Journeys in the Wild
Journeys in the Wild

Author: Gavin Thurston

Publisher: Seven Dials

Published: 2020-08-11

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781841883113

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

'Gavin's book is extraordinary: his easy prose and gasp-making encounters make for a gripping and very funny read. It's a rollercoaster ride with a complete professional. I loved it.' JOANNA LUMLEY '[Gavin is] a great cameraman with infinite patience, but also a writer with great powers of observation and expression. Brilliant!' ALAN TITCHMARSH *** From Gavin Thurston, the award-winning Blue Planet II and Planet Earth II cameraman with a foreword by Sir David Attenborough comes extraordinary and adventurous true stories of what it takes to track down and film our planet's most captivating creatures. Gavin has been a wildlife photographer for over thirty years. Against a backdrop of modern world history, he's lurked in the shadows of some of the world's remotest places in order to capture footage of the animal kingdom's finest: prides of lions, silverback gorillas, capuchin monkeys, brown bears, grey whales, penguins, mosquitoes - you name it he's filmed it. From journeys to the deepest depths of the Antarctic Ocean and the wide expanse of the Saharan deserts, to the peaks of the Himalayas and the wild forests of the Congo, Gavin's experiences describe much more than just the incredible array of animals he's filmed. He invites you to come inside the cameraman's hidden world and discover the hours spent patiently waiting for the protagonists to appear; the inevitable dangers in the wings and the challenges faced and overcome; and the heart-warming, life-affirming moments the cameras miss as well as capture.

End of the Megafauna: The Fate of the World's Hugest, Fiercest, and Strangest Animals
End of the Megafauna: The Fate of the World's Hugest, Fiercest, and Strangest Animals

Author: Ross D E MacPhee

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Published: 2018-11-13

Total Pages: 144

ISBN-13: 0393249301

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The fascinating lives and puzzling demise of some of the largest animals on earth. Until a few thousand years ago, creatures that could have been from a sci-fi thriller—including gorilla-sized lemurs, 500-pound birds, and crocodiles that weighed a ton or more—roamed the earth. These great beasts, or “megafauna,” lived on every habitable continent and on many islands. With a handful of exceptions, all are now gone. What caused the disappearance of these prehistoric behemoths? No one event can be pinpointed as a specific cause, but several factors may have played a role. Paleomammalogist Ross D. E. MacPhee explores them all, examining the leading extinction theories, weighing the evidence, and presenting his own conclusions. He shows how theories of human overhunting and catastrophic climate change fail to account for critical features of these extinctions, and how new thinking is needed to elucidate these mysterious losses. Along the way, we learn how time is determined in earth history; how DNA is used to explain the genomics and phylogenetic history of megafauna—and how synthetic biology and genetic engineering may be able to reintroduce these giants of the past. Until then, gorgeous four-color illustrations by Peter Schouten re-create these megabeasts here in vivid detail.

Sum
Sum

Author: David Eagleman

Publisher: Vintage

Published: 2009-02-10

Total Pages: 128

ISBN-13: 0307378020

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

At once funny, wistful and unsettling, Sum is a dazzling exploration of unexpected afterlives—each presented as a vignette that offers a stunning lens through which to see ourselves in the here and now. In one afterlife, you may find that God is the size of a microbe and unaware of your existence. In another version, you work as a background character in other people’s dreams. Or you may find that God is a married couple, or that the universe is running backward, or that you are forced to live out your afterlife with annoying versions of who you could have been. With a probing imagination and deep understanding of the human condition, acclaimed neuroscientist David Eagleman offers wonderfully imagined tales that shine a brilliant light on the here and now.

Flying beyond the stall
Flying beyond the stall

Author: Douglas A. Joyce

Publisher:

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 409

ISBN-13: 9781626830196

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability Demonstrator was unique among experimental aircraft. A joint effort of the United States and Germany, the X-31 was the only X-plane to be designed, manufactured, and flight tested as an international collaboration. It was also the only X-plane to support two separate test programs conducted years apart, one administered largely by NASA and the other by the U.S. Navy, as well as the first X-plane ever to perform at the Paris Air Show. Flying Beyond the Stall begins by describing the government agencies and private-sector industries involved in the X-31 program, the genesis of the supermaneuverability concept and its initial design breakthroughs, design and fabrication of two test airframes, preparation for the X-31's first flight, and the first flights of Ship #1 and Ship #2. Subsequent chapters discuss envelope expansion, handling qualities (especially at high angles of attack), and flight with vectored thrust. The book then turns to the program's move to NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center and actual flight test data. Additional tasking, such as helmet-mounted display evaluations, handling quality studies, aerodynamic parameter estimation, and a "tailless" study are also discussed.The book describes how, in the aftermath of a disastrous accident with Ship #1 in 1995, Ship #2 was prepared for its outstanding participation in the Paris Air Show. The aircraft was then shipped back to Edwards AFB and put into storage until the late 1990s, when it was refurbished for participation in the U. S. Navy's VECTOR program. The book ends with a comprehensive discussion of lessons learned and includes an Appendix containing detailed information.

Evolution's Rainbow
Evolution's Rainbow

Author: Joan Roughgarden

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 2013-09-14

Total Pages: 491

ISBN-13: 0520957970

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In this innovative celebration of diversity and affirmation of individuality in animals and humans, Joan Roughgarden challenges accepted wisdom about gender identity and sexual orientation. A distinguished evolutionary biologist, Roughgarden takes on the medical establishment, the Bible, social science—and even Darwin himself. She leads the reader through a fascinating discussion of diversity in gender and sexuality among fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and mammals, including primates. Evolution's Rainbow explains how this diversity develops from the action of genes and hormones and how people come to differ from each other in all aspects of body and behavior. Roughgarden reconstructs primary science in light of feminist, gay, and transgender criticism and redefines our understanding of sex, gender, and sexuality. Witty, playful, and daring, this book will revolutionize our understanding of sexuality. Roughgarden argues that principal elements of Darwinian sexual selection theory are false and suggests a new theory that emphasizes social inclusion and control of access to resources and mating opportunity. She disputes a range of scientific and medical concepts, including Wilson's genetic determinism of behavior, evolutionary psychology, the existence of a gay gene, the role of parenting in determining gender identity, and Dawkins's "selfish gene" as the driver of natural selection. She dares social science to respect the agency and rationality of diverse people; shows that many cultures across the world and throughout history accommodate people we label today as lesbian, gay, and transgendered; and calls on the Christian religion to acknowledge the Bible's many passages endorsing diversity in gender and sexuality. Evolution's Rainbow concludes with bold recommendations for improving education in biology, psychology, and medicine; for democratizing genetic engineering and medical practice; and for building a public monument to affirm diversity as one of our nation's defining principles.

Untangling the Knot, Belugas and Bears
Untangling the Knot, Belugas and Bears

Author: MIKE. POTTS

Publisher:

Published: 2019-11-29

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 9781849954440

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The beginning of the author's adventure with a camera - filming wildlife across the world for the BBC Natural History Unit and other major TV companies - began in 1978 when he joined the RSPB's film unit.Untangling the Knot gives an in-depth look into what is involved in capturing the sequences needed for a natural history film, using comprehensive diaries and over 200 photographs. Mike describes the stresses of international flying with 20 cases of film equipment, sometimes alone, to distant corners of the world. The hardships of living and working for weeks in remote regions, avoiding tropical diseases, the onslaught of forest insects, long hours of waiting from dawn to dusk, and of frustration and disappointment when the elements or circumstances conspired against him.There are times of great elation too, when animal behaviour never seen before is captured on film. Working with top biologists and highly-experienced pilots was an essential partnership in understanding the subject to be filmed, often in remote regions where the challenge was reaching the subject in rainforest canopies, on remote islands or in featureless arctic tundra .In a career spanning 35 years, several of the programmes in which he was involved have won major awards. He describes filming Attenborough in Paradise in New Guinea with Sir David Attenborough as a career highlight, where he filmed behaviour of Birds of Paradise that had never been seen before. His last programme, Jewelled Messengers was the fulfilment of an ambition to make the ultimate film on hummingbirds with producer Paul Reddish, using the latest high-speed, high-definition cameras, and which was shot mainly in Brazil and Ecuador.The story concludes when he realizes his dream of visiting the Ross Sea region of the Antarctic. Mike considers himself lucky to have worked in so many spectacular regions of the world and this book enables readers to travel with him and share his incredible experiences.

Yupʼik Eskimo Dictionary
Yupʼik Eskimo Dictionary

Author:

Publisher: Alaska Native Language Center

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 722

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The most comprehensive Yup'ik dictionary in existence, the second edition of this important work now adds extensive research on Central Alaskan Yup'ik, enhancing the forty years of research done by Steven A. Jacobson on the Yup'ik language and dialects. Over these decades, Jacobson has combed through records of explorers, linguists, missionaries, and anyone who has come in contact with the actively migratory Yup'ik people. Combined with information from native Yup'ik speakers, that research has led to a richly detailed dictionary that covers the entire language and all its dialects. The dictionary also offers sections on Yup'ik spelling, early vocabulary, demonstrative words, and important intersections of Yup'ik language and culture such as the kayak, dogsled, parka, and old-style dwellings.

The Professional Pastry Chef
The Professional Pastry Chef

Author: Bo Friberg

Publisher: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company

Published: 1996

Total Pages: 1154

ISBN-13: 9780442015978

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

If you think sumptuous desserts and healthy eating don't go together, you'll change your mind when you see the tempting, yet delightfully healthy desserts that Bo Friberg has added to the Third Edition of this ever-popular pastry cookbook. The Light Desserts chapter now offers twice as many mouth-watering desserts that will please your palate, your heart, and your waistline. The Third Edition on The Professional Pastry Chef offers hundreds of tempting, easy-to-follow recipes that range from classical to contemporary favorites. Here is a complete guide to the preparation and artful presentation of a bounty of pastries and desserts, including breads, cakes, cookies, pastries, ice creams, candies, and restaurant desserts. Instructions for every recipe have been rewritten using shortened, numbered steps to make them as easy to follow as possible. Each recipe - thoroughly tested by the author and thousands of his students - has been refined to perfection and is virtually foolproof. In brand new, consolidated introductions to each recipe, Master Pastry Chef Bo Friberg carefully explains the proper blending of ingredients, use of pastry equipment, alternate presentations, and professional techniques so you can produce professional results the first time.

Secret Language of Animals
Secret Language of Animals

Author: Janine M. Benyus

Publisher: Hachette UK

Published: 2014-04-15

Total Pages: 657

ISBN-13: 1603763651

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Unlock the secrets behind the behavior of the world's most fascinating creatures-from the Adélie penguin to the plains zebra to the giant panda-in this wonderfully written, beautifully illustrated book. In The Secret Language of Animals, biologist Janine Benyus takes us inside the animal kingdom and shows us the whys and the hows behind the distinctive behavior of creatures great and small in their natural environments. Divided geographically into five sections-Africa, Asia, North America, the oceans, and the poles-the book examines and describes the behavior, body language, and patterns of communication of 20 different animals: the gorilla, lion, African elephant, plains zebra, black rhinoceros, giraffe, ostrich, greater flamingo, Nile crocodile, giant panda, peacock, Komodo monitor, bottlenose dolphin, California sea lion, gray wolf, bald eagle, sandhill crane, beluga whale, polar bear, and Adélie penguin. For each animal, Benyus describes and explains basic behaviors (locomotion, feeding, drinking, bathing, grooming, sleeping), communication behavior (greeting, social play, group defense, conflict, aggression/submission, fighting, courtship, copulation), and parenting behavior (birth, care and feeding, teaching, communal care). The book is illustrated throughout with tender yet precise line drawings that beckon us to the animals and vividly capture everything from changing facial expressions to nurturing postures to playful and aggressive interactions. The text, too, is both intimate and informative, allowing for a deep connection with, and a great admiration for, each one of the animals.

Marine Mammal Welfare
Marine Mammal Welfare

Author: Andy Butterworth

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2017-06-19

Total Pages: 625

ISBN-13: 3319469940

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Marine mammals attract human interest – sometimes this interest is benign or positive – whale watching, conservation programmes for whales, seals, otters, and efforts to clear beaches of marine debris are seen as proactive steps to support these animals. However, there are many forces operating to affect adversely the lives of whales, seals, manatees, otters and polar bears – and this book explores how the welfare of marine mammals has been affected and how they have adapted, moved, responded and sometimes suffered as a result of the changing marine and human world around them. Marine mammal welfare addresses the welfare effects of marine debris, of human traffic in the oceans, of noise, of hunting, of whale watching and tourism, and of some of the less obvious impacts on marine mammals – on their social structures, on their behaviours and migration, and also of the effects on captivity for animals kept in zoos and aquaria. There is much to think and talk about – how marine mammals respond in a world dramatically influenced by man, how are their social structures affected and how is their welfare impacted?