The Land of Little Rain (1903) is a collection of essays and short stories by Mary Hunter Austin. Originally published with photographs taken by acclaimed American photographer Ansel Adams, The Land of Little Rain is a classic work of nature writing. Austin is now recognized as an early feminist and conservationist who understood the intricacy and fragility of ecosystems as well as the extent to which human civilization threatens their continued existence. In...

A school trip to the natural history museum goes awry when the curator, Ms. Krup, loses her giant cockroach and A.J. and his friends decide to explore the museum in the middle of the night.

Although climate change is seen as a very 21st-century concern, back in the eighteenth and early nineteenth century naturalists around the world in places as far apart as Mauritius in the Indian ocean and St Vincent in the Caribbean were becoming aware of what they referred to as desiccation, the drying of the land and absence of rainfall due to the cutting down of large swathes of forest trees. This book traces the connections between those naturalists,...

On March 10, 2013, 6 houses were lost, 7 condemned and 24 were declared to be in imminent danger on Plum Island in northern Massachusetts. But, it was only the latest skirmish in an ongoing battle between man and nature on this fragile barrier beach. Plum Island takes readers to the core of the earth to see how Plum Island's sands were first formed in the metamorphic forge of the earth's interior. It will then follow these minerals as they erode...

Get the Summary of Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything in 20 minutes. Please note: This is a summary & not the original book. Original book introduction: Did you know that: • Every atom in your body has almost certainly passed through several stars and been part of millions of organisms on its way to being you? • If you are an average-sized kid, you have enough potential energy inside you to explode with the force of several...

Get the Summary of Stephen Hawking's Brief Answers to the Big Questions in 20 minutes. Please note: This is a summary & not the original book. Original book introduction: Stephen Hawking was the most renowned scientist since Einstein, known both for his groundbreaking work in physics and cosmology and for his mischievous sense of humor. He educated millions of readers about the origins of the universe and the nature of black holes, and inspired millions...