical Worldview provides the most balanced perspective of our human nature, which is offensive to the contrasting perspectives. In Volume 1, he identifies our form and our vitality as essential components of our nature. He also identifies that our desire for freedom, our ability to transend our natural state, and our self interest leads to "Man's Problem." Volume 2 focuses on worldviews that have messianic expectations and resolutions of history through corporate indentities. One can understand Niebuhr's perspecive on the eve of WWII's Fascist nations. In summary, this is absolutely one of the best works I have read to help clarify our human nature. His perspective is pragmatic, but is still very focued on core christian doctrines. Buy it, read it, wait a year, read it again, and ponder the depth and breath of his insights!

In the Nature and Destiny of Man, Reinhold Niebuhr, the influential "Christian realist" theologian, deals with big issues: the nature of man, history, and the end of the history. He offers deep - I would say profound - support for his views, but not proof. He offers one interpretation of the meaning of life's mysteries but not the only possible interpretation.

Niebuhr begins by arguing that the Christian view of man's nature, compared with alternative views, is more complete and offers more explanatory power. According to the Christian view, man is made in the image of God. Unlike alternative views that establish a good/bad duality between mind and body, in the Christian view, both mind and body are good because both are created by God. Man is made to live in harmony with others and God's will but violates this harmony when he - inevitably - makes himself the center and source of meaning for his life.

Man has tremendous creative and imaginative powers, and his mind can transcend both itself (since he can make his own thoughts the object of contemplation) and the natural world (since he can manipulate natural forces to create new possibilities and vitalities of nature). Because man cannot find ultimate meaning in what he can transcend, he cannot find ultimate meaning within himself or in the natural world. This is why we turn to religion.

Christianity is a religion of revelation, meaning that Christians believe that God must speak to us in order for us to arrive at a correct understanding of his nature and will. If the Bible is to be believed, God spoke to man throughout history but his message was not clearly understood. Because of our misunderstanding, and because God's law is so radically different from man's law, Jesus' message was highly offensive to his listeners. What Jesus told us is that God overcomes evil not by destroying evildoers but by taking their evil upon himself. God's love is suffering love.

To live in accordance with the law of love seems to require that we accept the reality of an existence beyond this life. If the reality of this other existence is denied, then Jesus' statement that "whoever loses his life for my sake will find it" makes no sense.

Yet, we are not to despise this life. To be righteous, to a Christian, means to serve others, and we need to strive after intermediate and partial arrangements that help point the way toward ultimate resolutions and revelations. God provides ultimate meaning. Just as the human mind can provide meaning to a sequence of chronological events by comprehending them all in an instant, so God provides meaning by comprehending all events both prospectively and retrospectively.

This poor summary of what Niebuhr has to say on the largest subjects makes it sound as if this is a very otherworldly book. It is not. The book contains a great deal of keen observation of human behavior and current events at the outset of World War II, and Niebuhr later became extremely influential in the U.S. State Department. Niebuhr's observations on politics and social justice still speak to us with great immediacy.

There has been no book written in the last 1900 years that better explains the human condition and the Christian response to it. Niebuhr draws from an extensive understanding of political science, psychology, history, and religion to explain the origin and nature of sin. He elaborates on the abortive efforts of the ego to overreach the human condition through partial and disingenuous strategies. He reflects on why collectives, lacking the constraints of individual conscience, so dramatically exceed the sinfulness of the individuals that constitute them.

Systems of human justice are always compromises between competing wills. Thus, perfect love that enters into history is destined to be sacrificed; a fact revealed most vividly in the tragedy of the Cross.