An Orchard Invisible - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook An Orchard Invisible write by Jonathan Silvertown. This book was released on 2010-09-15. An Orchard Invisible available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. "The story of seeds, in a nutshell, is a tale of evolution. From the tiny sesame that we sprinkle on our bagels to the forty-five-pound double coconut borne by the coco de mer tree, seeds are a perpetual reminder of the complexity and diversity of life on earth. How and why do some lie dormant for years on end? How did seeds evolve? The wide variety of uses that humans have developed for seeds of all sorts also receives a fascinating look, studded with examples, including foods, oils, perfumes, and pharmaceuticals."--Global Books in Print.
Demons in Eden
Demons in Eden - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Demons in Eden write by Jonathan Silvertown. This book was released on 2008-11-15. Demons in Eden available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. At the heart of evolution lies a bewildering paradox. Natural selection favors above all the individual that leaves the most offspring—a superorganism of sorts that Jonathan Silvertown here calls the "Darwinian demon." But if such a demon existed, this highly successful organism would populate the entire world with its own kind, beating out other species and eventually extinguishing biodiversity as we know it. Why then, if evolution favors this demon, is the world filled with so many different life forms? What keeps this Darwinian demon in check? If humankind is now the greatest threat to biodiversity on the planet, have we become the Darwinian demon? Demons in Eden considers these questions using the latest scientific discoveries from the plant world. Readers join Silvertown as he explores the astonishing diversity of plant life in regions as spectacular as the verdant climes of Japan, the lush grounds of the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, the shallow wetlands and teeming freshwaters of Florida, the tropical rainforests of southeast Mexico, and the Canary Islands archipelago, whose evolutionary novelties—and exotic plant life—have earned it the sobriquet "the Galapagos of botany." Along the way, Silvertown looks closely at the evolution of plant diversity in these locales and explains why such variety persists in light of ecological patterns and evolutionary processes. In novel and useful ways, he also investigates the current state of plant diversity on the planet to show the ever-challenging threats posed by invasive species and humans. Bringing the secret life of plants into more colorful and vivid focus than ever before, Demons in Eden is an empathic and impassioned exploration of modern plant ecology that unlocks evolutionary mysteries of the natural world.
Dinner with Darwin
Dinner with Darwin - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Dinner with Darwin write by Jonathan Silvertown. This book was released on 2017-09-05. Dinner with Darwin available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. What do eggs, flour, and milk have in common? They form the basis of crepes of course, but they also each have an evolutionary purpose. Eggs, seeds (from which flour is derived by grinding) and milk are each designed by evolution to nourish offspring. Everything we eat has an evolutionary history. Grocery shelves and restaurant menus are bounteous evidence of evolution at work, though the label on the poultry will not remind us of this with a Jurassic sell-by date, nor will the signs in the produce aisle betray the fact that corn has a 5,000 year history of artificial selection by pre-Colombian Americans. Any shopping list, each recipe, every menu and all ingredients can be used to create culinary and gastronomic magic, but can also each tell a story about natural selection, and its influence on our plates--and palates. Join in for multiple courses, for a tour of evolutionary gastronomy that helps us understand the shape of our diets, and the trajectories of the foods that have been central to them over centuries--from spirits to spices. This literary repast also looks at the science of our interaction with foods and cooking--the sights, the smells, the tastes. The menu has its eclectic components, just as any chef is entitled. But while it is not a comprehensive work which might risk gluttony, this is more than an amuse bouche, and will leave every reader hungry for more.
The Invisible Bridge
The Invisible Bridge - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook The Invisible Bridge write by Julie Orringer. This book was released on 2010. The Invisible Bridge available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. A historical novel set in 1937 Europe tells the story of three Hungarian Jewish brothers bound by history and love, of a marriage tested by disaster, of a Jewish family's struggle against annihilation by the Nazis and of the dangerous power of art in the time of war.
Wonders of the Invisible World
Wonders of the Invisible World - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Wonders of the Invisible World write by Christopher Barzak. This book was released on 2016-09-06. Wonders of the Invisible World available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. STONEWALL HONOR BOOK • For fans of Patrick Ness and Tom McNeal comes a moving and page-turning novel that’s part ghost story, part love story. The lines between past and present, tales and truth, friends and lovers begin to blur when a boy's childhood friend returns to town. Aidan Lockwood lives in a sleepy farming community known for its cattle ranches and not much else. That is, until Jarrod, a friend he hasn’t seen in years, moves back to town. It’s Jarrod who opens Aidan’s eyes to events he’s long since forgotten, and who awakes in him feelings that go beyond mere friendship. But as Aidan’s memories return, so do some unsettling truths about his family. As Aidan begins to probe into long-buried secrets, he may not be able to control what else is uncovered. Aidan will need to confront a family curse before he can lay claim to his life once more. “Brilliant storytelling that unearths new intersections of love and magic.” —New York Times bestselling author Scott Westerfeld
