Who hasn't fantasized about the unique thrill of working among charismatic and clever dolphins in the wild? We need not live this solely in our imaginations anymore. With "Dolphin Confidential" Maddalena Bearzi invites all of us shore-bound dreamers...

Confucius called them the "king of fragrant plants", and John Ruskin condemned them as "prurient apparitions". Across the centuries, orchids have captivated us with their elaborate exoticism, their powerful perfumes, and their sublime seductiveness....

On dry land, most organisms are confined to the surface, or at most to altitudes of a hundred meters – the height of the tallest trees. In the oceans, though, living space has both vertical and horizontal dimensions: with an average depth of 3800 met...