Naturalists pioneers natural history

Buy The Naturalists: Pioneers if Natural History - Alan C Jenkins for R70.00

This item is sold brand new. It is ordered on demand from our supplier and is usually dispatched within 7 - 12 working days Since its foundation in 1860, the Oxford University Museum of Natural History's world-renowned collections have become a key centre for scientific study and its much-loved building an important icon for visitors from around the world. The museum now holds over seven million scientific specimens including five million insects, half a million fossil specimens and half a million zoological specimens. It also holds an extensive collection of archival material relating to important naturalists such as Charles Darwin, William Smith, William Jones and James Charles Dale. This lavishly illustrated book features highlights from the collections ranging from the iconic Dodo (the only soft tissue specimen of the species in existence) and the giant tuna (brought back from Madeira on a perilous sea crossing in 1846) to crabs collected by Darwin during his voyage on the Beagle, David Livingstone's tsetse fly specimens and Mary Anning's ichthyosaur. Also featured are the first described dinosaur bones, found in a small Oxfordshire village, the Red Lady of Paviland (who was in fact a man who lived 29,000 years ago) and a meteorite from the planet Mars. Each item tells a unique story about natural history, about the history of science, about collecting, or about the museum itself. They give a unique insight into the extraordinary wealth of information and the fascinating tales that can be gleaned from these collections, both from the past and for the future. Features Summary This lavishly illustrated book features highlights from the collections ranging from the iconic Dodo and the giant tuna to crabs collected by Darwin during his voyage on the Beagle... Author Kate Diston (Editor), Zoe Simmons (Editor) Publisher The Bodleian Library Release date 20181026 Pages 224 ISBN 1-85124-484-0 ISBN 13 978-1-85124-484-3

This item is sold brand new. It is ordered on demand from our supplier and is usually dispatched within 7 - 12 working days Leaf beetles are one of the largest groups of beetles, with tens of thousands of species worldwide and around 280 in Britain. They belong mainly to the family Chrysomelidae, but also to two small closely related families, the Megalopodidae and Orsodacnidae. This book provides a comprehensive overview with detailed and accessible coverage of the natural history, ecology and biology of leaf beetles. Topics cover the life history of leaf beetles, biology, their environment, natural enemies and interactions with humans. There is a thorough discussion about identification of British species, including detail on the juvenile stages (eggs, larvae, pupae) and a concise key to adults. A chapter is dedicated to study techniques and materials. The book is illustrated throughout with colour photographs and line drawings. Leaf beetles is a vital resource for entomology students and educators, naturalists, nature conservationists, those involved in agriculture, horticulture and the management of stored produce. Features Summary A detailed and accessible overview of leaf beetles covering the natural history, ecology and biology of the Chrysomelidae and its close relatives the Megalopodidae and Orsodacnidae in Britain... Author Dave Hubble Publisher Pelagic Publishing Release date 20170801 Pages 160 ISBN 1-78427-150-0 ISBN 13 978-1-78427-150-3

This item is sold brand new. It is ordered on demand from our supplier and is usually dispatched within 6 - 13 working days Falcons have been a source of inspiration to writers, artists, historians and naturalists alike. In a much-anticipated volume on one of Britain's most fascinating group of birds, Richard Sale draws on a wealth of experience and research, providing a comprehensive natural history of the four British breeding falcons. The book takes each of the four breeding species in turn (Kestrel, Merlin, Hobby and Peregrine Falcon), exploring its form, habitat, breeding biology and status, along with a chapter on the hunting techniques of each species. Features Summary Falcons have been a source of inspiration to writers, artists, historians and naturalists alike. Author Richard Sale Publisher HarperCollinsPublishers Release date 20160630 Pages 608 ISBN 0-00-751141-8 ISBN 13 978-0-00-751141-9

This item is sold brand new. It is ordered on demand from our supplier and is usually dispatched within 8 - 15 working days In 1809, when Darwin was born, much of the world was an unexplored wilderness. Our knowledge of the past was nonexistent, and our picture of our species' history little more than a set of fantastic myths and fairytales. But a new era was dawning. Five decades later, On the Origin of the Species was able to draw on the pioneering work of explorers and naturalists to produce a theory that revolutionized our conception of our world. And the revolution didn't stop with the publication of Darwin's masterwork. 150 years later, his 'dangerous idea' is still headline news, denied by many, capable of enraging and dividing, even as biologists decipher the 3-billion-year history of life as written in our very DNA. This book tells the stories of the most dramatic adventures and important discoveries in two centuries of natural history - from Alexander von Humboldt's epic journeys in South America to the hi-tech genome-reading projects making headlines today - and how they gave birth to and have nourished the evolution revolution. Features Summary In 1809, when Darwin was born, much of the world was an unexplored wilderness. Our knowledge of the past was nonexistent, and our picture of our species' history little more than a set of fantastic myths and fairytales... Author Sean B. Carroll Publisher Quercus Publishing Release date 20091001 Pages 331 ISBN 1-84916-072-4 ISBN 13 978-1-84916-072-8

This item is sold brand new. It is ordered on demand from our supplier and is usually dispatched within 7 - 13 working days Following the Wild Bees is a delightful foray into the pastime of bee hunting, an exhilarating outdoor activity that used to be practiced widely but which few people know about today. Thomas Seeley, a world authority on honey bees, vividly describes the history and science behind this lost pastime and how anyone can do it. Following the Wild Bees is both a unique meditation on the pleasures of the natural world and a guide to the ingenious methods that compose the craft of the bee hunter. Seeley explains how one finds a patch of flowers humming with honey bees, captures and sumptuously feeds the bees, and then releases and follows them, step-by-step in whatever direction they fly, back to their secret residence in a hollow tree, old building, or abandoned hive. The bee hunter's reward is a thrilling encounter with nature that challenges mind and body while also giving new insights into the remarkable behavior of honey bees living in the wild. Drawing on decades of experience as a bee hunter and bee biologist, Seeley weaves informative discussions of the biology of wild honey bees with colorful historical anecdotes, personal insights, and beautiful photos. Whether you're a bee enthusiast or just curious about the natural world, Following the Wild Bees is the ideal companion for newcomers to bee hunting and a rare treat for armchair naturalists. Features Summary Following the Wild Bees is a delightful foray into the pastime of bee hunting, an exhilarating outdoor activity that used to be practiced widely but which few people know about today... Author Thomas D. Seeley Publisher Princeton University Press Release date 20160521 Pages 184 ISBN 0-691-17026-6 ISBN 13 978-0-691-17026-8

This item is sold brand new. It is ordered on demand from our supplier and is usually dispatched within 7 - 12 working days SHORTLISTED FOR THE ROYAL SOCIETY SCIENCE BOOK PRIZE 2018 Bestselling author Simon Winchester writes a magnificent history of the pioneering engineers who developed precision machinery to allow us to see as far as the moon and as close as the Higgs boson. Precision is the key to everything. It is an integral, unchallenged and essential component of our modern social, mercantile, scientific, mechanical and intellectual landscapes. The items we value in our daily lives - a camera, phone, computer, bicycle, car, a dishwasher perhaps - all sport components that fit together with precision and operate with near perfection. We also assume that the more precise a device the better it is. And yet whilst we live lives peppered and larded with precision, we are not, when we come to think about it, entirely sure what precision is, or what it means. How and when did it begin to build the modern world? Simon Winchester seeks to answer these questions through stories of precision's pioneers. Exactly takes us back to the origins of the Industrial Age, to Britain where he introduces the scientific minds that helped usher in modern production: John `Iron-Mad' Wilkinson, Henry Maudslay, Joseph Bramah, Jesse Ramsden, and Joseph Whitworth. Thomas Jefferson exported their discoveries to the United States as manufacturing developed in the early twentieth century, with Britain's Henry Royce developing the Rolls Royce and Henry Ford mass producing cars, Hattori's Seiko and Leica lenses, to today's cutting-edge developments from Europe, Asia and North America. As he introduces the minds and methods that have changed the modern world, Winchester explores fundamental questions. Why is precision important? What are the different tools we use to measure it? Who has invented and perfected it? Has the pursuit of the ultra-precise in so many facets of human life blinded us to other things of equal value, such as an appreciation for the age-old traditions of craftsmanship, art, and high culture? Are we missing something that reflects the world as it is, rather than the world as we think we would wish it to be? And can the precise and the natural co-exist in society? Features Summary SHORTLISTED FOR THE ROYAL SOCIETY SCIENCE BOOK PRIZE 2018 Bestselling author Simon Winchester writes a magnificent history of the pioneering engineers who developed precision machinery to allow us to see as far as the moon and as close as the Higgs boson. Author Simon Winchester Publisher William Collins Publishing Release date 20180423 Pages 395 ISBN 0-00-824176-7 ISBN 13 978-0-00-824176-6

This item is sold brand new. It is ordered on demand from our supplier and is usually dispatched within 7 - 11 working days SHORTLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR. SUNDAY TIMES SPORT BOOK OF THE YEAR. From its late-Victorian flowering in the mill towns of the northwest of England, football spread around the world with great speed. It was helped on its way by a series of missionaries who showed the rest of the planet the simple joys of the game. Even now, in many countries, the colloquial word for a football manager is not 'coach' or 'boss' but 'mister', as that is how the early teachers were known, because they had come from the home of the sport to help it develop in new territories. In Rory Smith's stunning new book Mister, he looks at the stories of these pioneers of the game, men who left this country to take football across the globe. Sometimes, they had been spurned in their own land, as coaching was often frowned upon in England in those days, when players were starved of the ball during the week to make them hungry for it on matchday. So it was that the inspirations behind the 'Mighty Magyars' of the 1950s, the Dutch of the 1970s or top clubs such as Barcelona came from these shores. England, without realising it, fired the very revolution that would remove its crown, changing football's history, thanks to a handful of men who sowed the seeds of the inversion of football's natural order. This is the story of the men who taught the world to play and shaped its destiny. This is the story of the Misters. Features Summary The remarkable story of how British coaches took football to the world, and continue to influence the game around the globe Author Rory Smith Publisher Simon & Schuster Release date 20170414 Pages 336 ISBN 1-4711-5156-5 ISBN 13 978-1-4711-5156-9