"From your brain to your fingertips, you emerge from her book entertained and with a deeper understanding of yourself" --Richard Dawkins Alice Roberts takes you on the most incredible journey, revealing your path from a single cell to a complex embryo to a living, breathing, thinking person. It's a story that connects us with our distant ancestors and an extraordinary, unlikely chain of events that shaped human development and left a mark on all of us. Alice Roberts uses the latest research to uncover the evolutionary history hidden in all of us, from the secrets found only in our embryos and genes - including why as embroyos we have what look like gills - to those visible in your anatomy. This is a tale of discovery, exploring why and how we have developed as we have. This is your story, told as never before.

Being the child of a celebrity is a strange, but wonderful experience, and STAR BABIES explores this glamorous and sometimes tragic world. It's all here in this book: the fabulous birthday parties, the "limosine treatment" to school, the lemonade stand set up and supplied by the butler, the Christmas sprees to clean out the toy department. And behind this facade is a history of family trees shattered by the worlds, "Your father and I are going to get a divorce," strings of schools, and adventures with drugs and sex. Shared is a blind adoration for a famous parent, tempered by desperate craving for love and attention. These children were the first generation to plant before the moviegoing public the image of Hollywood as a family town. Maternity became marketable, and photos of stars with their wholesome families were worth their weight in gold. Image! In Hollywood, it is everything. Extraordinary in their candor and diversity, these stories reveal all of their dreams—and the delusions—that money can buy. No moviegoer should be without this intimate and unique portrait of life behind the silver screen. Includes the children of: Mario Lanza, Judy Garland and Sid Luft, Pat Boone, Tom Mix, Dorothy Lamour, David O. Selznick, Lou Costello, Jack Albertson, Lloyd Bridges, Gordon and Sheila MacRae, Jose Ferrer and Rosemary Clooney.

From the author of Monarchs of the Sea, a first-of-its-kind journey into the hidden world of baby animals—hailed as “a gobsmacking delight!” (Sy Montgomery, New York Times–bestselling author of The Soul of an Octopus) It’s time to pay attention to baby animals. From egg to tadpole, chick to fledgling, they offer scientists a window into questions of immense importance: How do genes influence health? Which environmental factors support—or obstruct—life? Entire ecosystems rest on the shoulders (or tentacles, or jointed exoskeletons) of animal babies. At any given moment, babies represent the majority of animal life on Earth. In Nursery Earth, researcher Danna Staaf invites readers into the sibling (and, sometimes, clashing) fields of ecology and developmental biology. The tiny, hidden lives that these scientists study in the lab and in the wild reveal some of nature’s strangest workings: A salamander embryo breathes with the help of algae inside its cells. The young grub of a Goliath beetle dwarfs its parents. The spotted beak of a parasitic baby bird tricks adults of other species into feeding it. Mouse embryos can absorb cancerous cell grafts—and develop into healthy adults. Our bias toward adult animals (not least because babies can be hard to find) means these wonders have long gone under-researched. But for all kinds of animals, if we overlook their babies, we miss out on the most fascinating—and consequential—time in the lives of their species. Nursery Earth makes the case that these young creatures are not just beings in progress but beings in their own right. And our planet needs them all: the maggots as much as the kittens!

***** THE ESSENTIAL NEW BOOK FOR FIRST-TIME DADS 'So funny you'll be glad you're having a baby!' - Josh Widdicombe 'Great advice - funny enough to read if it wasn't.' - Romesh Ranganathan Are you ready for fatherhood? DON'T PANIC - dad and comedian George Lewis is here with all the seriously useful practical and emotional advice that you need to keep you (and your partner) sane! From birth to pre-school, EVERYTHING you need to know is here. And even better, it's packed with useful tips, inside knowledge and hilarious real-life stories from dads and medical professionals who know exactly what it's like to take your first steps as a new father. With contributions from fellow comedians Adam Kay, Romesh Ranganathan, and many others this book will get you totally prepared for the biggest thing to even happen in your life! WITH HELP FROM ADAM KAY - ANDY PARSONS - CARL DONNELLY - ELIS JAMES - IAIN STIRLING - IVO GRAHAM - JEN BRISTER -JOSH WIDDICOMBE - KERRY GODLIMAN - MATTHEW CROSBY - RICH HALL - ROMESH RANGANATHAN - RUSSELL KANE - SINDHU VEE & The Midwife

Are zombie jellyfish real? Do seahorses have stomachs? What’s it like to wrestle a python? Tim Flannery has the answers. Introducing some of the most spectacular and unusual creatures on Earth, from water to sky and the forests and deserts in between, he offers in-depth and often bizarre facts about extraordinary animals that live in each habitat. Flannery ties concepts of climate change, evolution, conservation, and taxonomy to each animal’s profile, firmly connecting the animal and its environment while sparking wonder at its role in the natural world. Did you know that lions once roamed North America, or that albatrosses sleep-fly? Have you ever heard a piranha bark, or wondered how the sloth got its name? Packed with vibrant illustrations and guided by real-life anecdotes from one of our greatest science communicators, Weird, Wild, Amazing! teaches readers to cherish and delight in our planet’s ecosystems with Tim Flannery’s signature mix of humor and wisdom.

It's the only book you'll need in your baby's first year. Packed with practical advice, Baby on Board is a must-read for all mums and dads. Babies have basic biological needs, which parents must meet. 'Baby on Board' outlines these needs clearly and explains the biological science underpinning them. This wonderful book gives parents the confidence they need to derive for themselves how to parent their baby successfully. It helps them navigate the endless advice directed their way by well-meaning family, friends, and passers-by. One issue that causes parents the most anguish - how to settle their distressed and crying baby - is explored in detail. Written in an accessible and frequently humorous way, Dr Chilton explains the fundamentals of parenting based on science and his forty years' experience as a neonatologist. He also explores the fascinating subject of how babies evolved over the millennia, what they perceive and how they are programmed for survival. This expanded edition has new chapters on the introduction of solids, how to play with your baby, and the essential drivers of baby sleep and how to enhance them. Many other chapters have been revised and updated. Dr Chilton's daughter, Georgina Dowden, with whom he collaborates professionally, has extensively rewritten the breastfeeding chapter. She has also contributed many useful additions, with her influence evident throughout the book.

Two sweet contemporary romances by New York Times bestselling authors Brenda Novak and Christine Rimmer. Baby Business by Brenda Novak Macy McKinney needs money, a lot of it, to pay for her daughter's operation. Businessman Thad Winters, a widower, wants a child without the complications of a relationship. He's willing to pay for that. He interviews applicants—and hires Macy to have his baby. Once Macy's pregnant, they decide that a temporary marriage will simplify the situation'but it does exactly the opposite! A deeply emotional story about what it means to love a child—and what happens when you marry the right man…for the wrong reasons. Not Quite Married by Christine Rimmer It was hard for Clara Bravo to face gorgeous Dalton Ames after he ended their fling, especially when she was notifying Dalton that she was pregnant. Even more difficult, was turning down the irresistible banker's proposal—just for their baby's sake. Dalton pushed Clara away because he couldn't risk his heart again after his recent divorce—not because he didn't feel anything for her. When he discovered her pregnancy, Dalton was determined to create the picture-perfect home with the one woman he could never forget. Now, if only he could convince Clara that their family was forever…

Internationally renowned author and scientist Tim Flannery explores our planet’s rivers and oceans and the extraordinary animals that live in them. Can jellyfish become zombies? Are narwhals unicorns? Can a turtle live in a tree? Tim Flannery has the answers. In this informed and accessible book, he introduces some of the most spectacular and unusual creatures in Earth’s waters with in-depth and often bizarre facts. Flannery ties together concepts of climate change, evolution, conservation, and taxonomy throughout each animal’s profile, firmly connecting it to its environment while sparking wonder at its role in the natural world. Packed with vibrant illustrations and guided by real-life anecdotes from one of our greatest science communicators, Weird, Wild, Amazing! Water teaches readers to cherish and delight in our planet’s ecosystems with Tim Flannery’s signature mix of humor and wisdom.

This book takes you on the personal journey of Roslyn Bell (the author) from marrying her childhood sweetheart, giving birth to her children and building their dream home. But the perfect fairytale life was soon to be taken from her. On the way home from work as a heavy thunder storm breaks, when she rounds a corner the car aquaplanes across the road hitting a tree, which almost kills hers. The aftermath takes her on an incredible physical journey to learn to walk and the challenges that twist and turn as she grasps for a life she no longer has. With the physical scars under control the mental scars start to appear and again she is wrecked in mental state and inwardly she is in turmoil. In her quest to feel free her mirage breaks down with her fleeing her husband and taking her children in an attempt to feel better, this takes her to very dark places and leads her to doubt would she ever fully recover. However, something deep inside, her knowing spirit recognises that she may have fallen down but she was not broke. As uses all her incredible strength to re build her life both physically and mentally. As her mirage comes together again and life is getting more joyous on a routine check up she is diagnosed with cervical cancer, this time she recognises her choices and vows to live her life to the full. Within 9 months of surgery she has bought a shop, opened a ladies boutique which brings her a sense of purpose, allowing her to feel her self worth as she takes joy in serving. In her attempt to make a secure life for her family she soon expands into property to rise beyond her wildest dreams. This fasinating true story will keep you on the edge as the author takes you from the very low to the high of her journey.

The Evidence-based Parenting Practitioner’s Handbook provides a comprehensive overview of the knowledge necessary to effectively deliver evidence-based parenting interventions within community and health settings. Using clear examples of how this knowledge can inform frontline work with parents, this practical handbook includes: an overview of the policy context underpinning evidence-based parenting work in the US, UK, Australia and Norway a discussion of how a robust evidence base is established and the ways in which practitioners can access information about good-quality research an overview of how research in the field of child development has contributed to the development of evidence-based parenting interventions an overview of how theories and research in the field of therapeutic practice have contributed to the development of evidence-based parenting interventions what research evidence suggests about the role of the practitioner in the delivery of evidence-based support outcome-focused methods for establishing the evidence base of new parenting interventions outcome-focused methods for commissioning evidence-based parenting services. Emphasizing the ways in which practitioners can evaluate and translate messages from research into applied work with parents and families, The Evidence-based Parenting Practitioner’s Handbook is suitable for all those involved in the delivery of evidence-based parenting support, including frontline practitioners, service managers, parenting commissioners, heads of children’s services and policy makers.