The Nature Pages at OUTRIDER BOOKS
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      March, 2001
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      Nature News
      • Writers Speak Out on Arctic Refuge
      New Guidebooks
      New Natural Histories
      New Nature Writing
      New Science Writing
      Forthcoming
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      NEW GUIDEBOOKS  
       
      Along Montana & Idaho's Continental Divide Trail

      The Continental Divide Trail Series 

      Field Guide to Old-Growth Forests 

      Guide to the Offshore Wildlife of the Northern Atlantic 
      by Michael Tove 

      Quick Escapes Minneapolis/St. Paul  
      25 Weekend Trips in and Around the Twin Cities 
       

      Finding old-growth forests is not easy, as less than 10 percent of the ancient timber stands that used to stretch along the Pacific Coast are still intact. Those that remain are mostly in remote, unmarked locations with difficult access. For those who want to experience the wonder of walking beneath giant trees and becoming part of an incredibly diverse and vital ecosystem, this is an indispensable little guide. It provides descriptions of and directions to parks and reserves in Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and California. Continue.. To identify all the air-breathing offshore wildlife potentially encountered on birding, whale-watching, or sport fishing trips at sea, you could take along a stack of field guides--or this one comprehensive guide to all the birds, whales, dolphins, seals, and sea turtles of the Northern Atlantic. 
       
      NEW NATURAL HISTORIES  

      American Aquarium Fishes 
      by Robert J. Goldstein 

      Anza-Borrego A to Z 
      People, Places, and Things 
      by Diana Lindsay 

      Glaciers of California 
      Modern Glaciers, Ice Age Glaciers, the Origin of Yosemite Valley, and a Glacier Tour in the Sierra Nevada 
      by Bill Guyton (University of California Press) 

      Sir William Jardine 
      A Life in Natural History 
      by Christine E. Jackson (Continuum) 

      Solitary Wasps 
      Behavior and Natural History 
      by Kevin M. O'Neill 

      Tinkering with Eden 
      A Natural History of Exotics in America 
      by Kim Todd (W.W. Norton & Co.) 
       

       

      Bill Guyton summarizes the history of the discovery of Ice Age glaciation and modern-day glaciers in California, as well as the development of modern ideas about the state's glacial history. He describes the controversy about the origin of Yosemite Valley and quotes from the colorful accounts of early mountain explorers such as John Muir, Josiah Whitney, and Franois Matthes. His book provides a primer on glaciers and glacial landforms, a glossary of technical terms, helpful illustrations, and a 100-mile Sierra field trip guide for readers who want to see glaciers and glacial features for themselves. Glaciers of California will make any visit to the mountains more interesting, whether one is carrying a camera, crampons, or a fishing pole.
       
      NEW NATURE WRITING 

      Norton Book of Nature Writing  
      edited by Robert Finch and John Elder 

       
      NEW SCIENCE WRITING 

      Cracking the Genome 
      Inside the Race to Unlock Human DNA 
      by Kevin Davies 

      The Nothing That Is 
      A Natural History of Zero 
      by Robert Kaplan

      In 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick discovered the double helix structure of DNA. The discovery was a profound, Nobel Prize-winning moment in the history of genetics, but it did not decipher the messages on the twisted, ladderlike strands within our cells. No one knew what the human genome sequence actually was. No one had cracked the code of life. Now, at the beginning of a new millennium, that code has been cracked.