In 1492 Columbus set out across the Atlantic; in 1776 American colonists declared their independence. Between these two events old authorities collapsed – Luther's Reformation divided churches, and various discoveries revealed the ignorance of the an...

Today we know what no previous generation knew: the history of the universe and of the unfolding of life on Earth. Through the astonishing combined achievements of natural scientists worldwide, we now have a detailed account of how galaxies and stars...

Lichens are among the most colourful and abundant organisms in the world. They provide food and nesting material for a wide variety of wildlife, contribute nutrients to the soil, and are indicators of both undisturbed ecosystems and clean air. They l...

Human health and wellbeing is inextricably linked to nature; our connection to the natural world is part of our biological inheritance. In this engaging book, a pioneer in the field of biophilia – the study of human beings' inherent affinity for natu...

The double-crested cormorant, found only in North America, is an iridescent black waterbird superbly adapted to catch fish. It belongs to a family of birds vilified since biblical times and persecuted around the world. Thus it was perhaps to be expec...

For James Barilla and his family, the dream of transforming their Columbia, South Carolina backyard into a haven for wildlife evoked images of kids catching grasshoppers by day and fireflies at night, of digging up potatoes and picking strawberries....

A search for a radio-tagged Indiana bat roosting in the woods behind her house in New York's Hudson Valley led Akiko Busch to assorted other encounters with the natural world – local ecological monitoring projects, community-organized cleanup efforts...

Hundreds, even thousands, of books have been written about Thomas Jefferson's many accomplishments as statesman, leader of men, country farmer, inventor, lawyer, architect, and philosopher. But until now, no author has focused on the important role o...

"The Atlas of the Ethno-Political History of the Caucasus" is a magnificent collection of fifty-six original maps with commentaries that detail the ethnic, religious, and linguistic makeup of the Caucasus – the region located between the Black and Ca...

Although no one had ever followed North American monarch butterflies on their annual southward journey to Mexico and California, in the 1990s there were well-accepted assumptions about the nature and form of the migration. But to Robert Michael Pyle,...