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Bookshelf

Natural History, March, 2002

Among the Bears: Raising Orphan Cubs in the Wild, by Benjamin Kilham and Ed Gray (Henry Holt, 2002; $26)

Kilham's account of orphaned black bear cubs, raised by him in New Hampshire's woodlands, overturns some of our long-held assumptions about bear behavior and captures his affection for North America's intelligent and (except for us) dominant omnivore.

Submerged: Adventures of America's Most Elite Underwater Archeology Team, by Daniel Lenihan (Newmarket Press, 2002; $25.95)

An archaeologist and National Park Service ranger, the author has undertaken a variety of underwater jobs during his quarter-century career--from surveying shipwrecks in Lake Superior's frigid waters to recovering bodies of drowned divers in Florida's water-filled underground caves.

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Small Deaths, photographs by Kate Breakey (University of Texas Press, 2001; $65)

"Making photographic images of small deaths is, in a sense, my own version of natural history museum dioramas," writes Breakey, "a place where I can come to know my subjects in all their exquisite detail: the iridescence of their feathers, the patterns of their scales, the texture of their bones."

World Atlas of the Oceans, edited by Manfred Leier (Firefly Books, 2001; $50)

A wide-ranging and accessible compendium brimming with photographs, maps, and charts, this atlas covers marine exploration and oceanography and provides detailed data on topographical features of the ocean floor.

Lichens of North America, by Irwin M. Brodo, Sylvia Duran Sharnoff, and Stephen Sharnoff (Yale University Press, 2001; $69.95)

This tome includes detailed entries on more than 800 foliose, fruticose, and crustose lichens; essays on the biology, structure, uses, and ecological significance of these plants; and hundreds of color photographs.

The Origins of Fruit and Vegetables, by Jonathan Roberts (Universe/Rizzoli, 2001; $22.50)

The first references to rhubarb date to a Chinese herbal of 2,700 B.C.--a tidbit that is part of the wealth of information filling this beautiful volume.

Eco-Economy: Building an Economy for the Earth, by tester R. Brown (W. W. Norton, 2001; $27.95)

Brown, founder of the Worldwatch Institute, provides a road map for making economic progress compatible with preservation of the environment.

Nature's Robots: A History of Proteins, by Charles Tanford and Jacqueline Reynolds (Oxford University Press, 2001; $27.50)

Ranging from the earliest research in the nineteenth century to recent efforts to find the three-dimensional structure of individual proteins, this book portrays the "uniquely versatile macromolecules at the heart of all living processes."

The Hidden Powers of Animals: Uncovering the Secrets of Nature, by Karl P.N. Shuker (Reader's Digest, 2001; $30)

Abundant photographs accompany fascinating tales of creatures' specialized senses, including the ultraviolet vision of some insects, spiders, and birds; the sensory powers of sharks; and the infrasonic hearing that allows elephants, ground-dwelling rodents, and various insects to detect the approach of a storm.

Flora: An Illustrated History of the Garden Flower, by Brent Elliott (Firefly Books, 2001; $60)

Garden Eden: Masterpieces of Botanical Illustration, by H. Walter Lack (Taschen, 2001; $39.95)

Splendid botanical illustrations from the Royal Horticultural Society in London (Flora) and from the Austrian National Library in Vienna (Garden Eden).

The books mentioned are usually available in the Museum Shop, (212) 769-5150, or via the Museum's Web site, www.amnh.org.

Bookshelf

Natural History, March, 2002

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