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  Wet Britches and Muddy Boots - A...

  John H. White

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  “Succeeds admirably as an introductory survey of the early American travel experience”—from the National Book Award-nominated author (Journal of Transport History).   What was travel like in the 1880s? Was it easy to get from place to place? Were the rides comfortable? How long did journeys take? Wet Britches and Muddy Boots describes all forms of public transport from canal boats to oceangoing vessels, passenger trains to the overland stage. Trips over long distances often involved several modes of transportation and many days, even weeks. Baggage and sometimes even children were lost en route. Travelers might start out with a walk down to the river to meet a boat for the journey to a town where they caught a stagecoach for the rail junction to catch the train for a ride to the city. John H. White Jr. discusses not only the means of travel but also the people who made the system run—riverboat pilots, locomotive engineers, stewards, stagecoach drivers, seamen. He provides a fascinating glimpse into a time when travel within the United States was a true adventure. “Throughout this massive work, the author repeatedly captures the romance, flavor, and color associated with travel.”—Choice “Every chapter, in any order, will constitute a well-spent and informative read. Journey with this book soon!”—National Railway Historical Society Bulletin “[A] popular history, informative and engaging . . . White has given us a book that’s as unusual as it is useful. Read it cover-to-cover or just pick out a random chapter in a stolen hour, and the book will be equally enjoyable either way.”—Railroad History

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  The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary -...

  Andrew Westoll

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  The “moving” true story of a woman fighting to give a group of chimpanzees a second chance at life (People).   In 1997, Gloria Grow started a sanctuary for chimps retired from biomedical research on her farm outside Montreal. For the indomitable Gloria, caring for thirteen great apes is like presiding over a maximum-security prison, a Zen sanctuary, an old folks’ home, and a New York deli during the lunchtime rush all rolled into one. But she is first and foremost creating a refuge for her troubled charges, a place where they can recover and begin to trust humans again.   Hoping to win some of this trust, journalist Andrew Westoll spent months at Fauna Farm as a volunteer, and in this “incisive [and] affecting” book, he vividly recounts his time in the chimp house and the histories of its residents (Kirkus Reviews). He arrives with dreams of striking up an immediate friendship with the legendary Tom, the wise face of the Great Ape Protection Act, but Tom seems all too content to ignore him. Gradually, though, old man Tommie and the rest of the “troop” begin to warm toward Westoll as he learns the routines of life at the farm and realizes just how far the chimps have come. Seemingly simple things like grooming, establishing friendships and alliances, and playing games with the garden hose are all poignant testament to the capacity of these animals to heal.   Brimming with empathy and entertaining stories of Gloria and her charges, The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary is an absorbing, bighearted book that grapples with questions of just what we owe to the animals who are our nearest genetic relations.   “A powerful look at how we treat our closest relatives.” —The Plain Dealer   “I knew the prison-like conditions of the medical research facility from which Gloria rescued these chimpanzees; when I visited them at their new sanctuary I was moved to tears. . . . Andrew Westoll is a born storyteller: The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary, written with empathy and skill, tenderness and humour, involves us in a world few understand. And leaves us marveling at the ways in which chimpanzees are so like us, and why they deserve our help and are entitled to our respect.” —Dr. Jane Goodall   “This book will make you think deeply about our relationship with great apes. It amazed me to discover the behaviors and feelings of the chimpanzees.” —Temple Grandin, author of Animals in Translation 

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  Paleozoic Era The: The History...

  Charles River Editors

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  The current view of science is that Earth is around 4.6 billion years old, and the first 4 billion years of its development are known as the Precambrian period. For the first billion years or so, there was no life in Earth. Then the first single-celled life-forms, early bacteria and algae, began to emerge. It’s unclear where they came from or even if they originated on this planet at all, but this gradual development continued until around four billion years ago when suddenly (in geological terms) more complex forms of life began to emerge.  
  	Scientists call this time of an explosion of new forms of life the Paleozoic Era, and it stretched from around 541 to 250 million years ago. In the oceans and then on land, new creatures and plants began to appear in bewildering variety, and by the end of this period, life on Earth had diversified into a myriad of complex forms that filled virtually every habitat and niche available in the seas and on the planet’s only continent, Pangea. 
  	The Precambrian Period is divided into three eons: the Hadean, the Archaean, and the Proterozoic. One layer of carbon in rocks that date to the Archaean Eon, found on islands west of Greenland, seems to have fossilized tracks that may have been left by some form of organic life, but scientists simply are not certain. The oldest confirmed remains of life date from the same eon and were found in rocks in Western Australia, which were found to contain fossilized bacteria estimated to be 3.46 billion years old. It seems likely that there were thousands, perhaps even millions of forms of life in these early periods, and most seem to have been microscopic in size and very simple in developmental terms.

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  Matter And Consciousness:...

  D.C.S. Peter Russell

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  Russell explains the difference between a paradigm and a metaparadigm and why consciousness cannot be explained within our current systems. He asserts that science is able to measure phenomena such as energy, time, and space, yet has not found a way to prove or measure consciousness. “These are all concepts in the mind…I am conscious I am having these ideas of energy and matter…it’s the irony that all of science takes place in the mind and yet science ignores the mind.” He asks us to ponder the difference between mind and matter and suggests that the brain, which is matter, does not create consciousness, but provides input into consciousness. Russell describes how all of life has the capacity for consciousness, but distinguishes the ideas of recognition, awareness, and self-awareness. Further, he offers insight into the essence of “I am,” and how our seeking is actually obstructing our natural state of contentment. (hosted by Justine Willis Toms)

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  Storm World - Hurricanes...

  Chris Mooney

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  An investigation into climate change and increasingly dangerous hurricanes from the New York Times–bestselling author of The Republican War on Science. A leading science journalist delves into a red-hot debate in meteorology: whether the increasing ferocity of hurricanes is connected to global warming.   In the wake of Katrina, Chris Mooney follows the careers of leading scientists on either side of the argument through the 2006 hurricane season, tracing how the media, special interests, politics, and the weather itself have skewed and amplified what was already a fraught scientific debate. As Mooney puts it: “Scientists, like hurricanes, do extraordinary things at high wind speeds.”   Mooney—a New Orleans native, host of the Point of Inquiry podcast, and author of The Republican Brain—has written “a well-researched, nuanced book” that closely examines whether we as a society should be held responsible for making hurricanes even bigger monsters than they already are (The New York Times).   “Mooney serves his readers as both an empiricist who gathers data and an analyst who puts it into context. The result is an important book, whose author succeeds admirably in both his roles.” —The Plain Dealer   “Engaging and readable . . . Mooney catches real science in the act and, in so doing, weaves a story as intriguing as it is important.” —Los Angeles Times Book Review   “Mooney has hit upon an important and controversial topic, and attacks it with vigor.” —The Boston Globe   “An absorbing, informed account of the politics behind a pressing contemporary controversy.” —Kirkus Reviews

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  How to Save the World for Just a...

  Rowan Hooper

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  What would you do with a trillion dollars? The ultimate thought experiment opens our eyes to ten world-changing ideas within our graspIf we can come up with a trillion dollars to bail out banks, imagine what else we could do. Science journalist Rowan Hooper decided to find out, speaking with experts of all kinds about ten incredibly ambitious projects that— if realized—would secure profound, enduring benefits: trying to end global poverty, reverse climate change, extend our lifespans, refreeze the Arctic, save all endangered species, and more. Then, he dives into strategies and costs to see: How far would $1 trillion really go? You’ll have to read on to learn which project he concludes would do the most good . . . but the biggest surprise is how many astonishing advances are actually within our grasp—if we dare to reach for them.

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