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Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change Elizabeth Kolbert Bloomsbury Softcover, 225p $13.95 Americans have been warned since the late 1970s that the buildup of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere threatens to melt the polar ice sheets and irreversibly change our climate. With little done since then to alter this dangerous path, the world has reached a critical threshold. By the end of the century, it will likely be hotter than at any point in the last two million years, and the sweeping consequences of this change will determine the future of life on earth for generations to come. Taking listeners from the melting Alaskan permafrost to storm-torn New Orleans, acclaimed journalist Elizabeth Kolbert approaches this monumental problem from every angle. She interviews researchers and environmentalists, explains the science, draws frightening parallels to lost civilizations and presents the moving tales of people who are watching their worlds disappear. Growing out of an award-winning three-part series for the New Yorker, Field Notes from a Catastrophe brings the environment into the consciousness of the American people and asks what, if anything, can be done to save our planet.	Sibley's Birding Basics David Allen Sibley Knopf Softcover, 154pp $15.95 The quintessential activity of birding -- identification -- is the subject of this compact, easy-to-use, wonderfully helpful new book by America's premier living painter of birds, author, and illustrator of The Sibley Guide to Birds, the book that has taken American birders by storm, and illustrator of the acclaimed and best-selling Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior. In Birding Basics Sibley details everything the birder needs to know to identify species. Even experts will be able to use the book to hone their skills of identification. Sibley tells us when and where to look for birds, and explains the basic concepts of identification: shape and size of the bird itself, and the colors and other defining features of the features. He describes how best to note and interprete these characteristics, and how to use observable behavior, habitat information, and bird calls in the service of identification. Each point is illustrated with Sibley's extraordinary full-color paintings (all of them made specifically for this volume), which range from a detail of a feather to a view of the whole bird. Sibley's Birding Basics is an essential volume for birders at every level.
Birding Babylon: A Soldier's Journal from Iraq Jonathan Trouern-Trend Sierra Club Books Hardcover, 80p $9.95 This little book cuts through the politics of war like birdsong, reminding us of our imperishable connection with nature; of how birds and their journeys tie the world together; of the persistence of life even in a wasted land.	This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession Daniel J. Levitin Penguin Hardcover, 320pp $24.95 A fascinating exploration of the relationship between music and the mind-and the role of melodies in shaping our lives.
Grayson Lynne Cox Knopf Hardcover, 160p $16.95 One dark morning while the 17-year-old author was training for a long-distance swim, she became aware that something was swimming with her--a baby gray whale that had become separated from its mother. This is the magical, mysterious tale of how Cox miraculously reunited mother and baby.	Radical Amazement: Contemplative Lessons from Black Holes, Supernovas, and Other Wonders of the Universe Judy Cannato Ave Maria Press Softcover, 158pp $11.95 Twentieth century science completely revolutionized human understanding of the world, rewriting the story of the universe with exciting discoveries and theories. Radical Amazement unifies the worlds of science and religion, weaving profound spiritual lessons from our new knowledge.
An Inconvenient Truth Al Gore Rodale Press Softcover, 328p $21.95 An Inconvenient Truth, Gore's groundbreaking battle cry of a follow-up to the bestselling Earth in the Balance, ties in with the documentary film of the same name that has brought environmental issues back to the national debate.	Last Child in the Woods Richard Louv Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill Softcover, 352pp $13.95 As children's connections to nature diminish and the social, psychological, and spiritual implications become apparent, new research shows that nature can offer powerful therapy for such maladies as depression, obesity, and attention deficit disorder.
Isaac Newton James Gleick Pantheon Hardcover, 288pp $22.95 In this biography, James Gleick moves between a comprehensive historical portrait and a dramatic focus on Newton's significant letters and unpublished notebooks to illuminate the real importance of his work in physics, in optics, and in calculus.	The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America David Allen Sibley Knopf Softcover, 432pp $19.95 Compact and comprehensive, this new guide features 650 bird species plus regional populations found east of the Rocky Mountains. Accounts include stunningly accurate illustrations, more than 4,200 in total. Each entry contains new text concerning frequency, nesting, behavior, food and feeding, voice description, and key identification features.
Mercury 13: The Untold Story of Thirteen American Women and the Dream of Space Flight Martha Ackmann Random House Hardcover, 256pp $24.95 The story of the dramatic events surrounding thirteen remarkable women, all crackerjack pilots and patriots who sometimes sacrificed jobs and marriages for a chance to participate in America's space race against the Soviet Union.	Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World Michael Pollan Random House Softcover, 304pp $13.95 Pollan tells the story of four domesticated species from the point of view of the plants. All four species are deeply woven into the fabric of our everyday lives, and Pollan illustrates how each has evolved a survival strategy based on satisfying one of humankind's most basic desires.
A Field Guide to Stars and Planets Jay M. Pasachoff Houghton Mifflin Softcover, 588pp $19.00 Brimming with dazzling celestial photographs and timely astronomical information, the newly revised Peterson Field Guide to the Stars and Planets is a must-have resource for any amateur stargazer. The fourth edition of this best-selling field guide has been completely revised and updated to include the latest information from leading astronomical sources.	A Dangerous Place: California's Unsettling Fate Marc Reisner Knopf Hardcover, 181pp $22.00 The earthquakes that have already rocked California were, according to Reisner, mere prologues to a future cataclysm that will result in destruction of such magnitude that the only recourse will be to rebuild from the ground up. Reisner concludes with a hypothetical but chillingly realistic description of such a disaster and its horrifying aftereffects.