Natural Science

The Wild East explores the social, political, and environmental changes in the Great Smoky Mountains during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Although this national park is most often portrayed as a triumph of wilderness preservation, Margaret Lynn Brown concludes that the largest forested region in the eastern United States is actually a recreated wilderness—a product of restoration and even manipulation of the land.

In Footprints: In Search of Future Fossils, the award-winning author David Farrier explores the traces we will leave for the very distant future. Modern civilization has created objects and landscapes with the potential to endure through deep time, whether it is plastic polluting the oceans and nuclear waste sealed within the earth or the 30 million miles of roads spanning the planet.

Born in Leeds, West Yorkshire, John showed an early interest newspapers when, aged 11, he wrote the Grimthorpe Street Gazette: a one-page paper detailing the latest goings-on in his street. It was a short-lived enterprise, not least as he only had one copy of it (which he charged neighbours a penny to borrow and read). It was whilst working at the Yorkshire Post that he heard of a new opening at the BBC - a move that was to change his life forever....

As Brits we pride ourselves as stoic defenders, boasting a record of resistance dating back to 1066. Yet, even a cursory examination of the natural world reveals that while interlopers of the human variety may have been kept at bay, our islands have been invaded, conquered and settled by an endless succession of animals, plants, fungi and other alien lifeforms that apparently belong elsewhere. Indeed it’s often hard to work out what actually is native, and what is foreign.

Billy Sothern's Down in New Orleans illustrates, in very human and heartbreaking ways, how the horrors that emerged during and following Hurricane Katrina existed long before the storm. These beautifully composed stories not only reveal the dignity—and amazing grit and grace—of the hurricane's survivors; they also illuminate larger truths about the urgent issues of our day.

When houses are flattened, towns submerged, and people stranded without electricity or even food, we attribute the suffering to "natural disasters" or "acts of God." But what if they're neither? What if we, as a society, are bringing these catastrophes on ourselves? That's the provocative theory of Catastrophe in the Making, the first audiobook to recognize Hurricane Katrina not as a "perfect storm," but a tragedy of our own making - and one that could become commonplace.

Logan doesn't believe in the supernatural, but moments after meeting an old high-school crush named Eloise, strange events begin occurring in his home. His little brother begins hearing voices. His younger sister starts seeing things that can't possibly be there. And Logan is attacked by something that simply cannot exist. Logan and his siblings soon learn that Eloise is a psychic-medium, and she becomes a helpful ally, but they quickly discover that even she has never encountered this type of evil.

For 16-year old Abigail Renshaw, the terrifying nightmares are not the worst part. When apparitions start leaking out of the nightmares into her waking life - well, that's a problem. But Abby's dealt with hallucinations before, and she's nothing if not resilient. Following clues from the nightmares, she convinces her mother to let her visit Harmony Springs, the small town in Florida where Abby was born, and where her grandmother still lives. There, Abby finds unexpected help from new friends: a compulsive teenage blogger named Molly Quick, and Molly's older brother Ray-Ray.

If she's spared execution, can a vampire with second sight save the ones she loves? Jerusa Phoenix lives in fear of judgment. Unlike the harmless smirks she received back in school, a negative opinion from the Stewards of Life could get the newly-made vampire killed. With an army of savages on the rise and terrifying new creatures in pursuit, Jerusa wonders if approval for her immortality is actually the least of her worries...

Sound interesting? The author thinks so too! Listen to Hardcore Horror Stories, The Best Horror Stories of the Year and experience this compelling horror story collection.

When you turn on the tap or twist the cap, you might not give a second thought to where your drinking water comes from. But how it gets from the ground to your glass is far more complex than you might think. Is it safe to drink tap water? Should you feel guilty buying bottled water? Is your water vulnerable to terrorist attacks? With springs running dry and reservoirs emptying, where is your water going to come from in the future? In Drinking Water, Duke professor James Salzman shows how drinking water highlights the most pressing issues of our time.

The shift from the Paleolithic to Neolithic periods represents a watershed moment in human history. While many may consider the humans of both stone ages to be unintelligent barbarians, this brief history proves that the humans of yesteryear were just as smart as we are today. Between 10,000 BC and 2,000 BC, they instituted revolutionary changes in human life. All over the globe, formerly nomadic people began settling into villages, farming, and creating high-tech stone inventions.

Charlie Rhodes is psychic, telekinetic, and hiding in the one place where they’re looking for her. Enthusiastic to the point of being absurd, Charlie is gung-ho about her position with the Legacy Foundation, a group that travels the world looking to solve the unexplained and prove the existence of the paranormal. From one coast to the next, she (along with her merry band of misfits) investigates strange and odd phenomena...all the while pretending she’s a normal human being without magical to call on.

Bizarre, brilliant and filled with things you didn't know you didn't know - The Compendium of (Not Quite) Everything evokes a sense of wonder at the scale of this planet, and the universe in which it sits. The Compendium of (Not Quite) Everything is a treasure trove of random knowledge. Covering...

Rebel has the best job in the world. She’s a bounty hunter. And her targets are vampires, werewolves, shifters, and other supernatural entities.Yes, she’s a supernatural bounty hunter. It’s not an easy job, but it’s necessary, and it’s training. Because, Rebel has a quest. One that might kill her. But then, that’s a typical day in the human’s life.

It's time to ask the right team for the solution. The Demons have turned the tables on the Damned, and it takes a little while to catch up. It's quiet - too quiet. Pandora reveals a little bit more about herself, who she is, and what she can do. And Damian has to make some hard choices. There is someone new coming to the team, and he is just this side of...different. The war with the enemy is burning - and it's time the General calls for special backup. Because now even he spells backup K.A.T.I.E.

Britain is the home of the badger — there are more badgers per square kilometre in this country than in any other. And yet many of us have never seen one in the wild. They are enigmatic, nocturnal creatures who vanish into their labyrinthine underground setts at the first hint of a human. Here, Patrick Barkham follows in the footsteps of his badger-loving grandmother, to meet the feeders, farmers and scientists who know their way around Badgerlands: the mysterious world in which these distinctively striped creatures live out their lives.

From the historical roots of the concept of risk to the latest digital anxieties, each chapter unfolds a captivating narrative, weaving together major historical incidents and topical news events. Explore the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and witness the transformative power of risk perception. Travel to Fukushima and learn how a nuclear disaster shapes our approach to designing critical infrastructure. Dive into the digital realm with the Cambridge Analytica scandal, revealing a new era of digital risk and anxiety.

When Cyclone Tracy flattened Darwin on Christmas Day 1974, it was the worst natural disaster Australians had ever experienced. Stationed in the city with the Women's Royal Australian Naval Service, Patricia Collins not only lived through Tracy but was part of the massive clean-up effort. This is her extraordinary story. Rock and Tempest contains astonishing first-person accounts of terror and uncertainty as well as courage and survival. It is fascinating and moving, and absolutely essential listening.

Scarlett is a sensible 17-year-old young lady - or so everyone thinks - but there is definitely more to her. The daughter of famous English Egyptologists and archeologists Theodore and Gemma Seely, she is prone to adventure and all the world has to offer. It is the 1890s, and she has just received a letter from one of her parents' dearest friends, a certain detective who lives on Baker Street, who needs her help on a most bizarre case.