Greeny News

Compiled by an ardent bibliophile, this is a weekly report about all those wonderful books about nature, science and history that are hot-off-the-presses in North America and the UK

Books to the ceiling,
Books in the sky,

New and Recent Titles:

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• Dragonflies of Oregon: A Field Guide. 2011th OSU Press. Paperback: 304 pages. Price: $ 24.95 U.S. [Amazon UK, Amazon U.S.].
  SUMMARY: has seen growing interest in identifying dragonflies and sharpened the need for an authoritative resources such as Dragonflies of Oregon A definitive field guide to dragonflies found exclusively in the state dedicated.
  
  
  
  
  
  

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  Instead of grouping the birds by type -- owls with owls, hawks with hawks -- the book has chapters arranged by the habitat type and region where each bird spends the breeding season. Whether you're enjoying these pages from the comfort of your own armchair or taking a trip to the field you can see which birds to look for in that area -- Swainson's hawks soar over grasslands next to prairie falcons while Cooper's hawks share mature forests with flammulated owls. While the 400-plus stunning color photographs are enough to set this book apart on their own, Davis's informative and entertaining text completes the picture.
  

• 2011. University Press of Kansas. Hardbound: 368 pages. Price: $34.95 U.S. [Amazon UK; Amazon US].
  SUMMARY: Written with Richard Ellis's deep knowledge and trademark passion, verve, and wit -- and illustrated with a wide array of images including his own signature artwork -- his study covers the full spectrum of the sperm whale's existence from its prehistoric past to its current endangered existence. Ellis, as no one else can, illuminates the iconic impact of ("big-headed blower") on our history, environment, and culture, with a substantial nod to Herman Melville and
  
  
  

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• Balcombe, Jonathan.
  
  

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  Protect fly biologist Thor Hanson, details a sweeping natural history, such as springs were used, to win, and decorate by time and place. The applications of research by paleontologists, ornithologists, biologists, engineers, and art historian, Hanson asks: What are feathers? How did they evolve? What they do for us? Engineers call it springs the most efficient insulation material ever discovered, and they are \ at the root of biology's longest debate. You silence the flight of owls and penguins keep dry under the ice. They have decorated queens, magicians and priests. And it documents the Constitution on the novels of Jane Austen have inked. Plumage is a captivating and beautiful exploration of this fascinating object.
  IAN'S RECOMMENDATION: A good overview on the subject.

• Rumphius, Georgius Everhardus (EM Beekman). The Ambonese Curiosity Cabinet.1999th Yale University Press. Bound: 567 pages. Price: 70.00 USD U.S. [Amazon UK, Amazon U.S.].
  
  

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