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Best Arctic Ecosystems

Antarctica: An Intimate Portrait of a Mysterious Continent
With her we witness cutting-edge science experiments, visit the South Pole, lodge with American, Italian, and French researchers, drive snowdozers, drill ice cores, and listen for the message Antarctica is sending us about our future in an age of global warming. During several separate journeys, she stayed at a half-dozen outposts operated by the U.S., the UK, Russia, France, Italy, and Argentina and learned the protocols of cold-weather survival, accompanied scientists on their fieldwork, and observed how people cope with the environmental extremes and awesome geographical isolation of Antarctica.
Reviews
"The window the author provides on to the singular nature of life on "the continent" and the personalities of the people who inhabit it was completely fascinating."
"The book is a trip report by a science journalist who visited several research stations in Antarctica to learn what they were doing, what they were learning and what it was like to visit them."
"This book describes Antarctica with such detail you feel like you are actually there."
"From the October 18, 2012 House of Lords debate on Antarctica: Lord Gilbert: "If I may burden your Lordships, I recommend to you all reading a marvelous new book written by an Englishwoman called Gabrielle Walker."
"The author has a wonderfully descriptive style and while I have never had a desire to visit that continent she has the gift of making you feel as if you had been along for the journey."
"Walker brings attention to so many other things: the science of ice boring; the varying activity of glaciers in different areas; the microscopic signs of life where it seems none could be; the evidence of a once lush climate and even dinosaurs; much, much more."
"Aside from some scenes recreated by Hollywood, March of the Penguins was the first movie I've seen that gave a partial but realistic picture of Antarctica."
"Poetry, revererie, and reverence for nature, Dr Walker illuminates the darkness with brilliant science reporting and warms the frozen polar regions with stories of humanity and creatures in this extreme environment."
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Polar: A Photicular Book
A phenomenon first seen in the bestsellers Safari and Ocean , Photicular technology uses sliding lenses and video imagery to display realistic living motion in the pages of a book. National Geographic writer Carol Kaufmann brings the reader along on a voyage to the North and South Poles, and writes a lively and informative essay for each image, including vital statistics for each animal, such as their size, range, habitat, and more. Dancing penguins, flying snowy owls, and running sled dogs are among the polar animals portrayed in creations called photiculars, or moving, three-dimensional, hologram-esque depictions. For example, male reindeer shed their antlers in November and grow them back them in the spring, but since females keep their antlers through the winter, Santa's reindeer are all females.
Reviews
"However, I saw one of these books in the gift shop of the Phillips Museum in DC and just loved it."
"Just wish the story that went with each picture was more for a younger child."
"Okay, for those of you who've not seen these, they are a MUST have for kids of all ages."
"A great book."
"My Eight year old lit up when he saw this!!"
"These books are fantastically fun."
"Any of Dan Kainen's books are beautiful!!"
"3 D graphics are wonderful- the reason I bought the book."
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Braving It: A Father, a Daughter, and an Unforgettable Journey into the Alaskan Wild
The powerful and affirming story of a father's journey with his teenage daughter to the far reaches of Alaska Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, home to only a handful of people, is a harsh and lonely place. So when James Campbell’s cousin Heimo Korth asked him to spend a summer building a cabin in the rugged Interior, Campbell hesitated about inviting his fifteen-year-old daughter, Aidan, to join him: Would she be able to withstand clouds of mosquitoes, the threat of grizzlies, bathing in an ice-cold river, and hours of grueling labor peeling and hauling logs? “Campbell’s prose captures both the difficulties and pleasures on offer in the extreme wild... Parents who enjoy Campbell’s adventures vicariously might find themselves contemplating their own family outing.” — Richmond Times Dispatch. “Campbell, through his descriptions and thoughtful reflection, brings to life the Arctic's great beauty, expanse and values as a wilderness and testing ground — a 'final frontier' for a certain kind of seeker… Braving It is a smart, insightful book that should be read by fathers and daughters everywhere — and by anyone who looks to wild country as ‘part of the geography of hope.’”. — Alaska Dispatch News. Braving It [is] as much about parenting as it is about adventure, though in Campbell’s book the two concepts are often inseparable.” – Isthmus. “With humor and honesty, Campbell brings readers along for the adventure, which is full of swarms of hungry mosquitoes, the fear of grizzly bears, and the push-pull relationship between a teenage girl and her father… Campbell expertly blends facts on the flora, fauna, and general life in the Alaskan bush with his reflections on being middle-aged, with many adventurous years behind him, as opposed to his daughter, whose quest for adventure has only just begun. “Some parents will doubtless think the adventure James Campbell took his daughter on was irresponsibly dangerous or just plain crazy. Here is the essence of good writing—and good parenting, too.”. — Hampton Sides , author of In the Kingdom of Ice. “Braving It , the book, is a metaphor for the wilderness—the call of the wild—that James Campbell evokes in this masterfully told story. A wonderful book for any mental traveler who has yearned to experience Alaska.”. — Eowyn Ivey , author of The Snow Child “Any of us who’ve watched daughters grow up to be strong and capable in the backcountry will delight in this book—it’s a wonderful new world in many ways!”. — Bill McKibben , author of The End of Nature and Wandering Home “In this wonderful book, James Campbell and his teenage daughter set off on a great adventure to one of the most beautiful, and often perilous, places on earth—the Arctic wilderness of Alaska. Set against a primal landscape of mountains and fast-flowing rivers, Braving It is as simple and powerful as any fairy tale.”. — John Hildebrand , author of Reading the River and The Heart of Things “As a father of daughters and lover of adventure, I found Braving It to be spot on—riveting, profound, open-eyed, and deeply touching. This book gives me hope for our landscape and our youth.”. — Larry Beck , San Diego State University professor and author of Moving Beyond Treeline “Rarely has a book captured so well the unknown wilderness of parenting, of what it is to be a teenager and what it is for a father to learn to trust.
Reviews
"I learned about this book on public radio .They read a book on the program called "Chapter a day" where I heard two readings which made me want to read more."
"I salute James storytelling prowess and his amazing skills as a parent to raise his girls with such adventure and love of life itself."
"The trials you experience with kids of this age can be monumental, so to watch their relationship evolve and grow in the wilderness was incredible."
"The love between father and daughter in the middle of real danger came through, as did the father's need to stretch his perception of Aiden's transition from a chrysalis into the more confident, mature, adventure seeking traveler of a butterfly."
"Adventurous, honest."
"Really enjoyed it, but read Campbell's first book about Heimo Korth first!"
"I read this book after reading The Frontiersman."
"This could have been a five star book however I can't get past the filthy language James uses around his own daughter."
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Best Tropical Ecosystems

One River
The story of two generations of scientific explorers in South America—Richard Evans Schultes and his protégé Wade Davis—an epic tale of adventure and a compelling work of natural history. The prodigious biological and cultural riches of the vast Amazon rain forest are being lost at a horrendous rate, according to the author, often without yielding their secrets to the Western world. Davis graphically describes the brutal clash of cultures from Columbian times to the present, often so devastating for indigenous peoples, that has defined this region.
Reviews
"I bought this book knowing of Wade Davis only by name, but wanting to learn more about Colombia in preparation for my upcoming trip to the area."
"Very well written book about discovery of new species of plants and how people lived in Amazon/Andes region including role that hallucinogenic plants and shamans played in society."
"Yeah, as some reviewers said it gets long, but push through."
"It took three months to read this book, NOT because it was difficult to read or boring."
"It's possible that there will never be anyone who will have the knowledge from experience that Richard Shultes had aquired in South America and that alone makes this book very rich, yet added to his story are the experiences of Davis and Dr. Plowman two researchers that also immerse themselves deeply into the Andes, the llanos, and the Amazon to learn about the forests, the people and the use of medicinal and psychoactive plants. That along with his insight into the cultures that he experiences and the knowledge and history that he brings into this makes it a unique, rich read."
"Davis captures the passing characters' spirit in a few short words, a rare gift in a writer."
"Weaving the author's own experiences together with his mentor's, and perhaps the foremost ethnobotanist of all times, Dr. Richard Evans Schultes, we gather a sense of how critical the natural world is to humanity."
"In the past, any discussion I've heard on hallucinogenic drugs has been delivered by garrulous stoners with the reverence of true believers, but Davis is able to use the sensational subject matter as an entry-point into the vanishing culture and people of the Americas."
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Best Deserts Ecosystems

Desert Solitaire
In celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the publication of Desert Solitaire, the University of Arizona Press is pleased to publish a new edition featuring a new introduction by the author, his definitive corrections to the text, and new illustrations commissioned exclusively for this volume. First published in 1968 to "a few brief but not hostile notices," Desert Solitaire quietly sold out of its first printing but eventually developed a loyal enough following in paperback to earn Abbey the "nature writer" label he claims never to have wanted. "A passionately felt, deeply poetic book. — New York Times Book Review "This is a well made and well illustrated book (at last a good hard-back version!
Reviews
"OK. To fully appreciate this accumulation of experiences and stories... you need to plan a trip to Southern Utah. A couple of chapters might be considered a bit off point, but that's all part of the experience. So --- get the book, plan your adventure... and, if the Southwest is a new experience for you, I believe you will come back home with some remarkable impressions."
"For anyone who has visited the desert, e.g. Grand Canyon, Zion, the Eastern Sierra, you will soon visualize Edward Abbey's words and feelings. You will also realize the time of year you are exploring the desert and canyons, watching the cloud formations, feeling the touch of the rain or snow, and experiencing the bitter cold or extreme heat. He is especially negative about the presence of an abundance of automobiles invading the National Parks and other wilderness areas."
"Now a handful of people stepping on the soil won't creat irrevocable harm but thousands of boots, shoes, sneakers and sandals each week have a way of doing just that. The damned roads the park service built to ferry auto tourists in to nearly every notable geographic feature is why and Ed Abbey predicted it decades ago in Desert Solitaire. Desert solitaire is a great book, written by an actual human being with faults and worthy ideals that he might not have always lived up to but which are nonetheless valid."
"A small group of friends went to Moab and read this book before the trip."
"First bought this wonderful book in the '70s while in college."
"However, Abbey is such a pompous, exclusionary jerk, I found myself reading passages out loud to my husband just so we could laugh in amazement at how his scathing insults to anything that doesn't fit into his viewpoint."
"Great!"
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Best Coastal Ecosystems

Florida's Living Beaches: A Guide for the Curious Beachcomber
Now, the second edition of this supremely comprehensive guide has even more to satisfy the curious beachcomber, including expanded content and additional accounts with more than 1800 full-color photographs, maps, and illustrations. Blair and Dawn have merged their art, writing, photography, and design in a number of projects, including Florida's Living Beaches: A Beachcomber's Guide , Florida's Seashells , Living Beaches of Georgia and the Carolinas: A Beachcomber's Guide , and Seashells of Georgia and the Carolinas: A Beachcomber's Guide .
Reviews
"This is the perfect book for those who love exploring Florida's beaches and want to learn more about what they find."
"I came to using it after beachcombing with either pictures (preferred) or specimens."
"Good gift for an adult or young beachcomber."
"I learned a lot about beaches and sand movement from the "Beach Features" section."
"What impressed me was seeing that it covers the entire gambit of everything and anything a person may find at the beach, from shells to corals, sponges, jellyfish, land and water animals, plant/tree life, seabeans and seeds and even drift item that commonly wash ashore. As others have mentioned it's full of photographs on every page, a corresponding map telling you where in Florida you'll tend to find each particular item and during what season, and is a well organized, easy and fun to read high quality book."
"If you live in Florida, this is a must."
"What an incredible book!"
"It is so entertaining and informative that you can spend hours with it and you will certainly be referring to it often to identify things that you see on the beach or shells that you collect."
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Best Wetlands Ecosystems

Wetlands
Understand wetlands' role in the ecosystem, from local to global scales Appreciate the fact that wetlands may be the most logical and economical way to sequester carbon from the atmosphere Discover the unique characteristics that make wetlands critically important for improving water quality, reducing storm and flood damage, and providing habitat to support biodiversity Learn how wetlands are being managed or destroyed around the globe but also how we can create and restore them Examine the ways in which climate change is affecting wetland ecosystems and wetland ecosystems affect climate change. Five streamlined chapters on wetland ecosystems: tidal marshes, mangroves, freshwater marshes and swamps, and northern peatlands Four heavily updated chapters on ecosystem services covering the interrelations among wetlands, society, and climate change Updates on the world's most important wetlands, including new photos and case studies from North America, Europe, Asia, and beyond Current list of key publications and references drawn from recent international wetland conferences.
Reviews
"I used this book for a wetlands biology class I took at the University of Connecticut, and had originally rented it, but loved it so much I decided to purchase it!"
"I'm not easily shocked, but I found this to be more than a bit graphic and discomforting."
"Needed for a class, but it was a very informative book on the nature and properties of wetlands."
"A boring read, as far as textbooks go, IMO."
"I received a brand new book!"
"Great resource, the information is still relevant and it is an enjoyable read."
"Great condition and informative."
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Best Coral Reefs Ecosystems

Reef Life: A Guide to Tropical Marine Life
A gallery of more than 400 species offers readers an extensive identification guide to the most-likely encountered fishes and features each in detail: name, species, habitat, range and a description particular to the animal covered. The surveys of the tropical ocean regions and sea life around the world include: The text, written by Michael, who has worked as a scientific consultant for National Geographic and the Discovery Channel, is aimed at the novice, but it is a comprehensive resource on the many different aquatic species that make their homes in and around the world's reefs. Identifies hundreds of the most commonly encountered species in tropical marine environments all over the world... Reef Life features more than 1,000 color photographs of 800 species. He has put a collection of his pictures together to form a useful guide to tropical marine life. Six hundred pages make up a weighty volume measuring 16 x 18cm, and half of that is reproduced in the conventional form of a fish-identification book, with a photograph and details of an example of each species. There are chapters on elasmobranches, invertebrates, marine reptiles and marine mammals and all are illustrated, almost without exception, with. beautiful pictures by Brandon Cole, although Scott Michael and a few others have filled in the inevitable holes.
Reviews
"I was recently diving in Roatan Honduras and was overwhelmed by the sheer variety of life on the reefs there."
"Much larger than i thought, loads of fun facts and great colorful pictures, bought for my best friends son who loves ocean life."
"I was really surprised how good this book is."
"Really inclusive book with great color photos."
"I bought this guide because it not only has fishes, but also a lot of other life forms that you can see at a reef."
"One of the most comprehensive publications on identifying and learning about reef fish I've seen."
"It had every thing I was looking for following a live aboard live trip to the Great Barrier Reef and good information about the sea life's lives."
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