New and Recent Titles

1) Alderfer, Jonathan and Jon L. Dunn. National Geographic Birding Essentials. 2007. National Geographic Society. Paperback: 224 pages. Price: $15.95 U.S.

SUMMARY: For beginning and intermediate enthusiasts, National Geographic Birding Essentials is a must. Comprehensive and authoritative, yet engaging and user-friendly, it teaches readers how to begin and improve their birding: what to look and listen for and how to make sense of what they see and hear. A unique visual component shows actual field guide pages and how to read them, while another compares the same bird in photography versus artwork and explains how to use both for species identification. National Geographic's quality photography is a major highlight of the book, supplemented by pencil drawings and full-color maps to give birders a full range of visual information.
RECOMMENDATION: A useful book for beginning and intermediate birders.

 
2) Brinkley, Douglas. The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America. 2009. Harper Perennial. Paperback: 940 pages. Price: $19.99 U.S.

SUMMARY: From New York Times bestselling historian Douglas Brinkley comes a sweeping historical narrative and eye-opening look at the pioneering environmental policies of President Theodore Roosevelt, avid bird-watcher, naturalist, and the founding father of America’s conservation movement—now approaching its 100th anniversary.
RECOMMENDATION: Now available in paperback.

 
 
 
 
 
3) Reid, Fiona A. et al. The Wildlife of Costa Rica: A Field Guide. 2010. Cornell University Press. Paperback: 267 pages. Price: $29.95 U.S.

SUMMARY:This full-color field guide is an indispensable companion to the most popular neotropical ecotourism destination: Costa Rica. Featuring all the mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and arthropods that one is likely to see on a trip to the rainforest (as well as those secretive creatures such as the jaguar that are difficult to glimpse), The Wildlife of Costa Rica is the guide to have when encountering trogons, tapirs, and tarantulas. In addition to providing details for identifying animals along with interesting facts about their natural history, this guide offers tips for seeing them in the wild.
RECOMMENDATION: For naturalists visting or living in Costa Rica.

 
 
4) Wallace, Alfred Russel. The Malay Archipelago. 2008. Periplus. Paperback: 488 pages. Price: $24.95 U.S.

SUMMARY:The Malay Archipelago is an extraordinarily accessible book written by noted British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace. A century and a half after it was published, this book remains one of the great classics of natural history and travel, on par with Charles Darwin's work. Full of a wealth of detail about pre-modern life in the Indonesian archipelago, The Malay Archipelago is a fascinating look at natural selection.
RECOMMENDATION: For those with an interest in Victorian era science and travel writing.

The weekly Birdbooker Report

 My WEEKLY Birdbooker Report can be found here:

http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2010/05/birdbooker_report_117.php

FEATURED TITLE

      Fukuchi, Mitsuo and Harvey J. Marchant. Antarctic Fishes. 2006. Johns Hopkins University Press. Hardbound: 136 pages. Price: $45.00 U.S.

SUMMARY:This book describes the physical characteristics, habits, and distribution of fifty—four species of these fascinating fish. Each description is accompanied by a delicate full—page illustration executed in the unique gyotaku method as employed by master artist Boshu Nagase. The result is an impressive tribute to these little—known fishes.
     Antarctic Fishes is an important contribution to our knowledge of a unique environment and extraordinary species equipped with their own "antifreeze." A book for anyone seeking to truly understand the diversity of fishes in the world, Antarctic Fishes will also find a welcome home among fans of Asian and nature art, as well as the growing number of gyotaku collectors.
RECOMMENDATION: For those interested in marine fish and/or nature art.

New Title

        Moffett, Mark W. Adventures among Ants: A Global Safari with a Cast of Trillions. 2010.

University of California Press. Hardbound: 280 pages. Price: $29.95 U.S.
SUMMARY: Intrepid international explorer, biologist, and photographer Mark W. Moffett, “the Indiana Jones of entomology,” takes us around the globe on a strange and colorful journey in search of the hidden world of ants. In tales from Nigeria, Indonesia, the Amazon, Australia, California, and elsewhere, Moffett recounts his entomological exploits and provides fascinating details on how ants live and how they dominate their ecosystems through strikingly human behaviors, yet at a different scale and a faster tempo. Moffett’s spectacular close-up photographs shrink us down to size, so that we can observe ants in familiar roles; warriors, builders, big-game hunters, and slave owners. We find them creating marketplaces and assembly lines and dealing with issues we think of as uniquely human—including hygiene, recycling, and warfare. Adventures among Ants introduces some of the world’s most awe-inspiring species and offers a startling new perspective on the limits of our own perception.
RECOMMENDATION: Anyone interested in insects will like this book.

DISCOUNT ALERT

My readers can get a 55% discount on this book from Johns Hopkins University Press: Birds of the World by Les Beletsky. The normal retail price is $50.00 U.S., you can get it for $22.50 U.S.! Here's how:

"The special code your readers can use to get a 55% discount off the list price of $50.00 is "HBBA"

Using that code, they can order via our order desk-1.800.537.5487
Or e-mail: hfscustserv@press.jhu.edu
or our website: www.press.jhu.edu
Customers are responsible for shipping charges and state sales tax if the books are shipping to:
CA, CT, DC, FL, GA, HI, MD, MO, NJ, NY, PA, TX and charged GST if shipped to Canada."

New and Recent Titles

    

1) Burney, David A. Back to the Future in the Caves of Kaua'i: A Scientist's Adventures in the Dark. 2010. Yale University Press. Hardbound: 198 pages. Price: $28.00 U.S.

SUMMARY:For two decades, paleoecologist David Burney and his wife, Lida Pigott Burney, have led an excavation of Makauwahi Cave on the island of Kaua‘i, uncovering the fascinating variety of plants and animals that have inhabited Hawaii throughout its history. From the unique perspective of paleoecology—the study of ancient environments—Burney has focused his investigations on the dramatic ecological changes that began after the arrival of humans one thousand years ago, detailing not only the environmental degradation they introduced but also asking how and why this destruction occurred and, most significantly, what might happen in the future.
RECOMMENDATION: For those interested in the paleoecology of Hawaii.


2) Onley, Derek and Sandy Bartle. Identification of Seabirds of the Southern Ocean. 1999 (2006). Te Papa Press. Hardbound: 81 pages. Price: $22.50 U.S.
SUMMARY: This book has been written to help scientific observers identify those seabirds likely to be caught in the Southern Ocean, and takes into account the requirements of the CCAMLR Scheme of International Scientific Observation. It covers the identification of 36 species of birds from the Southern Ocean that have been caught in fishing gear or have been seen feeding from fishing boats. By following the keys to identification, observers should be able to identify most seabirds caught in commercial fisheries in the Southern Ocean with confidence.
RECOMMENDATION: Seabirders in the North Pacific will find this book useful.

The weekly Birdbooker Report

My WEEKLY Birdbooker Report can be found here:

http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2010/05/birdbooker_report_116.php