Recently Noted Reviews
This past week has been a relatively active one in regard to commentary and reviews of recently published natural history books.
Tag: "books"
Aug 31, 2010 | 0 comments
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Win Free Natural History Books!
“Win free natural history books!” Now there’s a sentence that surely gets my attention and I expect yours as well.
Aug 25, 2010 | 0 comments
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The Life of the Skies
“Everyone is a birdwatcher, but there are two kinds of birdwatchers: those who know what they are and those who haven’t realized it yet.” So begins The Life of the Skies: Birding at the End of Nature, Jonathan Rosen’s investigation into not only the history of bird watching but into its very underlying spirit. While [...]
Feb 08, 2010 | 2 comments
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National Geographic Ultimate Field Guide to Travel Photography
The decision to review the recently published National Geographic Ultimate Field Guide to Travel Photography (National Geographic Photography Field Guides) in The Well-read Naturalist was not one made lightly. After all, WRN is explicitly dedicated to books pertaining directly to the study of natural history in all its myriad forms. Would a book providing advice [...]
Feb 01, 2010 | 2 comments
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Books and the iPad: Is a Paradigm Shift Coming?
With the recent announcement from Apple regarding the forthcoming iPad product, particularly its applicability as an electronic text (e-book) reading device, a number of questions regarding the possible effects it may have upon the book trade should begin to be contemplated. As many people are touting the iPad as being as revolutionary to the written [...]
Jan 28, 2010 | 9 comments
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The Hedgehog’s Dilemma
In his famous work Parerga und Paralipomena, the philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer put forth the dilemma faced by a group of hedgehogs who need to huddle together in order to share one another’s body heat and thus better survive the cold. However despite their best intentions, the closer they get to one another, the more pain [...]
Remarkable Creatures
The search for the solution to what Sir John Herschel famously called the “mystery of mysteries” – how new species come to exist – has brought a myriad of remarkable creatures to the attention of science. From Deinonychus to Darwin’s Galapagos finches, every discovery has added another clue to the assembled body of knowledge that [...]
Gaia Girls: Air Apparent Preview
Lee Welles, author of the award winning Gaia Girls novels, recently provided her readers with a sneak preview of the long-awaited third volume in the series. Ms. Welles read from the first chapters of the forthcoming book, titled Air Apparent, during the December 31, 2009 “Blue Moon Special” webcast of her Blog Talk Radio program. [...]
Jan 07, 2010 | 0 comments
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Dry Storeroom No. 1
Prior to reading Richard Fortey’s Dry Storeroom No. 1: The Secret Life of the Natural History Museum, I honestly cannot recall audibly exclaiming “Bravo!” upon completing a reading of any book. Such is the effect of Professor Fortey’s prose – it wraps one up in a continuous flow of fascinating scientific insights, superbly wrought historical [...]
Holiday Gift Book Suggestions
Let’s face it – natural history enthusiasts can sometimes be a tough lot for whom to buy gifts; especially if you don’t personally share, or even know much about, their particular interests. Alternatively, even if you do share a common interest with the gift-worthy person or people in your life, you might be at a [...]
