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The clouded leopard: travels to landscapes of spirit and desire
By Wade Davis. 1998
Davis examines the link between the diversity of our biological landscape and cultural diversity. He argues that the more we…
destroy the biological landscapes of the Earth, the more we cause diverse cultures to assimilate with the more mainstream cultures. Davis uses his travels around the world to illustrate his argument and shares stories of his time spent with a variety of peoples throughout the world. c1998.The cinema of isolation: a history of physical disability in the movies
By Martin F Norden. 1994
Film has often shown people with physical disabilities as deserving isolation from the rest of society. Norden examines hundreds of…
Hollywood and international movies and uncovers the industry's practices for maintaining this status quo, while offering an array of physically disabled characters who embody or break out of stereotypes. He observes the arrival of a new set of stereotypes tied to the growth of science and technology in the 1970s and 1980s, and underscores later movies that display a newfound sensitivity. Some descriptions of sex, strong language. 1994.The burning house: unlocking the mysteries of the brain
By Jay Ingram. 1994
The beauty of the beastly: new views on the nature of life
By Natalie Angier. 1996
Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer for the New York Times offers her essays on the beauty of organisms usually considered beastly,…
and the beastliness behind conventional icons of beauty in the natural world. Admitting she "anthropomorphizes shamelessly," she humorously discusses commonalities that humans share with other species. Topics include loving, adapting, healing, creating, and dying. Some descriptions of violence. 1995.A collection of humourous and surprising essays which examine the scientific explanation for certain human behaviours, the scientific world's attempts…
to re-examine history, including the Salem witch trials, and some of the stranger questions tackled by scientists. Sections on human behaviour, curiosities of life, science and history, natural battles and how things work are included. 1998.Secret ingredients: the brave new world of industrial farming
By Stuart Laidlaw. 2003
A vivid portrait of what modern industrial farming is, what it is doing to the environment, to farmers, to the…
plants and livestock we eat, and to us as consumers and as citizens. The author takes us from the dairy farms of Pennsylvania to Canada's prairie wheatfields, from the tomato greenhouses of southern Ontario to the potato fields of P.E.I. All along the way, he shows us food's secret ingredient - its hidden costs. 2003.Secrets of the mummies: uncovering the bodies of ancient Egyptians (An I was there book)
By Shelley Tanaka, Peter Brand. 1999
Four mummies, from a mighty pharaoh to a poor weaver, are studied scientifically to reveal the lives and times of…
these three-thousand-year-old people. Also describes embalming and mummification, life in ancient Egypt, and the scientific techniques now used to study mummies. Grades 3-6. 1999.Sahara: a natural history
By Marq De Villiers, Sheila Hirtle. 2003
Description of the world's largest desert landscape and its inhabitants. Discusses the geography, natural cycles, and resilient life-forms of the…
sandy wilderness stretching across the broadest part of Africa. Covers the history of the Sahara's indigenous people--Berbers, Moors, and Tuareg--and the ancient kingdoms of past civilizations. 2003.Rebuilt: how becoming part computer made me more human
By Michael Chorost. 2005
Science writer recounts his decision to get a cochlear implant, or a computer surgically imbedded in the skull, to artificially…
restore hearing after he became totally deaf in 2001. Describes his physical and mental changes and reflects on the implications of technological advances on the deaf community and on humanity. 2005.Nibbling on Einstein's brain: the good, the bad & the bogus in science
By Diane Swanson. 2001
Measuring the earth with a stick: science as I've seen it
By Bob McDonald. 2000
A collection of essays that illuminate the author's scientific take on our world. With more than 25 years experience as…
a science journalist, McDonald has had the opportunity to meet some of the most important minds in modern science. Drawing from these experiences, he shares his alternative perception of nature. 2000.Inventions (Frequently asked questions)
By Valerie Wyatt. 2003
The answers to some of the most common questions kids may have about inventions, such as "How do the inventors…
know that the inventions will work?" Also describes the invention of jeans, money, chewing gum, television, band-aids, and the computer. Grades 3-6. 2003.DNA: the secret of life
By James D Watson. 2003
History of genetics research and its applications during the fifty years since the 1953 discovery of the DNA double helix…
structure, for which the author shared a Nobel Prize in 1962. Discusses the implications of genetic technology, including issues surrounding cloning, DNA analysis, and the human genome project. 2003.After disability: a guide to getting on with life
By Lisa Bendall. 2006
More than 3.6 million Canadians are living with some sort of disability, with mobility-related issues affecting nearly one in ten…
people. This Canadian resource guide is geared to the rising number of adults who have experienced injury, stroke, disease, arthritis, or the effects of aging. Includes information on assistive devices and technology, accessible housing, financial concerns, health care, self-advocacy and the law, and family life and parenting. Some descriptions of sex. 2006.Exploring in depth one of the most topical subjects of current affairs, this book explains the science of embryology, exploring…
what science can and will be able to do to affect the natural processes, through a series of individual stories, both contemporary and imagined.The lives to come: the genetic revolution and human possibilities
By Philip Kitcher. 1996
This book is written by an eminent philosopher rather than a scientist, and its treatment of the profound medical, social…
and political implications of the human genome project are, arguably, more interesting than the actual science of the project.The planet hunters: the search for other worlds
By Dennis B Fradin. 1997
A history of astronomy from the earliest civilizations, when man observed the stars with only the naked eye, to 1997,…
when the Hubble Space Telescope orbited the earth. Describes the discovery of planets and other contributions by early and recent scientists. Grades 5-8. c1997.The second tree: of clones, chimeras and quests for immortality
By Elaine Dewar. 2004
Biologists have advanced their knowledge of genetics and genomics with such speed that they are able not just to understand…
life processes but also to control them, obscuring the notion of life and its sanctity. A re-examination of identity, rights, and responsibilities in a world where scientists can invent new creatures at their whim, and where greed has replaced intellectual curiosity as the primary motivation of advancement. 2004.Krakatoa: the day the world exploded, 27 August 1883
By Simon Winchester. 2003
The author focuses on one of the most cataclysmic events of modern history: the volcanic eruption, in 1883, of the…
South East Asian island of Krakatoa, which resulted in the deaths of 36,000 people and sent shock-waves around the world. Winchester veers between eyewitness accounts by survivors and the limited scientific measurements of the time in an attempt to describe the indescribable. 2003.Thinking like a mountain
By Rick Archbold, Robert Bateman. 2000
Part memoir, part sketchbook, and part environmental testament, Bateman's book charts the progress of his ecological consciousness. In the process,…
Bateman presents an historical overview of threats to our human and natural heritages, among them the near extinction of the whales due to massive commercial whaling and PCBs and other toxins; the clear-cutting of old-growth forests at Clayoquot Sound; the devastation of wetlands as a result of modern industrial agriculture; and the vanishing of unique human societies such as the Ba Mbuti in the former Belgian Congo. Bateman writes an impassioned plea to attend to the health of our planet, present and future. 2000.