'Essential reading for anybody who cares about the future’ Henry Marsh, *New Statesman Books of the Year* A radical examination of Britain's relationship with the land by one of our greatest nature writers. **SHORTLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT GOLDEN BEER BOOK PRIZE 2019** The British love their countryside more than almost any other nation, yet they live in one of the most denatured landscapes on Earth. From the flatlands of Norfolk to the tundra-like expanse of the Flow Country in northern Scotland, Mark Cocker sets out on a personal quest through the British countryside attempting to solve this puzzle. Radical, provocative and original, Our Place tackles some of the central issues of our time whilst mapping out a future in which this overcrowded island of ours could be a place fit not just for human occupants but also for its billions of wild citizens. ‘A tour de force... By turns hopeful, melancholy, humorous and heartfelt’ BBC Wildlife Book of the Month

An astrophysicist recounts how her team of researchers surfed the cosmos to map our local universe—and discovered the Laniakea supercluster, home of the Milky Way. You are here: on Earth, which is part of the solar system, which is in the Milky Way galaxy, which itself is within the extragalactic supercluster Laniakea. And how can we pinpoint our location so precisely? For 20 years, astrophysicist Hélène Courtois surfed the cosmos with international teams of researchers, working to map our local universe. In this book, Courtois describes this quest and the discovery of our home supercluster. Courtois explains that Laniakea (which means “immense heaven” in Hawaiian) is the largest galaxy structure known to which we belong; it is huge, almost too large to comprehend—about 500 million light-years in diameter. It contains about 100,000 large galaxies like our own, and a million smaller ones. Writing accessibly for nonspecialists, Courtois describes the visualization and analysis that allowed her team to map such large structures of the universe. She highlights the work of individual researchers, including portraits of several exceptional women astrophysicists—presenting another side of astronomy. Key ideas are highlighted in text insets; illustrations accompany the main text. The French edition of this book was named the Best Astronomy Book of 2017 by the astronomy magazine Ciel et espace. For this MIT Press English-language edition, Courtois has added descriptions of discoveries made after Laniakea: the cosmic velocity web and the Dipole and Cold Spot repellers. An engaging account of one of the most important discoveries in astrophysics in recent years, her story is a tribute to teamwork and international collaboration.

Introducing readers to a wide range of maps from different time periods and a variety of cultures, this book confirms the vital roles of maps throughout history in commerce, art, literature, and national identity.

Our Place in the Universe tells the story of our world, formation of the first galaxies and stars formed from great clouds containing the primordial elements made in the first few minutes; birth of stars, their lives and deaths in fiery supernova explosions; formation of the solar system, its planets and many moons; life on Earth, its needs and vicissitudes on land and in the seas; finally exoplanets, planets that surround distant stars. Interspersed in the text are short pieces on some of those who revealed these wonders to us.It is written in a very authoritative and readable form and contains more than 100 color prints of the marvelous galaxies, and nebula that have been taken from space-based and land-based telescopes carried by NASA missions, the European Space Agency, the European Southern Laboratory in Chile and many other sources.

The unassuming location of a dock extending out onto a small lake serves as the backdrop for five different stories. On a cool autumn night, Jake arrives with Holly at a secluded spot. The couple feels an immediate connection to this place as if it were put there just for them. Things seem perfect until Anne and her date, Lyle, arrive. On another day, early in the morning, Beth has plans to spend the day with her dad at their favorite fishing place. She has high hopes for catching some sunshine, a few fish, and her dad's fading memories. The third story involves Al, who arrives at the dock with his family and has high expectations for their family canoe trip. The only problem is that his wife would rather stay inside, his son has a chip on his shoulder, and his daughter is really weird. In the fourth story, Cory and Liberty are having a picnic lunch out by the lake, but a realization about tuna-fish sandwiches sends a shockwave through their relationship and brings about questions of who they are and what lies ahead for them. In the fifth story, Stanley escapes the hardships of his life to blow off some steam on the dock when Sidney, his 6-year-old sister, arrives. All he wants is for her to go away, but she insists on staying with him. The entire ensemble gathers on the dock together for the final scene. In a poetic epilogue, they all discover the true meaning of Our Place-- both comedic and tragic.

In this extensively revised and enlarged edition of his best-selling book, David Suzuki reflects on the increasingly radical changes in nature and science — from global warming to the science behind mother/baby interactions — and examines what they mean for humankind’s place in the world. The book begins by presenting the concept of people as creatures of the Earth who depend on its gifts of air, water, soil, and sun energy. The author explains how people are genetically programmed to crave the company of other species, and how people suffer enormously when they fail to live in harmony with them. Suzuki analyzes those deep spiritual needs, rooted in nature, that are a crucial component of a loving world. Drawing on his own experiences and those of others who have put their beliefs into action, The Sacred Balance is a powerful, passionate book with concrete suggestions for creating an ecologically sustainable, satisfying, and fair future by rediscovering and addressing humanity’s basic needs.

'The Address Book' starts with some of the fundamental questions asked by everyone, in every culture, since the beginning of civilisation. Who am I? Where am I? Where am I going?

Explore the known Universe and consider its mind-boggling scale in this crisply illustrated, well-researched picture book from Caldecott honoree Jason Chin. Winner of the Cook Prize! Most eight-year-olds are about five times as tall as this book . . . but only half as tall as an ostrich, which is half as tall as a giraffe . . . twenty times smaller than a California Redwood! How do they compare to the tallest buildings? To Mt. Everest? To stars, galaxy clusters, and . . . the universe? Jason Chin, the award-winning author and illustrator of Grand Canyon has once again found a way to make a complex subject--size, scale and almost unimaginable distance--accessible and understandable to readers of all ages. Meticulously researched and featuring the highly detailed artwork for which he is renowned, this is How Much is a Million for the new millenium, sure to be an immediate hit with kids looking for an engaging way to delve into perspective, astronomy, and astrophysics. Curious readers will love the extensive supplementary material included in the back of the back of the book An American Library Association Notable Children’s Book A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection A Horn Book Fanfare Best Book of the Year

"A fascinating study. . . . It truly comes alive in its expert use of African American oral histories"—Waldo E. Martin, University of California, Berkeley

What does it mean to be white? In our culture, whites have not always used their power and privilege responsibly. As a result, those from other racial and ethnic backgrounds may respond to you differently or suspiciously simply because of your whiteness. You may feel ambivalent about your own identity as a white person. Perhaps you have been frustrated when a friend of another ethnicity shakes his head and tells you, ''You just don't get it because you're white.'' How can whites overcome the mistakes of the past? How can they build authentic relationships with people from other backgrounds? In this groundbreaking book, Paula Harris and Doug Schaupp present a Christian model of what it means to be white. They wrestle through the history of how those in the majority have oppressed minority cultures, but they also show that whites have their own cultural and ethnic identity with its own distinctive traits and contributions. They demonstrate that white people have a key role to play in the work of racial reconciliation and the forging of a more just society. Filled with real-life stories, life-transforming insights and practical guidance, this book is for any white who is aware of racial inequality but has wondered, So what do I do? Discover here a vision for just communities where whites can use their influence to empower those of other ethnicities.