Best Earthquakes & Volcanoes

New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice In the bestselling tradition of Erik Larson’s Isaac’s Storm , The Great Quake is a riveting narrative about the biggest earthquake in North American recorded history -- the 1964 Alaska earthquake that demolished the city of Valdez and swept away the island village of Chenega -- and the geologist who hunted for clues to explain how and why it took place. HENRY FOUNTAIN has been a reporter and editor at the New York Times for two decades, writing about science for most of that time.

Simon Winchester, New York Times bestselling author of The Professor and the Madman , examines the legendary annihilation in 1883 of the volcano-island of Krakatoa, which was followed by an immense tsunami that killed nearly forty thousand people. “Brilliant...One of the best books ever written about the history and significance of a natural disaster.” (New York Times). “Supremely well told: a fine exception to the dull run of most geological writing.” starred Kirkus Review (Kirkus Review (starred review)).

The book is designed for a course in natural hazards for non-science majors, and a primary goal of the text is to assist instructors in guiding students who may have little background in science to understand physical earth processes as natural hazards and their consequences to society. Focus on the basic earth science of hazards as well as roles of human processes and effects on our planet in a broader, more balanced approach to the study of natural hazards. He was born and raised in California (Bachelor’s degree in Geology and Mathematics from California State University at Fresno, Master’s degree in Geology from University of California at Davis), it was while pursuing his Ph.D. in Geology from Purdue University in 1973 that Ed wrote the first edition of Environmental Geology, the text that became the foundation of the environmental geology curriculum. Ed’s academic honors include the Don J. Easterbrook Distinguished Scientist Award, Geological Society of America (2004), Quatercentenary Fellowship from Cambridge University, England (2000), two Outstanding Alumnus Awards from Purdue University (1994, 1996), A Distinguished Alumnus Award from California State University at Fresno (1998), the Outstanding Outreach Award from Southern California Earthquake Center (1999). He believes this is particularly important in today’s world where the internet offers accessibility to vast amounts of information, yet the validity of this information is often questionable or misleading.

Simon Winchester, New York Times bestselling author of The Professor and the Madman , examines the legendary annihilation in 1883 of the volcano-island of Krakatoa, which was followed by an immense tsunami that killed nearly forty thousand people. “Brilliant...One of the best books ever written about the history and significance of a natural disaster.” (New York Times). “Supremely well told: a fine exception to the dull run of most geological writing.” starred Kirkus Review (Kirkus Review (starred review)).

Created in association with Smithsonian Institution, this authoritative guide features more than 500 rocks and minerals.

RETURNING TO TELEVISION AS AN ALL-NEW MINISERIES ON FOX Cosmos is one of the bestselling science books of all time. Featuring a new Introduction by Sagan’s collaborator, Ann Druyan, full color illustrations, and a new Foreword by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, Cosmos retraces the fourteen billion years of cosmic evolution that have transformed matter into consciousness, exploring such topics as the origin of life, the human brain, Egyptian hieroglyphics, spacecraft missions, the death of the Sun, the evolution of galaxies, and the forces and individuals who helped to shape modern science. With a lyrical literary style, and a range that touches almost all aspects of human knowledge, Cosmos often seems too good to be true.” — The Plain Dealer “Sagan is an astronomer with one eye on the stars, another on history, and a third—his mind’s—on the human condition.” — Newsday “Brilliant in its scope and provocative in its suggestions . With a lyrical literary style, and a range that touches almost all aspects of human knowledge, Cosmos often seems too good to be true.” — The Plain Dealer. “Sagan is an astronomer with one eye on the stars, another on history, and a third—his mind’s—on the human condition.” — Newsday. shimmers with a sense of wonder.” — The Miami Herald “Sagan dazzles the mind with the miracle of our survival, framed by the stately galaxies of space.” — Cosmopolitan.

From Ptolemy's world map to the Hereford's Mappa Mundi, through Mercator's map of the world to the latest maps of the Moon and Google Earth, Great Maps provides a fascinating overview of cartography through the ages. Jerry Brotton is Professor of Renaissance Studies at Queen Mary College, University of London.

Using Cline's own telegrams, letters, and reports, the testimony of scores of survivors, and our latest understanding of the science of hurricanes, Erik Larson builds a chronicle of one man's heroic struggle and fatal miscalculation in the face of a storm of unimaginable magnitude. As barometers plummet and wind gauges are plucked from their moorings, Larson (Lethal Passage) cuts cinematically from the eerie "eyewall" of the hurricane to the mundane hubbub of a lunchroom moments before it capitulates to the arriving winds, from the neat pirouette of Cline's house amid rising waters to the bridge of the steamship Pensacola, tossed like flotsam on the roiling seas.

The Death and Life of the Great Lakes is prize-winning reporter Dan Egan’s compulsively readable portrait of an ecological catastrophe happening right before our eyes, blending the epic story of the lakes with an examination of the perils they face and the ways we can restore and preserve them for generations to come. In an age when dire problems like the Flint water crisis or the California drought bring ever more attention to the indispensability of safe, clean, easily available water, The Death and the Life of the Great Lakes is a powerful paean to what is arguably our most precious resource, an urgent examination of what threatens it and a convincing call to arms about the relatively simple things we need to do to protect it. “Dan Egan’s deeply researched and sharply written The Death and Life of The Great Lakes . nimbly splices together history, science, reporting and personal experiences into a taut and cautiously hopeful narrative. early acclaim, [ The Death and Life of the Great Lakes ] is easy to read, offering well-paced, intellectually stimulating arguments, bolstered by well-researched and captivating narratives.”. - Lekelia Danielle Jenkins, Science. “This book feels urgent to policymakers and laypersons alike.”. - Kerri Arsenault, Literary Hub. The Death and Life of the Great Lakes is an engaging, vitally important work of science journalism.”. - Eva Holland, The Globe and Mail. “Dan Egan has done more than any other journalist in America to chronicle the decline of this once-great ecosystem, to alert the public to new threats, and to force governments to take remedial action.”. - Grantham Prize for Excellence in Reporting on the Environment, Special Merit citation.

Using Cline's own telegrams, letters, and reports, the testimony of scores of survivors, and our latest understanding of the science of hurricanes, Erik Larson builds a chronicle of one man's heroic struggle and fatal miscalculation in the face of a storm of unimaginable magnitude. As barometers plummet and wind gauges are plucked from their moorings, Larson (Lethal Passage) cuts cinematically from the eerie "eyewall" of the hurricane to the mundane hubbub of a lunchroom moments before it capitulates to the arriving winds, from the neat pirouette of Cline's house amid rising waters to the bridge of the steamship Pensacola, tossed like flotsam on the roiling seas.

RETURNING TO TELEVISION AS AN ALL-NEW MINISERIES ON FOX Cosmos is one of the bestselling science books of all time. Featuring a new Introduction by Sagan’s collaborator, Ann Druyan, full color illustrations, and a new Foreword by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, Cosmos retraces the fourteen billion years of cosmic evolution that have transformed matter into consciousness, exploring such topics as the origin of life, the human brain, Egyptian hieroglyphics, spacecraft missions, the death of the Sun, the evolution of galaxies, and the forces and individuals who helped to shape modern science. With a lyrical literary style, and a range that touches almost all aspects of human knowledge, Cosmos often seems too good to be true.” — The Plain Dealer “Sagan is an astronomer with one eye on the stars, another on history, and a third—his mind’s—on the human condition.” — Newsday “Brilliant in its scope and provocative in its suggestions . He played a leading role in the Mariner, Viking, Voyager, and Galileo spacecraft expeditions, for which he received the NASA Medals for Exceptional Scientific Achievement and (twice) for Distinguished Public Service.

Includes a guide to mineral collecting and a list of rock-forming minerals.

RETURNING TO TELEVISION AS AN ALL-NEW MINISERIES ON FOX Cosmos is one of the bestselling science books of all time. Featuring a new Introduction by Sagan’s collaborator, Ann Druyan, full color illustrations, and a new Foreword by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, Cosmos retraces the fourteen billion years of cosmic evolution that have transformed matter into consciousness, exploring such topics as the origin of life, the human brain, Egyptian hieroglyphics, spacecraft missions, the death of the Sun, the evolution of galaxies, and the forces and individuals who helped to shape modern science. With a lyrical literary style, and a range that touches almost all aspects of human knowledge, Cosmos often seems too good to be true.” — The Plain Dealer “Sagan is an astronomer with one eye on the stars, another on history, and a third—his mind’s—on the human condition.” — Newsday “Brilliant in its scope and provocative in its suggestions . He played a leading role in the Mariner, Viking, Voyager, and Galileo spacecraft expeditions, for which he received the NASA Medals for Exceptional Scientific Achievement and (twice) for Distinguished Public Service.

With the renowned readability of the Lutgens/Tarbuck/Tasa team, the Eleventh Edition of Essentials of Geology continues to enhance both the approach and the visual presentation that has made this text a best-seller. Lutgens and Tarbuck published their first college text, Earth Science, in 1976. Not only do Tarbuck, Lutgens, and Tasa work well together creatively; they also enjoy spending time in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains near Tasa’s New Mexico studio.

A dazzling visual guide to precious and semiprecious stones, organic gems, and precious metals that showcases beautiful, specially commissioned images as well as science, natural history, mythology, and true stories of adventure and discovery. "Feast your eyes on the most beautiful encyclopedia of jewelry you will ever find."

• A New Republic Best Book of the Year • The Globalist Top Books of the Year • Winner of the Maine Literary Award for Non-fiction • Particularly relevant in understanding who voted for who in this presidential election year, this is an endlessly fascinating look at American regionalism and the eleven “nations” that continue to shape North America. —The Wall Street Journal “[ American Nations ] sets itself apart by delving deep into history to trace our current divides to ethno-cultural differences that emerged during the country’s earliest settlement.” —The New Republic , Editors’ Picks: Best Books of 2011 “Provocative reading.” —News and Observer “In American Nations , [Colin Woodard] persuasively reshapes our understanding of how the American political entity came to be. [A] fascinating new take on history.” —The Christian Science Monitor “ American Nations by journalist-historian Colin Woodard is a superb book. There is much to grapple with in this well-written book.” —The Portland Press Herald “[F]or people interested in American history and sociology, American Nations demands reading. Louis Dispatch “[I]f you want to better understand U.S. politics, history, and culture American Nations is to be required reading. By revealing this continent of rivals, American Nations will revolutionize the way Americans think about their past, their country, and themselves and is sure to spark controversy.” —The Herald Gazette “Woodard persuasively argues that since the founding of the United States, eleven distinct geographical ‘nations’ have formed within the Union, each with its own identity and set of values.” —Military History Quarterly “Colin Woodard offers up an illuminating history of North America that explodes the red state-blue state myth. Woodard’s American Nations is a revolutionary and revelatory take on America’s myriad identities, and how the conflicts between them have shaped our country’s past and mold its future.” —MaineBusiness.com “One of the most original books I read in the last year. During my five years as an Ambassador in the United States, I spent a lot of time studying the voting patterns of different states and reading American history, and I have to say I find Woodard’s thesis to be fully borne out by my own observations.” —John Bruton, former Prime Minister of Ireland “Woodard offers a fascinating way to parse American (writ large) politics and history in this excellent book.” —Kirkus (starred review) “Provocative.” —Publishers Weekly “[W]ell-researched analysis with appeal to both casual and scholarly readers.” —Library Journal.