New Title

1) Wesson, Rob. Darwin's First Theory: Exploring Darwin's Quest for a Theory of Earth. 2017. Pegasus Books. Hardbound: 457 pages. Price: $29.95 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: An acclaimed geologist leads the reader on an adventure through the landscape that absorbed and inspired Charles Darwin.
     Everybody knows―or thinks they know―Charles Darwin, the father of evolution and the man who altered the way we view our place in the world. But what most people do not know is that Darwin was on board the HMS Beagle as a geologist―on a mission to examine the land, not flora and fauna.
     Retracing Darwin’s footsteps in South America and beyond, geologist Rob Wesson treks across the Andes, cruises waters charted by the Beagle, hunts for fossils in Uruguay and Argentina, and explores sites of long vanished glaciers in Scotland and Wales. As he follows Darwin’s path―literally and intellectually―Wesson experiences the land as Darwin did, engages with his observations, and tackles the same questions Darwin had about our ever-changing Earth.
     Upon his return from his five-year journey aboard the Beagle, after examining the effects of earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, and more, Darwin conceived his theory of subsidence and uplift‚―his first theory. These concepts and attitudes―the vastness of time; the enormous cumulative impact of almost imperceptibly slow change; change as a constant feature of the environment―underlie Darwin’s subsequent discoveries in evolution. And this peculiar way of thinking remains vitally important today as we enter the human-dominated Anthropocene age.
     Expertly interweaving science and adventure, Darwin’s First Theory is a riveting and revelatory journey around the world with one of the greatest scientific minds in history. 
RECOMMENDATION: For those with an interest in Darwin and/or geological history.

New Title

1) Rousseau, Élise and Yann Le Bris. Horses of the World. 2017. Princeton University Press. Hardbound: 536 pages. Price: $39.95 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: A beautifully illustrated and detailed guide to the world's horses.

     Horses of the World is a comprehensive, large-format overview of 570 breeds of domestic and extant wild horses, including hybrids between the two and between domestic breeds and other equids, such as zebras. This beautifully illustrated and detailed guide covers the origins of modern horses, anatomy and physiology, variation in breeds, and modern equestrian practices. The treatment of breeds is organized by country within broader geographical regions--from Eurasia through Australasia and to the Americas. Each account provides measurements (weight and height), distribution, origins and history, character and attributes, uses, and current status. Every breed is accompanied by superb color drawings--600 in total--and color photographs can be found throughout the book.
     Describing and depicting every horse breed in existence, Horses of the World will be treasured by all who are interested in these gorgeous animals.

• A unique large-format, field-guide approach that provides complete coverage of the world's 570 horse breeds
• 600 superb color illustrations showcasing every breed
• Additional color photos and maps
• Accessible text offers detailed information on each breed, including measurements, distribution, origins and history, character and attributes, uses, and current status

 RECOMMENDATION: A must have for horse lovers!

New Title

1) Álvarez-Castañeda, Sergio Ticul et al.. Keys for Identifying Mexican Mammals (revised and updated edition). 2017. Johns Hopkins University Press. Paperback: 522 pages. Price: $44.95 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: A remarkable achievement that took over 30 years to construct, Keys for Identifying Mexican Mammals is the only complete identification guide to Mexico’s mammalian fauna. Fully updated and revised, this bestselling book follows a bilingual arrangement, with identical information presented in Spanish and English on facing pages. The dichotomous presentation is both easy to follow and flawlessly compiled, including updated and expanded material that surpasses any previously available resource. Hundreds of diagnostic images are dispersed throughout the book, many showing minute details that differentiate one species from another, and introductory materials carefully explain the use of diagnostic features. The heart of the book, though, is the keys themselves, which cover every taxa―from artiodactyls and carnivores to primates and rodents―while allowing confident identification at the species level for both field and museum use.

     The book closes with appendices that cover preparation of specimens, a glossary, and a bibliography. Anyone with an interest in the mammalian fauna of Mexico, or mammals in general, will find this one-of-a-kind book an indispensable reference to Mexico’s rich diversity of wildlife.
RECOMMENDATION: For those with a SERIOUS interest in Mexican mammals.

New Titles

1) Emanuel, Victor with S. Kirk Walsh. One More Warbler: A Life with Birds. 2017. University of Texas Press. Hardbound: 273 pages. Price: $29.95 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: Victor Emanuel is widely considered one of America's leading birders. He has observed more than six thousand species during travels that have taken him to every continent. He founded the largest company in the world specializing in birding tours and one of the most respected ones in ecotourism. Emanuel has received some of birding's highest honors, including the Roger Tory Peterson Award from the American Birding Association and the Arthur A. Allen Award from the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. He also started the first birding camps for young people, which he considers one of his greatest achievements.

     In One More Warbler, Emanuel recalls a lifetime of birding adventures—from his childhood sighting of a male Cardinal that ignited his passion for birds to a once-in-a-lifetime journey to Asia to observe all eight species of cranes of that continent. He tells fascinating stories of meeting his mentors who taught him about birds, nature, and conservation, and later, his close circle of friends—Ted Parker, Peter Matthiessen, George Plimpton, Roger Tory Peterson, and others—who he frequently birded and traveled with around the world. Emanuel writes about the sighting of an Eskimo Curlew, thought to be extinct, on Galveston Island; setting an all-time national record during the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count; attempting to see the Imperial Woodpecker in northwestern Mexico; and birding on the far-flung island of Attu on the Aleutian chain. Over the years, Emanuel became a dedicated mentor himself, teaching hundreds of young people the joys and enrichment of birding. "Birds changed my life," says Emanuel, and his stories make clear how a deep connection to the natural world can change everyone's life.

RECOMMENDATION: For those that like good birding stories!

2) Tyson, Neil deGrasse. Astrophysics for People in a Hurry. 2017. W.W. Norton. Hardbound: 222 pages. Price: $18.95 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: The essential universe, from our most celebrated and beloved astrophysicist.

     What is the nature of space and time? How do we fit within the universe? How does the universe fit within us? There’s no better guide through these mind-expanding questions than acclaimed astrophysicist and best-selling author Neil deGrasse Tyson.
     But today, few of us have time to contemplate the cosmos. So Tyson brings the universe down to Earth succinctly and clearly, with sparkling wit, in tasty chapters consumable anytime and anywhere in your busy day.
    While you wait for your morning coffee to brew, for the bus, the train, or a plane to arrive, Astrophysics for People in a Hurry will reveal just what you need to be fluent and ready for the next cosmic headlines: from the Big Bang to black holes, from quarks to quantum mechanics, and from the search for planets to the search for life in the universe.
RECOMMENDATION: Fans of the author's other works should enjoy this one.

New Title

1) Haupt, Lyanda Lynn. Mozart's Starling. 2017. Little, Brown. Hardbound: 277 pages. Price: $27.00 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: On May 27th, 1784, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart met a flirtatious little starling in a Viennese shop who sang an improvised version of the theme from his Piano Concerto no. 17 in G major. Sensing a kindred spirit in the plucky young bird, Mozart bought him and took him home to be a family pet. For three years, the starling lived with Mozart, influencing his work and serving as his companion, distraction, consolation, and muse.

     Two centuries later, starlings are reviled by even the most compassionate conservationists. A nonnative, invasive species, they invade sensitive habitats, outcompete local birds for nest sites and food, and decimate crops. A seasoned birder and naturalist, Lyanda Lynn Haupt is well versed in the difficult and often strained relationships these birds have with other species and the environment. But after rescuing a baby starling of her own, Haupt found herself enchanted by the same intelligence and playful spirit that had so charmed her favorite composer.

     In Mozart's Starling, Haupt explores the unlikely and remarkable bond between one of history's most cherished composers and one of earth's most common birds. The intertwined stories of Mozart's beloved pet and Haupt's own starling provide an unexpected window into human-animal friendships, music, the secret world of starlings, and the nature of creative inspiration. A blend of natural history, biography, and memoir, Mozart's Starling is a tour de force that awakens a surprising new awareness of our place in the world.

RECOMMENDATION: Fans of the author's other works should enjoy this one!

New Titles

1) Lockhart, James Macdonald. Raptor: A Journey through Birds. 2017. University Of Chicago Press. Hardbound: 376 pages. Price: $29.00 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: From the merlin to the golden eagle, the goshawk to the honey buzzard, James Macdonald Lockhart’s stunning debut is a quest of beak, talon, wing, and sky. On its surface, Raptor is a journey across the British Isles in search of fifteen species of birds of prey, but as Lockhart seeks out these elusive predators, his quest becomes so much more: an incomparably elegant elegy on the beauty of the British landscape and, through the birds, a journey toward understanding an awesome power at the heart of the natural world—a power that is majestic and frightening in its strength, but also fragile.
     Taking as his guide the nineteenth-century Scottish naturalist and artist William MacGillivray, Lockhart loosely follows the historical trail forged by MacGillivray as he ventured from Aberdeen to London filling his pockets with plants and writing and illustrating the canonical A History of British Birds. Linking his journey to that of his muse, Lockhart shares his own encounters with raptors ranging from the scarce osprey to the successfully reintroduced red kite, a species once protected by medieval royal statute, revealing with poetic immediacy the extraordinary behaviors of these birds and the extreme environments they call home.
     Creatures both worshipped and reviled, raptors have a talon-hold on the human heart and imagination. With his book, Lockhart unravels these complicated ties in a work by turns reverent and euphoric—an interweaving of history, travel, and nature writing at its best. A hymn to wanderers, to the land and to the sky, and especially to the birds, Raptor soars.
RECOMMENDATION: For those with an interest in British raptors.

2) Lynch, Patrick J.. A Field Guide to Long Island Sound: Coastal Habitats, Plant Life, Fish, Seabirds, Marine Mammals, and Other Wildlife. 2017. Yale University Press. Flexibound: 399 pages. Price: $27.50 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: A lavishly illustrated and long-overdue guidebook to the rich natural history of Long Island Sound and its coastlines, a region beloved by millions of people.
     Long Island Sound consists of a diverse collection of unique marine, estuarine, and terrestrial ecosystems located in one of the most densely populated regions in the United States. The Sound and its coastlines are home not only to myriad species of plants and animals—from shorebirds and turtles to whales, seals, and fish—but also to more than twenty million people.  
     Until now there has been no one-stop reference for those interested in exploring the Sound’s rich natural history. Author, photographer, and scientific illustrator Patrick Lynch has filled this gap. Brimming with maps, photographs, and drawings, Lynch’s guide introduces readers to the full breadth of the Sound’s environs from shorelines to deepest waters. With coastal areas at particular risk from climate change and pollution, his timing couldn’t be better. Whether readers are interested in the area’s geology and meteorology, its history of human intervention, or simply locating nature reserves and bird sanctuaries, they’re sure to find Lynch’s compendium indispensable.
RECOMMENDATION: A nice overview on the natural history of the region.

New Title

1) Couzens, Dominic et al.. Britain's Mammals: A Field Guide to the Mammals of Britain and Ireland. 2017. Princeton University Press. Flexibound: 328 pages. Price: $29.95 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY:  Britain's Mammals is a comprehensive and beautifully designed photographic field guide to all the mammals recorded in the wild in Britain and Ireland in recent times--including marine mammals, bats and introduced species that have bred. The book features hundreds of stunning photographs and incorporates invaluable tips and suggestions to help you track down and identify even the most difficult species.

     This easy-to-use book provides an introduction to the different types of mammal. Concise species accounts focus on identification and include up-to-date information on sounds, habitat, food, habits, breeding behaviour and population and status, as well as descriptions of key field signs--including tracks, droppings and nests--that give away the presence of mammals even when they are out of sight. In addition, guidance is provided on ways of studying and observing mammals--including small-mammal trapping, bat detecting and whale watching--as well as mammal conservation, legislation and further sources of useful information. Handy and informative, this guide is the ideal companion for anyone interested in watching mammals in Britain and Ireland.

• Comprehensive coverage of every mammal recorded in Britain and Ireland
• 500 superb colour photographs carefully selected to show key identification features
• Up-to-date distribution maps
• Detailed illustrations of tracks, dentition and other identification features
• Helpful tips for identifying tracks and other signs you may find in the field
• Latest information on status, population, distribution and conservation designations
• Advice on finding and watching mammals

 RECOMMENDATION: A well illustrated overview of the region's mammals.