Animal Science

The global financial crisis has made it painfully clear that powerful psychological forces are imperiling the wealth of nations today. From blind faith in ever-rising housing prices to plummeting confidence in capital markets, "animal spirits" are driving financial events worldwide.

A Fire Upon the Deep is the big, breakout book that fulfills the promise of Vinge's career to date: a gripping tale of galactic war told on a cosmic scale. Thousands of years hence, many races inhabit a universe where a mind's potential is determined by its location in space, from superintelligent entities in the Transcend, to the limited minds of the Unthinking Depths, where only simple creatures and technology can function.

A mouse with a human ear on its back. Cats that glow in the dark. Giant super salmon. These animals are just the stuff of gross-out stories and horror movies. They are real animals that have been altered by scientists. And some of these animals are alive today.

Maggie is finding it harder and harder to get along with her stepmother and stepsiblings while her father is away. It doesn't help that every time Maggie finishes cleaning laundry, flying pigs swoop in to muddy everything up and get her into trouble! One day while she's out collecting berries and her stepbrother is fishing, Maggie catches a magical fish herself. The fish promises to make one of her wishes come true, but only if she frees him. Maggie wants a new family more than anything, but how much faith can she put into a talking fish?

In this landmark book of popular science, Daniel E. Lieberman - chair of the department of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University and a leader in the field - gives us a lucid and engaging account of how the human body evolved over millions of years, even as it shows how the increasing disparity between the jumble of adaptations in our Stone Age bodies and advancements in the modern world is occasioning this paradox: greater longevity but increased chronic disease.

Who walks to the mountains? Who runs across the plains? Move along with migrating animals to find out where they end up when the seasons change.

In 2016, Amy Tan grew overwhelmed by the state of the world: Hatred and misinformation became a daily presence on social media, and the country felt more divisive than ever. In search of peace, Tan turned toward the natural world just beyond her window and, specifically, the birds visiting her yard. But what began as an attempt to find solace turned into something far greater—an opportunity to savor quiet moments during a volatile time, connect to nature in a meaningful way, and imagine the intricate lives of the birds she admired.

Discover untold stories about three cats of the warrior Clans: a SkyClan warrior who lost her way during her Clan's journey to the lake; the origins of the cat with an unusual ability to speak to the dead; and a new medicine cat's winding path to her ultimate destiny.

S.T., a domesticated crow, is a bird of simple pleasures: hanging out with his owner Big Jim, trading insults with Seattle's wild crows (i.e. "those idiots"), and enjoying the finest food humankind has to offer: Cheetos®. Then Big Jim's eyeball falls out of his head, and S.T. starts to think something isn't quite right. Even the slobbering affection of Big Jim's loyal but dim-witted dog, Dennis, fails to cure Big Jim's debilitating malady. S.T. is left with no choice but to abandon his old life and venture out into a wild and frightening new world with his trusty steed Dennis.

When the Slow Walkers showed up, Clutch the Calico had no idea her humans would be so bad at not getting eaten. From power outages to shopping trips, saving Greg and his six-year-old daughter from the undead quickly turned into a full-time job. But if Clutch doesn't want to lose her supply of Furrtastic Feast and cuddles, she'll do whatever it takes to keep her humans safe.

Jean is not your usual grandma. She's never been good at getting on with other humans, apart from her beloved granddaughter, Kimberly. Instead, she surrounds herself with animals, working as a guide in an outback wildlife park. And although Jean talks to all her charges, she has a particular soft spot for a young dingo called Sue. As disturbing news arrives of a pandemic sweeping the country, Jean realizes this is no ordinary flu: its chief symptom is that its victims begin to understand the language of animals-first mammals, then birds and insects, too

Everyone has been trying to keep Gregor from seeing the final prophecy, The Prophecy of Time. It says something awful: It calls for the warrior’s death. The warrior being Gregor, of course. Now, an army of rats is quickly approaching and Gregor’s mom and little sister, Boots, are still in Regalia. The entire existence of the Underland is in Gregor’s hands and time is running out. There is a code that must be cracked, a new princess to contend with Gregor’s burgeoning dark side, and a war designed to end all wars.

Long before Firestar left his kittypet home to join ThunderClan, a band of cats from the mountains set off on a dangerous journey in search of a new home....

For generations, rats have run the mice out of whatever lands they've claimed, keeping them constantly on the move. But now the mice are disappearing, and the young queen Luxa, who credits them with saving her life, is determined to find out why. Gregor joins her on a fact-finding mission, and when the true fate of the mice is revealed, it is something far more sinister than Gregor or Luxa have imagined.

When Prince Leo’s devious cousin seizes control of Singara, Leo is forced to escape into enemy territory until he can return and claim the throne. Trapped among his enemies, Leo discovers they know a lot more about him than he knows about himself. With some guidance from unlikely allies, Leo is poised to fulfill a destiny greater than he ever imagined. Can Leo harness his power, stop a war, and prevent a monstrous demon from escaping and destroying the world?

Bearded dragons don’t breathe fire, but they do have spikes to scare away predators! Listeners will learn all about this real-life dragon that lives only in Australia.

With unequaled insight and brio, David Brooks, the New York Times columnist and bestselling author of Bobos in Paradise, has long explored and explained the way we live. Now, with the intellectual curiosity and emotional wisdom that make his columns among the most read in the nation, Brooks turns to the building blocks of human flourishing in a multilayered, profoundly illuminating work grounded in everyday life.

Ax is an Andalite, an alien, stranded on a strange planet he's sworn to defend, even though it's not his own. Since the Animorphs rescued him, he's fought at their side, and in that time they've come to consider Ax a friend. But deep inside, Ax knows he isn't their friend. He can't ever be. Andalites must always hold themselves apart, even from their allies. As the Animorphs' past actions start resulting in deaths of innocent people, however, Ax's loyalty is called into question. Now he must decide whether to reveal the reason for his estrangement - the shameful secret of his people.

It’s December 1997, and a man-eating tiger is on the prowl outside a remote village in Russia’s Far East. The tiger isn’t just killing people, it’s annihilating them, and a team of men and their dogs must hunt it on foot through the forest in the brutal cold. As the trackers sift through the gruesome remains of the victims, they discover that these attacks aren’t random: The tiger is apparently engaged in a vendetta. Injured, starving, and extremely dangerous, the tiger must be found before it strikes again.

How To Train Your Dog with Love + Science presents a modern and science-based approach to dog training, showing how behavior can be changed without coercion and force. Annie Grossman, a journalist-turned-dog trainer, breaks down what positive reinforcement actually is and makes the case that "good dog training" may even be a window into understanding ourselves.