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Ecological science has begun to make sense of the baffling paradoxes of natural systems, finding the answers in a mathematical ecology - the mathematical relationships that link all creatures and plants in a natural community. This book introduces and examines this theory, aiming to bring to a general audience an understanding and appreciation of wildlife, as well as the means to make sense of and assess the steps society is taking to manage, preserve and protect species whose fate is increasingly in our hands.

Arguably no single human invention has transformed war more than the aeroplane. The potential of airpower to change the very nature - perhaps even the meaning - of combat was strikingly evident almost from the moment the Wright brothers first flew. showing how, during the course of the 20th century, it transformed warfare. Drawing on combat memoirs, government and industry archives, technical studies and museum collections, this text brings together a complete narrative history of war in the air, with the people, events, ideas and inventions that made it possible.

A narrative account of Reconstruction-era violence documents vigilante attacks on African Americans and their white allies, in a fast-paced analysis that traces the period as reflected by the careers of two Union officers, a Confederate general, a northern entrepreneur, and a former slave.

What makes a winning racehorse? How intelligent are horses? What are horses trying to tell us when they stamp their hooves and snort? Do horses talk to each other? The horse, long a symbol of beauty and athletic prowess, has made and lost fortunes and transformed human history and culture, and yet has retained mysteries that baffle even those who work with them every day. There has recently been an explosion of scientific research on the horse. In this book Stephen Budiansky brings the insights of modern science to a wider audience of horse enthusiasts and animal-lovers.

Argues that man's intervention in nature is often necessary to maintain the balance

Between 1867, when the defeated South was forced to establish new state governments that fully represented both black and white citizens, and 1877, when the last of these governments was overthrown, more than 3,000 African Amer. and their white allies were killed by terrorist violence. Budiansky concentrates his narrative on the efforts of five heroic men -- two union officers, a Confederate general, a Northern entrepreneur, and a former slave -- who showed remarkable idealism and courage as they struggled to establish a ¿New South¿ in the face of overwhelming hatred and organized resistance. ¿Sheds new light on the violence, racism, division, and heroism of Reconstruction, a largely misunderstood but epochal chapter in Amer. history.¿ Illus.

Humans didn't tame animals, animals chose to become tame. Increasingly confrontational, the slogans of animal rights movements state that eating meat is murder, pets are slaves, laboratory animals are prisoners. But new studies on how the first animals came to be domesticated cast a different light on the relationship between humans and animals. Rather that an act of exploitation by man, domestication was a natural process. In this reappraisal of the human-animal bond, the author shows how domestication has proved to be a successful evolutionary strategy, benefiting humans and animals alike.

Sir Francis Walsingham’s official title was principal secretary to Queen Elizabeth I, but in fact this pious, tight-lipped Puritan was England’s first spymaster. A ruthless, fiercely loyal civil servant, Walsingham worked brilliantly behind the scenes to foil Elizabeth’s rival Mary Queen of Scots and outwit Catholic Spain and France, which had arrayed their forces behind her. Though he cut an incongruous figure in Elizabeth’s worldly court, Walsingham managed to win the trust of key players like William Cecil and the Earl of Leicester before launching his own secret campaign against the queen’s enemies. Covert operations were Walsingham’s genius; he pioneered techniques for exploiting double agents, spreading disinformation, and deciphering codes with the latest code-breaking science that remain staples of international espionage.

Explores the mysteries of domestic feline behavior, presenting a scientific examination of cat genetics, brain chemistry, evolution, social and predatory behavior, history and superstition, and hunting patterns.