Resources By Department: New Books: Math &amp; Natural Sciences

Every Living Thing by Jason Roberts
In the eighteenth century, two men dedicated their lives to the same daunting task: identifying and describing all life on Earth. Carl Linnaeus, a pious Swedish doctor with a huckster's flair, believed that life belonged in tidy, static categories. Georges-Louis de Buffon, an aristocratic polymath and keeper of France's royal garden, viewed life as a dynamic swirl of complexities. Each began his task believing it to be difficult but not impossible: How could the planet possibly hold more than a few thousand species? Both fell far short of their goal, but in the process they articulated starkly divergent views on nature, the future of the Earth, and humanity.
Tree by Tree by Scott J. Meiners
Meiners focuses on five familiar trees--the American elm, the American chestnut, the eastern hemlock, the white ash, and the sugar maple--and shares why they matter economically, ecologically, and culturally. He highlights the challenges that have led or will lead to the disappearance of these trees from forests. In doing so, he shows us how diversity loss often disrupts intricately balanced ecosystems and how vital it is that we pay more attention to massive changes in forest composition. With practical steps for the conservation of native tree species, Tree by Tree offers the inspiration and insights we need to begin saving our forests.
A Gardener's Guide to Botany by Scott Zona
This isn't just another book on how to grow plants. Instead, it's a lushly illustrated botanical journey into what makes plants tick, delivered in layman's terms that are easily understood and appreciated by both advanced gardeners and first-timers. You'll learn how different plant parts function (do you know what stomata are and why every leaf has hundreds of them?), the traits that separate plants from animals, and how the plants we grow in our gardens and homes have developed a million different fascinating adaptations that allow them to survive and thrive.
The Plants of the Appalachian Trail by Kristen Wickert
Quickly find, identify, and learn about the amazing range of plants and fungi growing along the Appalachian Trail. It's easy with this guide, organized by type, color, and trail section. With hundreds of color photos and lively, accessible descriptions, there's so much you can learn. Whether you're enjoying a day hike, exploring with your family, or setting out on the trek of a lifetime, you'll forge a deeper connection with nature through the beautiful plants on display mile after mile.
André Michaux in North America by André Michaux
Known to today's biologists primarily as the "Michx." at the end of more than 700 plant names, André Michaux was an intrepid French naturalist. Under the directive of King Louis XVI, he was commissioned to search out and grow new, rare, and never-before-described plant species and ship them back to his homeland in order to improve French forestry, agriculture, and horticulture. To carry out his mission, Michaux traveled from the Bahamas to Hudson Bay and west to the Mississippi River on nine separate journeys. This volume is the first complete English edition of Michaux's American journals.

Fire and Flood by Eugene Linden
Starting in the 1980s, Linden tells the story of climate change decade by decade utilizing four clocks that move at different speeds: the reality of climate change; the scientific consensus about it; public opinion and political will; and finally, what Linden argues is the most important clock, business and finance-- the monied climate-change deniers have been devilishly effective at slowing and even reversing the progress of our collective awakening. Fire and Flood represents Linden's definitive case for the prosecution as to how and why we have arrived at our current dire pass, with the cliff's edge now within view.
The War Below by Ernest Scheyder
The U.S. and other countries must decide where and how to procure the materials that make our renewable energy economy possible. To build electric vehicles, solar panels, cell phones, and millions of other devices means the world must dig more mines to extract lithium, copper, cobalt, rare earths, and nickel. But mines are deeply unpopular. These tensions have sparked a worldwide reckoning over the sourcing of these critical minerals, and no one understands the complexities of these issues better than Ernest Scheyder, whose access has allowed him to report from the front lines on the key players in this global battle to power our future.
Night Magic by Leigh Ann Henion
In this glorious celebration of the night, Henion explores her home region of Appalachia, where she attends a synchronous firefly event in Tennessee, a bat outing in Alabama, and a moth festival in Ohio. In North Carolina, she finds forests alight with bioluminescent mushrooms, neighborhood trees full of screech owls, and valleys teeming with migratory salamanders. Along the way, Henion encounters naturalists, biologists, primitive-skills experts, and others who've dedicated their lives to cultivating relationships with darkness. In an age of increasing artificial light, Night Magic focuses on the amazing biodiversity that still surrounds us after sunset.
Southern Rivers by R. Scot Duncan
Combining nature, science, and stories in a series of short, illustrated chapters, Southern Rivers takes readers on an illuminating journey of the Southeast's river systems and the many communities that depend on them. Duncan cogently articulates the challenges threatening rivers, streams, and wetlands in the face of the planet's accelerating climate and extinction crises, then turns to explore the new solutions conservationists and water managers have developed to preserve them.
The End of Eden by Adam Welz
The stories we usually tell ourselves about climate change tend to focus on the damage inflicted on human societies by big storms, severe droughts, and rising sea levels. But the most powerful impacts are being and will be felt by the natural world and its myriad species. Adam Welz invites the reader to meet wild species on their own terms in a range of ecosystems that span the globe. Combining classic natural history, firsthand reportage, and insights from cutting-edge research, Welz brings us close to creatures like moose in northern Maine, parrots in Puerto Rico, cheetahs in Namibia, and rare fish in Australia as they struggle to survive.

New Books: Math & Natural Sciences

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