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Operation Ouch!: The HuManual
by Dan Green Ben Elcomb Dr Chris Van Tulleken Dr Xand Van TullekenTake a tour of one of the most complex, diverse and downright unusual places on the entire planet - the human body! Find out all about what makes YOU tick, from the wonders of the human brain to the tingling in your ticklish toes. From crazy bodily functions to bizarre real-life medical cases, this is the ultimate guide to getting to know yourself, inside and out!Operation Ouch! is a BAFTA-winning CBBC series, from the makers of Embarrassing Bodies and 10 Years Younger. It's presented by real-life doctors (and twin brothers) Chris and Xand van Tulleken.
The Hodgeheg
by Dick King-SmithThe Hodgeheg by Dick King-Smith is a much-loved classic! Max, the hedgehogwho becomes a hodgeheg,who becomes a hero!Max's family dreams of reaching the Park. But no one has ever found a safe way of crossing the very busy road. Young Max, who is brighter than the average hedgehog, is determined to solve the problem.'A nicely told, darkly humorous story about how hedgehogs can avoid getting squashed on the road' - Guardian 'A huge favourite' - ObserverDick King-Smith served in the Grenadier Guards during the Second World War, and afterwards spent twenty years as a farmer in Gloucestershire, the country of his birth. Many of his stories are inspired by his farming experiences. He wrote a great number of children's books, including The Sheep-Pig (winner of the Guardian Award and filmed as Babe), Harry's Mad, Noah's Brother, The Queen's Nose, Martin's Mice, Ace, The Cuckoo Child and Harriet's Hare (winner of the Children's Book Award in 1995). In 2009 he was made an OBE for services to children's literature. Dick King-Smith died in 2011 at the age of eighty-eight.
Landscape with Figures: Selected Prose Writings
by Richard JefferiesRichard Jefferies was the most imaginative and least conventional of nineteenth-century observers of the natural world. Trekking across the English countryside, he recorded his responses to everything from the texture of an owl's feather and 'noises in the air' to the grinding hardship of rural labour. This superb selection of his essays and articles shows a writer who is brimming with intense feeling, acutely aware of the land and those who work on it, and often ambivalent about the countryside. Who does it belong to? Is it a place, an experience or a way of life? In these passionate and idiosyncratic writings, almost all our current ideas and concerns about rural life can be found.Richard Jefferies (1848-1887) was the son of a Wiltshire farmer. He never worked the land but made his living from writing, trekking across the countryside with his notebook. He spent much of his life struggling against poverty and tuberculosis, which would eventually kill him at the age of thirty-nine. As well as being in many ways the father of English nature writing, Jefferies also wrote the classic children's book Bevis and the apocalyptic science-fiction novel After London.Richard Mabey's introduction to his selection of Jefferies' work discusses the author's life, his views on the paradoxes of rural life and his place in the tradition of nature writers.
Wildwood: A Journey Through Trees
by Roger DeakinRoger Deakin's Wildwood is a much loved classic of nature writingWildwood is about the element wood, as it exists in nature, in our souls, in our culture and our lives.From the walnut tree at his Suffolk home, Roger Deakin embarks upon a quest that takes him through Britain, across Europe, to Central Asia and Australia, in search of what lies behind man's profound and enduring connection with wood and with trees.Meeting woodlanders of all kinds, he lives in shacks and cabins, travels in search of the wild apple groves of Kazakhstan, goes coppicing in Suffolk, swims beneath the walnut trees of the Haut-Languedoc, and hunts bush plums with Aboriginal women in the outback.Perfect for fans of Robert Macfarlane and Colin Tudge, Roger Deakin's unmatched exploration of our relationship with trees is autobiography, history, traveller's tale and incisive work in natural history. It will take you into the heart of the woods, where we go 'to grow, learn and change''Enthralling' Will Self, New Statesman'Extraordinary . . . some of the finest naturalist writing for many years' Independent'Masterful, fascinating, excellent' Guardian'An excellent read - lyrical and literate and full of social and historical insights of all kinds' Colin Tudge, Financial Times'Enchanting, very funny, every page carries a fascinating nugget. Should serve to make us appreciate more keenly all that we have here on earth . . . one of the greatest of all nature writers' Craig Brown, Mail on Sunday'Breathtaking, vividly written . . . reading Wildwood is an elegiac experience' Sunday TimesRoger Deakin, who died in August 2006, shortly after completing the manuscript for Wildwood, was a writer, broadcaster and film-maker with a particular interest in nature and the environment. He lived for many years in Suffolk, where he swam regularly in his moat, in the river Waveney and in the sea, in between travelling widely through the landscapes he writes about in Wildwood. He is the author of Waterlog, Wildwood and Notes from Walnut Tree Farm.
Heat: How We Can Stop the Planet Burning
by George MonbiotStarted to worry about just how hot our world is going to get, and whether you can do anything about it? As the effect of climate change grows by the day, so does the amount of hot air and bluster spouted by politicians and businessmen on what we should do about it. What with the excuses, the lies, the fudged figures, the PR greenwashing and the downright misinformation on the power of everything from wind turbines to carbon trading, when it comes to saving the world, most people don't know what they're talking about. Luckily, George Monbiot - scourge of big business, riler of governments, arch-enemy of climate change deniers everywhere - does. Packed with killer facts and inspiring ideas, shot through with passion and underlined by brilliant investigative journalism, with a copy of Heat you really can protect the planet. 'I defy you to read this book and not feel motivated to change' The Times
The Revenge of Gaia: Why the Earth is Fighting Back and How We Can Still Save Humanity (Penguin Celebrations Ser.)
by James LovelockFor millennia, humankind has exploited the Earth without counting the cost. Now, as the world warms and weather patterns dramatically change, the Earth is beginning to fight back. James Lovelock, one of the giants of environmental thinking, argues passionately and poetically that, although global warming is now inevitable, we are not yet too late to save at least part of human civilization. This short book, written at the age of eighty-six after a lifetime engaged in the science of the earth, is his testament.
How to Fish
by Christopher YatesSitting on a riverbank, with rod and line, must count as one of the most relaxing and enjoyable – yet occasionally frustrating – experiences known to man.Chris Yates discovered the joys of fishing early in life and was quickly hooked by its pleasures. Many years later, he is still content to sit, day after day, observing the quirks of different fish and losing track of time. For him, fishing is much more than just a question of technique; sometimes it’s about listening to nothing but your instincts, and at other times it’s about enjoying the perfect cup of tea. And it’s always about not knowing how the day is going to unfold . . .There’s no better guide for the uninitiated – and no better companion for those already familiar with the satisfactions of fishing – than Chris Yates. And immersing yourself in How To Fish is almost as delightful an activity as fishing itself.
Amazon: An Extraordinary Journey Down The Greatest River On Earth
by Bruce ParryExplorer Bruce Parry is embarking on yet another epic journey: down the Amazon - the world's greatest river, its largest forest, the most bio-diverse habitat on the planet and home to some of the last uncontacted tribes left on Earth. It's one hell of a trip, as Parry travels over 6,000 kms by foot, light aircraft and boat to meet and live with tribesmen, coca growers, loggers and illegal miners.Written in diary form, Amazon gives a rare insight into the ways of life that have existed since the dawn of time and are about to disappear forever.Illness, accidents, and all manner of unforeseen mishaps test Parry's strength every step of the way, but fans will know from Tribe that this man's thirst for new experiences, and his amazing resilience, knows no boundaries. Armchair travel and adventure doesn't get any better than this.
The Natural History of Selborne: Observations On Various Parts Of Nature
by Gilbert White Richard MabeyMore than any other writer Gilbert White (1720-93) has shaped the relationship between man and nature. A hundred years before Darwin, White realised the crucial role of worms in the formation of soil and understood the significance of territory and song in birds. His precise, scrupulously honest and unaffectedly witty observations led him to interpret animals' behaviour in a unique manner. This collection of his letters to the explorer and naturalist Daines Barrington and the eminent zoologist Thomas Pennant - White's intellectual lifelines from his country-village home - are a beautifully written, detailed evocation of the lives of the flora and fauna of eighteenth-century England.
How We Can Save the Planet: Preventing Global Climate Catastrophe
by Tina Fawcett Mayer HillmanMayer Hillman, one of Britain's most original and influential thinkers, here offers the reader both a stunning analysis of the looming environmental catastrophe and a blueprint for avoiding it. The blueprint is practical at a personal level but the challenge he throws out is to governments and business: do they have the political courage to take the necessary steps to avert the end of the world? He anticipates the counter-arguments and gives the reader the ammunition to challenge the prevailing inaction in these areas.Stimulating, challenging, frightening but also practical, this is a book that will help you make a difference.
The Vanishing Face of Gaia: A Final Warning
by James LovelockJames Lovelock described his previous book, The Revenge of Gaia, as 'a wake-up call for humanity'. Stark though it was in many respects, in The Vanishing Face of Gaia Lovelock says that even though the weather seems cooler and pollution lessens as the recession bites, the environmental problems we will face in the twenty-first century are even more terrifying than he previously realised. The Arctic and Antarctic ice-caps are melting very quickly, and water shortages and natural disasters are more common occurrences than at any time in recent history. The civilisations of many countries will be jeopardised and life as we know it severely disrupted.Almost all predictions of the likely rate of climate change have been based on estimates which professional observers in the real worldnow show are consistently underestimating the true rate of change. As a global community we continue to be fixated by conventional 'green' ideas which we believe will help save our world. Lovelock argues that only Gaia theory, which he originated over forty years ago, can really help us understand the crisis fully. The root problem is that there are too many people and animals for the Earth to carry. And there is in fact only one possible procedure which might bring a permanent cure for climate change, but we are unlikely to adopt it.'Our wish to continue business as usual will probably prevent us from saving ourselves' says Lovelock, so we must adapt as best we can and try to ensure that enough of us survive to allow a more capable species to evolve from us. There could hardly be a more important message for humankind. James Lovelock has been an active and accurate observer of the Earth environment since the 1960s and was the first to find CFCs and other gases accumulating in the air. His Gaia theory provides insight into climate change in the coming century.This is his final warning.
Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why The World Needs A Green Revolution - and How We Can Renew Our Global Future
by Thomas L. FriedmanThomas L. Friedman's phenomenal number-one bestseller The World is Flat has helped millions of readers see the world in a new way. In this essential new book, Friedman takes a fresh and provocative look at two of the biggest challenges we face today: the global environmental crisis and America's surprising loss of focus and national purpose since 9/11. It is a groundbreaking account of where we stand now, and he shows us how the solutions to these two big problems are linked - how we can restore the world and revive America at the same time. Friedman explains how global warming, rapidly growing populations, and the astonishing expansion of the world's middle class through globalization have produced a planet that is 'hot, flat, and crowded'. In just a few years, it will be too late to fix things - unless there is a worldwide effort to replace our wasteful, inefficient energy practices with a strategy for clean energy, energy efficiency, and conservation that Friedman calls Code Green. This is a great challenge, Friedman explains, but also a great opportunity, and one that we cannot afford to miss. He argues that this cannot happen without American commitment and leadership. In vivid, entertaining chapters, Friedman makes it clear that the green revolution we need is like no revolution the world has seen. It will be the biggest innovation project in history; it will be hard, not easy; and it will change everything, from what you put into your car to what you see on your electric bill. But the payoff will be more than just cleaner air. It will inspire us to summon all the intelligence, creativity, boldness and concern for the common good that are our greatest human resources.Hot, Flat, and Crowded is classic Thomas L. Friedman: fearless, incisive, forward-looking, and rich in surprising common sense about the challenge - and the promise - of the future.
The Wild Trees: A Story of Passion and Daring with the World's Last True Explorers
by Richard PrestonWhen Steve Sillett was 19 years old, he free-climbed – with no safety equipment and no training – one of the tallest trees on earth, in the redwood forests of Prairie Creek, California. 30 storeys above the ground he glimpsed an undiscovered ecosystem, and his passion for that astonishing world would transform the rest of his life. Over the next twenty years, Sillett and a close group of friends charted this system, discovering mosses and lichen never seen before, and travelling among branches so densely interwoven they form incredible sky-high walkways. There are only twenty people on earth who have climbed the world’s tallest trees and who know their location. In writing The Wild Trees, Richard Preston not only managed to gain access to this group, but began to climb these hidden giants himself, putting his life in danger in order to understand the powerful connection between the massive trees and the world’s last great explorers.
Mountain: Exploring Britain's High Places
by Griff Rhys JonesGriff Rhys Jones was a mountain virgin. So when it was suggested that he might like to go up a few of Britain’s peaks, he rightly asked: isn’t there someone better qualified? Apparently not. So Griff was duly dispatched across the rooftops of England, Scotland and Wales to explore some of the roughest, most arduous – not to mention most beautiful – terrain, and to meet those who live daily in such thin-aired wilds. Climbing the big mountains like Snowdon, Ben Nevis and Scafell Pike and many others besides gave Griff an insight into the passion and devotion our high places inspire – and turned a mountain virgin into a mountaineer. Well almost …
The Plundered Planet: How to Reconcile Prosperity With Nature
by Paul CollierHow can we help poorer countries become richer without harming the planet? Is there a way of reconciling prosperity with nature? World-renowned economist Paul Collier offers smart, surprising and above all realistic answers to this dilemma. Steering a path between the desires of unchecked profiteering and the romantic views of environmentalists, he explores creative ways to deal with poverty, overpopulation and climate change -showing that the solutions needn't cost the earth. The book proposes a radical rethinking of international policies and uniquely, offers real solutions backed up by real data from research Collier has spearheaded
Ecological Intelligence: Knowing the Hidden Impacts of What We Buy
by Daniel GolemanMost of us want to make the right choices as consumers. But how can any one individual's choices make a difference? And, more importantly, what are the right choices? In this provocative new book Daniel Goleman shows that everything about what we buy and why is about to change. To date, he argues, our consumer thinking about issues such as the environment, health hazards or child labour has been one-dimensional, focusing on single problems in isolation from the rest. Our 'green' awareness is so superficial we often do more harm than good by ignoring the adverse impacts of the far vaster proportion of what we buy and do.Ecological Intelligence shows how the phenomenon of radical transparency - the availability of complete information about all aspects of a product's history - is about to transform the power of consumers and the fate of business. Companies will no longer be able to control their own reputations. For the first time what they say will matter far less than what they actually do. They will be genuinely accountable.Ecological Intelligence sends a fresh and hopeful message to readers. By mobilizing consumers to create an enormous market force for virtuous business decisions, it is the essential handbook for understanding the coming information revolution.
Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal
by Tristram StuartWith shortages, volatile prices and nearly one billion people hungry, the world has a food problem - or thinks it does.Farmers, manufacturers, supermarkets and consumers in North America and Europe discard up to half of their food - enough to feed all the world's hungry at least three times over. Forests are destroyed and nearly one tenth of the West's greenhouse gas emissions are released growing food that will never be eaten. While affluent nations throw away food through neglect, in the developing world crops rot because farmers lack the means to process, store and transport them to market. But there could be surprisingly painless remedies for what has become one of the world's most pressing environmental and social problems. Travelling from Yorkshire to China, from Pakistan to Japan, and introducing us to foraging pigs, potato farmers, freegans and food industry directors, Stuart encounters grotesque examples of profligacy, but also inspiring innovations and ways of making the most of what we have. Combining front-line investigation with startling new data, Waste shows how the way we live now has created a global food crisis - and what we can do to fix it.
Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance (American Empire Project Ser. #Vol. 185)
by Noam ChomskyHegemony or Survival is Noam Chomsky's essential polemic on American foreign policy.Noam Chomsky, the world's foremost intellectual activist, presents an irrefutable analysis of America's pursuit of total domination and the catastrophic consequences that are sure to follow.From the funding of repressive regimes to the current 'war on terror', from the toppling of governments opposing its beliefs to the invasion of Iraq, America pursues its global strategy no matter what the cost. With the rigour and insight that have made him our most important unraveller of accredited lies, Noam Chomsky reveals the truth and the true motives behind America's quest for dominance - and seeks also to show how the world may yet step back from the brink.'A devastating history of American foreign policy since 1945 as well as a dissection of the current "war on terror"' Tim Adams, Observer'Anybody who thinks about American foreign policy has to read and contemplate Hegemony or Survival' Independent'One of the radical heroes of our age. A towering intellect' GuardianNoam Chomsky is the author of numerous bestselling political books, including Hegemony or Survival, Failed States, Interventions, What We Say Goes, Hopes and Prospects, How the World Works and Occupy, all of which are published by Hamish Hamilton/Penguin.
Imperial Ambitions: Conversations with Noam Chomsky on the Post 9/11 World (American Empire Project Ser.)
by Noam ChomskyIn this important new collection of interviews with the acclaimed radio journalist David Barsamian, Noam Chomsky discuses U.S. foreign policy in the post-9/11 world. Barsamian has a unique rapport with Chomsky - having conducted more interviews and radio broadcasts with him than any other journalist - and here explores topics Chomsky has never before discussed: the 2004 presidential campaign and election; the future of Social Security; the increasing threat of global warming; and new dangers presented by the United States' ever-deepening entanglement in Iraq. The result is an illuminating dialogue with one of the world's leading thinkers - and a startling picture of the turbulent world in which we live.
A Ship of the Line: Hornblower And The 'atropos'; The Happy Return; A Ship Of The Line (A Horatio Hornblower Tale of the Sea #7)
by C. S. ForesterMay, 1810 – and thirty-nine-year-old Captain Horatio Hornblower has been handed his first ship of the line … Though the seventy-four-gun HMS Sutherland is ‘the ugliest and least desirable two-decker in the Navy’ and a crew shortage means he must recruit two hundred and fifty landlubbers, Hornblower knows that by the time Sutherland and her squadron reach the blockaded Catalonian coast every seaman will do his duty. But with daring raids against the French army and navy to be made, it will take all Hornblower’s seamanship – and stewardship – to steer a steady course to victory and home … This is the sixth of eleven books chronicling the adventures of C. S. Forester’s inimitable nautical hero, Horatio Hornblower.
We are the Weather Makers: The Story of Global Warming
by Tim FlanneryTim Flannery’s international bestseller The Weather Makers has sold over a million copies and influenced politicians, movie stars, even business leaders - after reading it, Sir Richard Branson pledged more than 3 billion dollars towards developing sustainable energy sources. We Are the Weather Makers is a concise and revised edition that will allow readers aged from nine to ninety to learn the real facts about the biggest question of our generation. Flannery takes us on a journey through history and around the globe, writing about hurricanes and droughts, coral reefs and polar bears, and wind energy and nuclear power. He shows us how, as we continue to heat the planet, humanity faces unprecedented dangers and challenges. We are the weather makers now.
The Weather Makers: Our Changing Climate and what it means for Life on Earth
by Tim FlanneryThe Weather Makers tells the dramatic story of the earth's climate, of how it has changed, how we have come to understand it, and of what that means for the future. Tim Flannery's gripping narrative takes the reader on an extraordinary journey into the past and around the globe, bringing us closer to the science than ever before. Along the way he explodes the many illusions that have grown up around this subject.
The Secret Life of Trees: How They Live and Why They Matter
by Colin Tudge'Everyone interested in the natural world will enjoy The Secret Life of Trees. I found myself reading out whole chunks to friends' The Times, Books of the YearWhat is a tree? As this celebration of the trees shows, they are our countryside; our ancestors descended from them; they gave us air to breathe. Yet while the stories of trees are as plentiful as leaves in a forest, they are rarely told. Here, Colin Tudge travels from his own back garden round the world to explore the beauty, variety and ingenuity of trees everywhere: from how they live so long to how they talk to each other and why they came to exist in the first place. Lyrical and evocative, this book will make everyone fall in love with the trees around them.
A Year in the Woods: The Diary of a Forest Ranger
by Craig Taylor Colin ElfordColin Elford's A Year in the Woods is an enthralling journey into the heart of the English countryside - with a preamble by Craig Taylor.Colin Elford spends his days alone - alone but for the deer, the squirrels, the rabbits, the birds, and the many other creatures inhabiting the woods.From the crisp cold of January, through the promise of spring and the heat of summer, and then into damp autumn and the chill winds of winter, we accompany the forest-ranger as he goes about his work - stalking in the early morning darkness, putting an injured fallow buck out of its misery, watching stoats kill a hare, observing owls, and simply being a part of the outdoors.Colin Elford immerses himself in the richly diverse and unique landscapes of Britain, existing in rhythm with natural environments. For fans of Robert Macfarlane's Landmarks, Helen Macdonald's H is for Hawk orJames Rebanks' A Shepherd's Life, Colin's rare and uplifiting journey will unveil the true nature and beauty of Britain's countryside.'This is nature for real . . . Elford describes woodland wonders in short paragraphs of luminous intensity' Daily Mail'A poetic insight in the world of hidden Nature' Countryman'Stalking sharpens the senses and there is an almost hallucinatory clarity to Elford's writing' Observer'Refreshingly unsentimental. Contains some wonderful descriptions and sentences which are so profound they demand a second reading' Sunday ExpressColin Elford is a forest ranger on the Dorset/Wiltshire border. Craig Taylor is the author of Return to Akenfield and One Million Tiny Plays About Britain and the editor of the magazine Five Dials.
Hornblower and the Crisis: Mr. Midshipman Hornblower; Lieutenant Hornblower; Hornblower And The Hotspur; And Hornblower And The Crisis (A Horatio Hornblower Tale of the Sea #4)
by C. S. ForesterThe final Horatio Hornblower story tells of Napoleon's plans to invade England...Set in 1805, Hornblower and the Crisis finds Horatio Hornblower in possession of confidential dispatches from Bonaparte after a vicious hand-to-hand encounter with a French brig. The admiralty rewards Hornblower by sending him on a dangerous espionage mission that will light the powder trail leading to the battle of Trafalgar ...Hornblower and the Crisis was unfinished at the time of Forester's death, but the author left notes - included here - telling us how the tale would end. Also included are two further stories - Hornblower and the Widow McCool and The Last Encounter - that tell of Hornblower as a very young and very old man, respectively. This is the final book chronicling the adventures of C. S. Forester's inimitable nautical hero, Horatio Hornblower.