Lives of the Engineers - The Steam Engine - Boulton and Watt by Samuel Smiles

$30.00 NZD

Category: Science | Reading Level: good-very good

Platypus - The extraordinary story of how a curious creature baffled the world by Ann Moyal

$16.00 NZD

Category: Natural History | Reading Level: very good

When the first specimen of a platypus arrived in England in 1799 it was greeted with astonishment and disbelief. This volume tells the story of a biological riddle that confounded scientists and challenged theories of creationism and evolution.

A Most Damnable Invention - Dynamites, Nitrates and the Making of the Modern World by Stephen Brown

$15.00 NZD

Category: Science | Reading Level: very good

Humanity's desire to harness the destructive capacity of fire extends back to the dawn of civilization. But the true age of explosives began in the 1860's with the remarkable intuition of Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel. His discovery of dynamite made possible the industrial mega-projects that defined th e era, including the St Gothard rail tunnel and the Panama Canal. Dynamite also caused great loss of life and incalculable environmental damage. With a troubled conscience, Nobel left his cast estate to the establishment of the world-famous prizes that bear his name. As the use of explosives and fertilisers soared, nations scrambled for the scarce yet vital ingredient: nitrates. The 'nitrogen problem' was solved by enigmatic German scientist Fritz Haber. But his breakthrough prolonged the First World War, and when he was awarded a Nobel Prize for his work it sparked international condemnation. A Most Damnable Invention deftly blends popular science, history and biography in a vivid account of the incendiary substance that truly made our world. ...Show more

Chasing Doctor Dolittle - Learning the Language of Animals by Con Slobodchikoff

$14.00 NZD

Category: Natural History | Reading Level: very good

"Slobodchikoff's ground-breaking research" (Jonathan Balcombe) shows us that animals have much to teach us about language Groundbreaking research has been done teaching animals human language, but what about the other way around? Studies have shown that lizards, squid, monkeys, and birds are talking to each other, communicating information about food, predators, squabbles, and petty jealousies. These animal languages are unique and highly adaptive. By exploring them, we come to appreciate the basis of our own languages; understanding or even "speaking" them allows us to get closer to the other species who inhabit this planet with us. The implications of animals having language are enormous. It has been one of the last bastions separating "us" from "them." Slobodchikoff's studies of the communication system of prairie dogs over twenty-five years have attracted a considerable amount of attention from the media, including a one-hour documentary on his work produced by BBC and Animal Planet. In Chasing Doctor Dolittle, he posits that the difference is one of degree, not the vast intellectual chasm that philosophers have talked about for millennia. Filled with meticulous research, vivid examples and daring conclusions, this book will challenge the reader's assumptions and open up new possibilities of understanding our fellow creatures. ...Show more

Science and the Modern World by A N Whitehead

$15.00 NZD

Category: Science | Reading Level: very good

The Future of Nature - Writing on a Human Ecology from Orion Magazine by Barry Lopez (ed.)

$14.00 NZD

Category: Ecology | Series: The\World As Home Ser. | Reading Level: very good

The western mindset is arguably one of the greatest threats to the world's ecological balance. Corporatism and globalization are two of the obvious villains here, but what part does human nature play in the problem? Since its inception in 1982, Orion magazine has been a forum for looking beyond the effe cts of ecological crises to their root causes in human culture. Less an anthology than a vision statement, this timely collection challenges the division of human society from the natural world that has often characterized traditional environmentalism. Edited and introduced by Barry Lopez, The Future of Nature encompasses such topics as local economies, the social dynamics of activism, America's incarceration society, naturalism in higher education, developing nations, spiritual ecology, the military-industrial landscape, and the persistent tyranny of wilderness designation. Featuring the fine writing and insights for which Orion is famous, this book is required reading for anyone interested in a livable future for the planet. ...Show more

Physical Science in the Middle Ages by Edward Grant

$8.00 NZD

Category: Science | Series: WILEY HISTORY of SCIENCE SERIES Ser. | Reading Level: good

This concise introduction to the history of physical science in the Middle Ages begins with a description of the feeble state of early medieval science and its revitalization during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, as evidenced by the explosion of knowledge represented by extensive translations of Greek and Arabic treatises. The content and concepts that came to govern science from the late twelfth century onwards were powerfully shaped and dominated by the science and philosophy of Aristotle. It is, therefore, by focussing attention on problems and controversies associated with Aristotelian science that the reader is introduced to the significant scientific developments and interpretations formulated in the later Middle Ages. The concluding chapter presents a new interpretation of the medieval failure to abandon the physics and cosmology of Aristotle and explains why, despite serious criticisms, they were not generally repudiated during this period. As detailed critical bibliography completes the work. ...Show more

Gray's Anatomy Descriptive and Applied 29th edition by T B Johnston (ed.); J Whillis (ed.)

$18.00 NZD

Category: Medicine | Reading Level: good

Gray's Anatomy Descriptive and Applied 34th edition by D V Davies

$30.00 NZD

Category: Medicine | Reading Level: good-very good

Inflight Science - A Guide to the World from Your Airplane Window by Brian Clegg

$10.00 NZD

Category: Science | Reading Level: good-very good

Common Wealth - Economics for a Crowded Planet by Jeffrey Sachs

$12.00 NZD

Category: Economics | Reading Level: good-very good

This is a book about how we should address the great, and interconnected, global challenges of the twenty-first century. Our task, Sachs argues, is to achieve truly sustainable development, by which he means finding a global course which enables the world to benefit from the spread of prosperity, while ensuring that we don't destroy the eco-systems which keep us alive and our place in nature which helps sustain our values. How do we move forward together, benefitting from our increasing technological mastery, avoiding the terrible dangers of climate change, mass famines, violent conflicts, population explosions in some parts of the world and collapses in others, and world-wide pandemic diseases?In answering these questions, Sachs shows that there are different ways of managing the world's technology, resources and politics from those currently being followed, and that it should be possible to adopt policies which reflect long-term and co-operative thinking instead of, as currently, disregard for others and ever-increasing barriers to solving the problems which we collectively face. ...Show more

Consolations of the Forest - Alone in a Cabin in the Middle Taiga by Sylvain Tesson

$10.00 NZD

Category: Natural History | Reading Level: good-very good

Sylvain Tesson, found a radical solution to his need for freedom, one as ancient as the experiences of the hermits of old Russia: he decided to lock himself alone in a cabin in the middle taiga, on the shores of Baikal, for six months. Noting carefully his impressions of the silence, Sylvain Tesson shar es with us an extraordinary experience. ...Show more