Nature of Diversity
¥376.70
All living things on earth-from individual species to entire ecosystems-have evolved through time, and evolution is the acknowledged framework of modern biology. Yet many areas of biology have moved from a focus on evolution to much narrower perspectives.Daniel R. Brooks and Deborah A. McLennan argue that it is impossible to comprehend the nature of life on earth unless evolution-the history of organisms-is restored to a central position in research. They demonstrate how the phylogenetic approach can be integrated with ecological and behavioral studies to produce a richer and more complete picture of evolution. Clearly setting out the conceptual, methodological, and empirical foundations of their research program, Brooks and McLennan show how scientists can use it to unravel the evolutionary history of virtually any characteristic of any living thing, from behaviors to ecosystems. They illustrate and test their approach with examples drawn from a wide variety of species and habitats.The Nature of Diversity provides a powerful new tool for understanding, documenting, and preserving the world's biodiversity. It is an essential book for biologists working in evolution, ecology, behavior, conservation, and systematics. The argument in The Nature of Diversity greatly expands upon and refines the arguments made in the authors' previous book Phylogeny, Ecology, and Behavior.
Dartmoor (Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 111)
¥385.34
New Naturalist Dartmoor explores the complex and fascinating history of one of southern England's greatest National Parks, an area of enormous interest to naturalists and tourists alike. Dartmoor is said to be the loneliest wilderness in England. This has been said more often of Dartmoor than any other part of our country. Traditionally in the world of fiction as well as that of fact, Dartmoor has been renowned as a vast and empty moorland area, the property of nature rather than of man. It has always been the public's idea of a lonely place. Not many generations ago it was regarded with a certain amount of awe and nowadays it is one of our most important centres of recreation, an island in upland England of abundant interest to the naturalist. In 1951 it became a National Park, one of the first of several places that have been so designated in Great Britain, helping to conserve and promote both its beauty and cultural heritage. Spanning miles of open moorland, whilst also hiding small secluded river valleys, rare plants and endangered birds, Dartmoor is a place of variety, and has evolved in the public's mind from a forbidding place to that of romance and mystery. In the latest addition to the long-running New Naturalist series, Ian Mercer sets out to explore every aspect of this important area of southern Devon. Focusing not only on its extensive history and physical landscape, but also its cultural place within Great Britain, this is both a comprehensive and engaging look at the wild and rugged landscape that has inspired so many poets, painters and musicians over countless centuries.
Nietzsche's Enlightenment
¥394.36
While much attention has been lavished on Friedrich Nietzsche's earlier and later works, those of his so-called middle period have been generally neglected, perhaps because of their aphoristic style or perhaps because they are perceived to be inconsistent with the rest of his thought. With Nietzsche's Enlightenment, Paul Franco gives this crucial section of Nietzsche's oeuvre its due, offering a thoughtful analysis of the three works that make up the philosopher's middle period: Human, All too Human; Daybreak; and The Gay Science.?It is Nietzsche himself who suggests that these works are connected, saying that their "e;common goal is to erect a new image and ideal of the free spirit."e; Franco argues that in their more favorable attitude toward reason, science, and the Enlightenment, these works mark a sharp departure from Nietzsche's earlier, more romantic writings and differ in important ways from his later, more prophetic writings, beginning with Thus Spoke Zarathustra. The Nietzsche these works reveal is radically different from the popular image of him and even from the Nietzsche depicted in much of the secondary literature; they reveal a rational Nietzsche, one who preaches moderation instead of passionate excess and Dionysian frenzy. Franco concludes with a wide-ranging examination of Nietzsche's later works, tracking not only how his outlook changes from the middle period to the later but also how his commitment to reason and intellectual honesty in his middle works continues to inform his final writings.
On Sunspots
¥394.36
Galileo's telescopic discoveries, and especially his observation of sunspots, caused great debate in an age when the heavens were thought to be perfect and unchanging. Christoph Scheiner, a Jesuit mathematician, argued that sunspots were planets or moons crossing in front of the Sun. Galileo, on the other hand, countered that the spots were on or near the surface of the Sun itself, and he supported his position with a series of meticulous observations and mathematical demonstrations that eventually convinced even his rival.?On Sunspots collects the correspondence that constituted the public debate, including the first English translation of Scheiner's two tracts as well as Galileo's three letters, which have previously appeared only in abridged form. In addition, Albert Van Helden and Eileen Reeves have supplemented the correspondence with lengthy introductions, extensive notes, and a bibliography. The result will become the standard work on the subject, essential for students and historians of astronomy, the telescope, and early modern Catholicism.
Animal Personalities
¥394.36
Ask anyone who has owned a pet and they'll assure you that, yes, animals have personalities. And science is beginning to agree. Researchers have demonstrated that both domesticated and nondomesticated animals-from invertebrates to monkeys and apes-behave in consistently different ways, meeting the criteria for what many define as personality. But why the differences, and how are personalities shaped by genes and environmentHow did they evolveThe essays in Animal Personalities reveal that there is much to learn from our furred and feathered friends.?The study of animal personality is one of the fastest-growing areas of research in behavioral and evolutionary biology. Here Claudio Carere and Dario Maestripieri, along with a host of scholars from fields as diverse as ecology, genetics, endocrinology, neuroscience, and psychology, provide a comprehensive overview of the current research on animal personality. Grouped into thematic sections, chapters approach the topic with empirical and theoretical material and show that to fully understand why personality exists, we must consider the evolutionary processes that give rise to personality, the ecological correlates of personality differences, and the physiological mechanisms underlying personality variation.
The Theory of Ecology
¥394.36
Despite claims to the contrary, the science of ecology has a long history of building theories. Many ecological theories are mathematical, computational, or statistical, though, and rarely have attempts been made to organize or extrapolate these models into broader theories. The Theory of Ecology brings together some of the most respected and creative theoretical ecologists of this era to advance a comprehensive, conceptual articulation of ecological theories. The contributors cover a wide range of topics, from ecological niche theory to population dynamic theory to island biogeography theory. Collectively, the chapters ably demonstrate how theory in ecology accounts for observations about the natural world and how models provide predictive understandings. It organizes these models into constitutive domains that highlight the strengths and weaknesses of ecological understanding. This book is a milestone in ecological theory and is certain to motivate future empirical and theoretical work in one of the most exciting and active domains of the life sciences.
Wolves on the Hunt
¥412.02
The interactions between apex predators and their prey are some of the most awesome and meaningful in nature-displays of strength, endurance, and a deep coevolutionary history. And there is perhaps no apex predator more impressive and important in its hunting-or more infamous, more misjudged-than the wolf. Because of wolves' habitat, speed, and general success at evading humans, researchers have faced great obstacles in studying their natural hunting behaviors. The first book to focus explicitly on wolf hunting of wild prey, Wolves on the Hunt seeks to fill these gaps in our knowledge and understanding.Combining behavioral data, thousands of hours of original field observations, research in the literature, a wealth of illustrations, and-in the e-book edition and online-video segments from cinematographer Robert K. Landis, the authors create a compelling and complex picture of these hunters. The wolf is indeed an adept killer, able to take down prey much larger than itself. While adapted to hunt primarily hoofed animals, a wolf-or especially a pack of wolves-can kill individuals of just about any species. But even as wolves help drive the underlying rhythms of the ecosystems they inhabit, their evolutionary prowess comes at a cost: wolves spend one-third of their time hunting-the most time consuming of all wolf activities-and success at the hunt only comes through traveling long distances, persisting in the face of regular failure, detecting and taking advantage of deficiencies in the physical condition of individual prey, and through ceaseless trial and error, all while risking injury or death.By describing and analyzing the behaviors wolves use to hunt and kill various wild prey-including deer, moose, caribou, elk, Dall sheep, mountain goats, bison, musk oxen, arctic hares, beavers, and others-Wolves on the Hunt provides a revelatory portrait of one of nature's greatest hunters.
Collecting the New Naturalists (Collins New Naturalist Library)
¥442.14
Recommended for viewing on a colour tablet. The Collins New Naturalist series is the longest-running and arguably the most influential natural history series in the world with over 120 volumes published in nearly 70 years. Being a numbered series, with a very low print run for some volumes, New Naturalist publications have been and continue to be highly collectable. Second-hand copies of the rarer volumes, in very good condition, can command high prices. As such, there is considerable interest in a detailed bibliography and history of the series. Collecting the New Naturalists offers a detailed insight into the fascinating phenomenon that has gripped Britain since just after World War II and which reflects the country’s continued enthusiasm for wildlife and nature publishing generally. With previously unpublished in-depth insight into the workings of the series and its collectors, the book will comprehensively cover every aspect of the New Naturalists, from rare editions produced for Bloomsbury and the Reader’s Union to foreign editions, interviews with the iconic cover artists and well-known naturalists such as Nick Baker and Alan Titchmarsh telling the story of their own fascination with the series.
Lichens (Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 86)
¥447.14
Lichens are fascinating and beautiful organisms able to colonise a vast range of habitats, including seemingly impossible places such as bare icy mountain tops and sun-scorched coastal rocks. This book discusses all aspects of British lichens, revealing the secrets of their success. This edition is exclusive to newnaturalists.com Lichens are fascinating and beautiful organisms able to colonise a vast range of habitats, including seemingly impossible places such as bare icy mountain tops and sun-scorched coastal rocks. This book discusses all aspects of British lichens, revealing the secrets of their success. The book begins by looking at how lichens have been used throughout history in medicines, dyes, food and perfumes. It then goes on to describe what lichens are, and how they grow and reproduce. A detailed survey is given of the range of habitats in which lichens can be found: on trees, rocks, heaths and moors, chalk and limestone, mountains, rivers, lakes, the coast, walls and buildings, most famously on churches and in churchyards. Gilbert also discusses the susceptibility of lichens to air pollution, and how they can be used to detect environmental pollution. The comprehensive, reader-friendly text, over 150 illustrations and 16 pages of colour, combine to make Lichens the definitive work on this subject of great natural history interest.
Social Lives of Forests
¥447.34
Forests are in decline, and the threats these outposts of nature face-including deforestation, degradation, and fragmentation-are the result of human culture. Or are theyThis volume calls these assumptions into question, revealing forests' past, present, and future conditions to be the joint products of a host of natural and cultural forces. Moreover, in many cases the coalescence of these forces-from local ecologies to competing knowledge systems-has masked a significant contemporary trend of woodland resurgence, even in the forests of the tropics.Focusing on the history and current use of woodlands from India to the Amazon, The Social Lives of Forests attempts to build a coherent view of forests sited at the nexus of nature, culture, and development. With chapters covering the effects of human activities on succession patterns in now-protected Costa Rican forests; the intersection of gender and knowledge in African shea nut tree markets; and even the unexpectedly rich urban woodlands of Chicago, this book explores forests as places of significant human action, with complex institutions, ecologies, and economies that have transformed these landscapes in the past and continue to shape them today. From rain forests to timber farms, the face of forests-how we define, understand, and maintain them-is changing.
Economic Origins of Roman Christianity
¥447.34
In the global marketplace of ideas, few realms spark as much conflict as religion. For millions of people, it is an integral part of everyday life, reflected by a widely divergent supply of practices and philosophical perspectives. Yet, historically, the marketplace has not always been competitive. While the early Common Era saw competition between Christianity, Judaism, and the many pagan cults, Roman Christianity came eventually to dominate Western Europe.?Using basic concepts of economic theory, Robert B. Ekelund Jr. and Robert D. Tollison explain the origin and subsequent spread of Roman Christianity, showing first how the standard concepts of risk, cost, and benefit can account for the demand for religion. Then, drawing on the economics of networking, entrepreneurship, and industrial organization, the book explains Christianity's rapid ascent. Like a business, the church developed sound business strategies that increased its market share to a near monopoly in the medieval period.?This book offers a fascinating look at the dynamics of Christianity's rise, as well as how aspects the church's structure-developed over the first millennium-illuminate a number of critical problems faced by the church today.
Enduring Importance of Leo Strauss
¥453.22
The Enduring Importance of Leo Strauss takes on the crucial task of separating what is truly important in the work of Leo Strauss from the ephemeral politics associated with his school. Laurence Lampert focuses on exotericism: the use of artful rhetoric to simultaneously communicate a socially responsible message to the public at large and a more radical message of philosophic truth to a smaller, more intellectually inclined audience. Largely forgotten after the Enlightenment, exotericism, he shows, deeply informed Strauss both as a reader and as a philosophic writer-indeed, Lampert argues, Strauss learned from the finest practitioners of exoteric writing how to become one himself.Examining some of Strauss's most important books and essays through this exoteric lens, Lampert reevaluates not only Strauss but the philosophers-from Plato to Halevi to Nietzsche-with whom Strauss most deeply engaged. Ultimately Lampert shows that Strauss's famous distinction between ancient and modern thinkers is primarily rhetorical, one of the great examples of Strauss's exoteric craft. Celebrating Strauss's achievements while recognizing one main shortcoming-unlike Nietzsche, he failed to appreciate the ramifications of modern natural science for philosophy and its public presentation-Lampert illuminates Strauss as having even greater philosophic importance than we have thought before.?
Radium and the Secret of Life
¥453.22
Before the hydrogen bomb indelibly associated radioactivity with death, many chemists, physicians, botanists, and geneticists believed that radium might hold the secret to life. Physicists and chemists early on described the wondrous new element in lifelike terms such as "e;decay"e; and "e;half-life,"e; and made frequent references to the "e;natural selection"e; and "e;evolution"e; of the elements. Meanwhile, biologists of the period used radium in experiments aimed at elucidating some of the most basic phenomena of life, including metabolism and mutation.From the creation of half-living microbes in the test tube to charting the earliest histories of genetic engineering, Radium and the Secret of Life highlights previously unknown interconnections between the history of the early radioactive sciences and the sciences of heredity. Equating the transmutation of radium with the biological transmutation of living species, biologists saw in metabolism and mutation properties that reminded them of the new element. These initially provocative metaphoric links between radium and life proved remarkably productive and ultimately led to key biological insights into the origin of life, the nature of heredity, and the structure of the gene. Radium and the Secret of Life recovers a forgotten history of the connections between radioactivity and the life sciences that existed long before the dawn of molecular biology.
Powers of Pure Reason
¥453.22
The Critique of Pure Reason-Kant's First Critique-is one of the most studied texts in intellectual history, but as Alfredo Ferrarin points out in this radically original book, most of that study has focused only on very select parts. Likewise, Kant's oeuvre as a whole has been compartmentalized, the three Critiques held in rigid isolation from one another. Working against the standard reading of Kant that such compartmentalization has produced,?The Powers of Pure Reason?explores forgotten parts of the First Critique in order to find an exciting, new, and ultimately central set of concerns by which to read all of Kant's works. ?Ferrarin blows the dust off of two egregiously overlooked sections of the First Critique-the Transcendental Dialectic and the Doctrine of Method. There he discovers what he argues is the Critique's greatest achievement: a conception of the unity of reason and an exploration of the powers it has to reach beyond itself and legislate over the world. With this in mind, Ferrarin dismantles the common vision of Kant as a philosopher writing separately on epistemology, ethics, and aesthetics and natural teleology, showing that the three Critiques are united by this underlying theme: the autonomy and teleology of reason, its power and ends. The result is a refreshing new view of Kant, and of reason itself.
Idea of Hegel's "e;Science of Logic"e;
¥453.22
Although Hegel considered?Science of Logic?essential to his philosophy, it has received scant commentary compared with the other three books he published in his lifetime. Here philosopher Stanley Rosen rescues the?Science of Logic?from obscurity, arguing that its neglect is responsible for contemporary philosophy's fracture into many different and opposed schools of thought. Through deep and careful analysis, Rosen sheds new light on the precise problems that animate Hegel's overlooked book and their tremendous significance to philosophical conceptions of logic and reason.Rosen's overarching question is how, if at all, rationalism can overcome the split between monism and dualism. Monism-which claims a singular essence for all things-ultimately leads to nihilism, while dualism, which claims multiple, irreducible essences, leads to what Rosen calls "e;the endless chatter of the history of philosophy."e; The?Science of Logic, he argues, is the fundamental text to offer a new conception of rationalism that might overcome this philosophical split. Leading readers through Hegel's book from beginning to end, Rosen's argument culminates in a masterful chapter on the Idea in Hegel. By fully appreciating theScience of Logic?and situating it properly within Hegel's oeuvre, Rosen in turn provides new tools for wrangling with the conceptual puzzles that have brought so many other philosophers to disaster.
Hardship and Happiness
¥453.22
Lucius Annaeus Seneca (4 BCE-65 CE) was a Roman Stoic philosopher, dramatist, statesman, and advisor to the emperor Nero, all during the Silver Age of Latin literature. The Complete Works of Lucius Annaeus Seneca is a fresh and compelling series of new English-language translations of his works in eight accessible volumes. Edited by Elizabeth Asmis, Shadi Bartsch, and Martha C. Nussbaum, this engaging collection helps restore Seneca-whose works have been highly praised by modern authors from Desiderius Erasmus to Ralph Waldo Emerson-to his rightful place among the classical writers most widely studied in the humanities.Hardship and Happiness?collects a range of essays intended to instruct, from consolations-works that offer comfort to someone who has suffered a personal loss-to pieces on how to achieve happiness or tranquility in the face of a difficult world. Expertly translated, the essays will be read and used by undergraduate philosophy students and experienced scholars alike.
Bird Atlas 2007-11
¥456.07
Bird Atlas 2007-2011 is the definitive statement on breeding and winter bird distributions in Britain and Ireland. It builds on previous atlases (1968-1972 Breeding Atlas, 1981-1984 Winter Atlas, 1988-1991 Breeding Atlas) to show how the fortunes of the birds of Britain and Ireland have changed over the last 40 years. Bird Atlas 2007-2011 presents over 1300 detailed maps for nearly 300 species, showing where each breeds and winters, where they are most and least abundant and where status is changing. The species accounts and chapters bring together the latest scientific findings to explain these patterns and highlight the major issues facing our changing bird faunas.
A Country Parish (Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 9)
¥456.66
The natural history of an ordinary English country parish was one of the first subjects that suggested themselves when the New Naturalist series was planned. Collins are delighted to announce the republication in facsimile form of the first editions of the very first volumes in the New Naturalist Library. Originally planned in the darkest days of World War II and first published in 1945, this series is the longest running nature series in the world. It is a reflection of the quality of the authors and the books they wrote, that they are still sought after 73 years later. The books will be identical in every way to the original first editions, including the iconic jackets by Clifford and Rosemary Ellis. The natural history of an ordinary English country parish was one of the first subjects that suggested themselves when the New Naturalist series was planned. Being chiefly farmland and therefore practically all man-made, most country parishes are extremely complex from the naturalist's point of view and also inevitably contain a vast amount of human history. Any attempt to describe their plants and animals has to be closely related with the ways of man himself, who must be regarded as the chief element in the community - a fact which has been obvious enough to naturalists ever since the days of Gilbert White. For this book we were fortunate to find an author who combined a thorough all-round knowledge of natural history with a sound insight into human customs, history, pastimes and farming methods. Arnold Boyd lived in Cheshire all his life - and in keeping with the best tradition of English amateur naturalists, he excelled as a collector of facts, as is apparent from his previous books, his writing in the Manchester Guardian and other journals, and in his assistant editorship of British Birds. By weaving together his collection of facts he presents us with a book of remarkable unity and which shows a wide grasp of every aspect of the living communities. This charming yet erudite portrait will protect his beloved parish for ever from the ravages of human forgetfulness.
Grass and Grassland (Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 48)
¥456.66
The use of natural and seeded grass pastures for the feeding of livestock and other unfamiliar uses for the ubiquitous grass family are described in this succinct and beautifully illustrated work. This edition is exclusive to newnaturalists.com The New Naturalist series has already covered many facets of the interrelationship between man and nature, but the grass family is probably the most important man in the whole plant kingdom - just how important is shown in this book. Dr. Moore, the Principal of Seale Hayne Agricultural College in Devon, is our leading authority on grasses and their utilization. His special interest is the use of natural and seeded grass pastures for the feeding of livestock. Striking advances have been made in recent years in the improvement of such pastures and Dr. Moore deals very fully with this vital link in the feeding of the human race; but he also covers that other equally important role of the grass family in our economy, the cultivation of cereal crops for the production of grain. Grass lawns and playing fields form a centre-piece in most British gardens and public parks and there is a chapter on these, but the horticultural value of grasses as ornamental plants in herbaceous borders and woodland gardens is less well known. These and many other unfamiliar uses for the ubiquitous grass family are described in this succinct and beautifully illustrated work.
Pesticides and Pollution (Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 50)
¥456.66
Pesticides and Pollution examines the problems of pollution of air, land, river, and the sea, by herbicides, pesticides, sewage, industrial effluents, gases, radiation, leakages, over-drainage, mistakes and mismanagement, in Britain today. From an objective and scientific standpoint, Dr. Mellanby examines the problems of pollution of air, land, river, and the sea, by herbicides, pesticides, sewage, industrial effluents, gases, radiation, leakages, over-drainage, mistakes and mismanagement, in Britain to-day. He sets out to placate neither farmers nor naturalists, but to explain in each case what is happening, to point to both dangers and practical necessities, and to discuss what steps should be taken. Dr. Mellanby is Director of the Nature Conservancy's Monks Wood Experimental Station, was head of the Entomology department at Rothamsted, and for many years before that did research in medical entomology both in Britain and the tropics.
British Birds of Prey (Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 60)
¥456.66
Leslie Brown's account of our 15 resident, 7 vagrant and 2 migrant species of eagles, falcons, hawks and vultures in Britain presents a great mass of scientific information about our birds of prey in a manner as attractive to the general reader as to the dedicated ornithologist. The diurnal raptors are among the most arresting and dramatic of British bird species, from the magnificent and immense golden eagle of the Highlands to the more widespread but equally spectacular peregrine falcon and the frequent and adaptable kestrel of motorways and urban ledges. Leslie Brown's account of our 15 resident, 7 vagrant and 2 migrant species of eagles, falcons, hawks and vultures in Britain presents a great mass of scientific information about these birds in a manner as attractive to the general reader as to the dedicated ornithologist. Each of the resident species is discussed in detail - its status, past and present; its feeding and hunting behaviour; its life history; its breeding behaviour; migration and the threats to its survival. Then the biology of the birds of prey, changes in their habitat and status, their food habits, breeding behaviour, their territories and populations are examined in depth in separate chapters. An acknowledged world authority on birds of prey - co-author with Dean Amadon of Eagles, Hawks and Falcons of the World, and author of many other books besides - Leslie Brown is immensely enthusiastic; and the many tables, maps, figures and bibliography are all indicative of the thoroughness of his research. Also illustrated with 40 superb black and white photographs.