SUMMER
READING SUGGESTIONS FROM
THE ACADEMY LIBRARY'S MEMBERS' LENDING COLLECTION, 2003
And Videos, Too!
California Academy of Sciences Library
Summer is a perfect time to do a little reading by the pool, in the comfort of your own home, on the bus on the way to work, or just about anywhere!
The books and videos
below have been selected not with summer in mind,
but to provide a great experience any time of the year!
Pub QL76.5 .U6 H36 2002
Animal Attractions: Nature on Display in American Zoos / Elizabeth
Hanson. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2002.
This fascinating book tracks the history of the American zoo, from origins in
circuses, side shows, and private collections, to current incarnations that
include more natural habitats and conservation. Many aspects of zoos are explored
in Hanson's work, including collection development, maintenance, and management,
designs, wild animal trade, and more. Sprinkled throughout the work are wonderful
anecdotes and explorations of societies feelings about zoos.
Extensive notes and an index are included.
Pub QH105 .C2 S65 1998
California Marine Life: A Guide to Common Marine Species / Marty
Snyderman. Niwot, CO: Roberts Rinehart in cooperation with Monterey Bay Aquarium,
c1998.
Mostly divided into sections by habitat, this easy to use book provides information
on marine species commonly seen off the shore of California. Color photographs
are highlight of the book and beautifully illustrate the glory of the Pacific
Ocean.
An explanation of scientific classification is provided, along with a glossary
and a species index.
Pub QH31 .D37 A3 2002
Called by the Wild: The Autobiography of a Conservationist / Raymond
F. Dasmann. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2002.
Raymond Dasmann has devoted his life his life to conservation. Through game
management to a doctorate in conservation biology, he has seem the conservation
and environmentalism movements grow and change. In this volume, he details his
early life and interests in nature, through his marriage, teaching, and influences
on the conservation that we know today.
Pub QL638 .L26 W45 2000
A Fish Caught in Time: The Search for the Coelacanth / Samantha
Weinberg. New York: HarperCollins, 2000.
Thought to have died off in the time of the dinosaurs, the coelacanth was miraculously
rediscovered off the coast of Africa in 1939. The author tracks the fascination
with finding the coelacanth from its reappearance to the present day, detailing
the sometimes obsessive search and searchers.
A natural history of the coelacanth is presented in the appendix, along with
a list of where you can see a coelacanth specimen, including the Steinhart Aquarium
at the California Academy of Sciences.
Pub CB151 .R32 1996
Lucy's Bones, Sacred Stones and Einstein's Brain: The Remarkable Stories
Behind the Great Objects and Artifacts of History from Antiquity to the Modern
Era / Harvey Rachlin. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1996.
If you're looking for a fun, interesting, and educational read, look no further.
This fascinating title examines the stories surrounding objects we've all heard
about, like the Hope Diamond, London Bridge, the Shroud of Turin, the Elephant
Man, and George Washington's false teeth. Each object is separately discussed
and includes information on both legend and fact.
References and acknowledgments are provided for each item, along with an index.
Pub GN284.6 .S55 2001
The Man Who Found the Missing Link: Eugène Dubois and His Lifelong Quest
to Prove Darwin Right / Pat Shipman. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001.
The author, an Adjunct Professor of Anthropology at Penn State, has, with full
access to Dubois' personal archives, put together an amazing volume on the life,
science, and place in history of Eugène Dubois. Dubois abandoned a promising
career and risked his life, friendship, societal standing, and life to track
down a "missing link" between ape and man.
The author captures the immediacy of Dubois' hunt through her writing and use
of archival information.
Pub Z733 .S67 S64 2002
An Odyssey in Print: Adventures in the Smithsonian Libraries /
Mary Augusta Thomas. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 2002.
How about taking a trip to the Smithsonian
Libraries? Even if you can't go in person, this book, published in conjunction
with an exhibit at the Smithsonian, takes us into parts of the collection, showcasing
some of the rare materials. The book is divided into three sections, one showing
how the world has been imagined and explained, another showing how knowledge
of the world has been expanded, and the final section highlighting the imagination
and technical experiences of artists, architects, and others as seen through
books and pamphlets housed in the Institution's libraries.
Pub QH31 .T485 B68 2001
Of Moths and Men: An Evolutionary Tale: The Untold Story of Science and
the Peppered Moth / Judith Hooper. New York: W. W. Norton & Company,
2001.
Every person who ever took high school biology knows the story of the peppered
moth in England, held up as the proof of Darwin's theory of natural selection.
For the last 50 years this evidence has been held up as the defining confirmation
of natural selection, but recent examination of the science behind the proof
has shown something something unexpected. Hooper examines the people, science,
and society surrounding the famous peppered moth discoveries in a readable and
and entertaining format. Intrigue, science, theory, and heartbreak are all intermingled
into a fascination story.
Extensive notes, a bibliography, and an index are included.
Pub QH70 .A1 .A75 2001
Stuffed Animals and Pickled Heads: The Culture and Evolution of Natural
History Museums / Stephen T. Asma. New York: Oxford University Press,
2001.
Take a journey back through time to the history of natural history museums.
Enter back museum back rooms, visit a museum of medical oddities, learn about
how our perceptions of nature both shape and are shaped by the museums we visit.
The author's fascination for the subject clearly comes through in this engaging
work.
Pub PM2583 .B39 1996
Wisdom Sits in Places: Landscape and Language Among the Western Apache
/ Keith H. Basso. Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press, 1996.
Each chapter in this book contains a separate essay concentrated on a single
Apache person, creating a personal relationship for the reader. The author,
and ethnographer and linguist examines the significance of place in Apache though
and practice, so the individual experience is essential to understanding the
topic.
An Apache language pronunciation guide, extensive notes, references, and an
index are included.
Biodiv Juv QH541.5 .R27
M37 1996
Beyond 'Ohi'a Valley: Adventures in a Hawaiian Rainforest / Lisa
Matsumoto. Honolulu, HI: Lehua, Inc., 1996.
Kahuli the Hawaiian tree snail is bored, bored bored. He'd love to explore the
world outside his tree, and when an opportunity arises he decides to enjoy it
to the fullest! But things aren't as nice in other parts of the forest, and
he learns valuable lessons from the damaged valley and happy-face spider he
meets there.
Vivid illustrations are a feature of the book, along with the use of traditional
Hawai'ian names and profiles of the featured native species.
Pub Juv QE861.5 .K47 2001
The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins / Barbara Kerley. New York:
Scholastic, Inc., 2001.
If you lived in a world where no one knew what dinosaurs looked like, would
you have the imagination and courage to create lifelike sculptures with only
fossils as your guide? Waterhouse Hawkins did! The Victorian artist created
sculptures of dinosaurs for museums in England and the United States during
the late 1800s, and changed the face of paleontology forever.
Pub Juv QE570 .S65 2000
Earthsteps: A Rock's Journey through Time / Diane Nelson Spickert.
Golden, CO: Fulcrum Publishing, 2000.
250 million years ago, expanding ice broke a boulder off of a mountain. And
thus begins our tale, following the boulder as it wears down to a grain of sand
and then grows to boulder size again. The science is cleverly hidden in this
entertaining volume, indicating the passing of geologic time while still maintaining
the charm of the story.
Biodiv Juv PZ7 .L5876 Fr
1999
Frog Girl / Paul Owen Lewis. Berkeley, CA: Tricycle Press, 1999.
This story of the native people of the Pacific Northwest tells the story of
a young girl who spies two young boys from her village pretending to be great
hunters by capturing frogs in a lake. When she is summoned by a frog to the
empty halls of Grandmother frog, she realizes that Grandmother's anger over
the disappearance of her people has threatened her entire village! Can she manage
to save her people, and Grandmother's people, and create understanding before
it's too late?
Pub Juv QL122.2 .T64 1999
Neptune's Nursery / Kim Michelle Toft and Allan Sheather. Watertown,
MA: Charlesbridge Publishing, 1999.
This guessing book introduces you to a variety of ocean creatures and their
young, all the while giving clues to the main character. Can you guess which
animal in the illustrations is unlike ANY of the others? Bright illustrations
are a highlight of this work, along with the educational and entertaining presentation
of information.
Pub Juv QL638.9 .T76 2002
Sharkabet: A Sea of Sharks from A to Z / Ray Troll. Portland,
OR: WestWinds Press, 2002.
From angel sharks to zebra sharks, the author traces current and extinct sharks
through the alphabet. Along the way you'll learn about the shark family tree
and learn a great deal.
Pub Juv PZ8.1 .C994 Si 1993
The Singing Snake / Stefan Czernecki and Timothy Rhodes. New York:
Hyperion Books for Children, 1993.
Snake can never win the Old Man's singing contest with his harsh voice, so he
decides to cheat and use Lark's voice instead. He wins, but in so doing loses
the companionship of everyone else on the island, and eventually his own voice!
This retelling of an Australian folktale is illustrated with drawings inspired
by Aboriginal art.
Pub Juv QL821 .P18 2002
The Skull Alphabet Book / Jerry Pallotta and Ralph Masiello. Watertown,
MA: Charlesbridge Publishing, 2002.
Visually fascinating, the book is intended for an older child. Mammal skulls
are provided in alphabetical order, but the names are not given. Instead, clues
are given and a key is provided for the animal names. If you look closely, you
can also find the heads of the US presidents hidden in the pages.
Biodiv Juv QH87.3 .C65 1996
Squishy, Misty, Damp & Muddy: The In-Between World of Wetlands
/ Molly Cone. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 1996.
If you see a forest that looks like it's growing in the middle of a pond, it's
probably a wetland. And if you liked finding that out, than this is the book
for you. Great photographs of wetlands and the animals and plants that live
in them are presented with text that talks about the different kinds of wetlands
and why they're important.
Biodiv Juv QL110 .F74 2001
Under One Rock: Bugs, Slugs, and Other Ughs / Anthony D. Fredericks.
Nevada City, CA: Dawn Publications, 2001.
A young boy lifts a rock in the park, and we then meet creatures who live under
it in this story that builds on and repeats itself like a "house that Jack built"
story. Earthworms, spiders, crickets, and other animals are introduced as neighbors
in the brightly illustrated rhyming story.
Pub AV&M GC21 .B58 2002
tapes 1-4
The Blue Planet: Seas of Life. Burbank, CA: Distributed by Warner
Home Video, c2002.
Each video contains two separate programs and is approximately 98 minutes long.
The complete natural history of the oceans is explored in the series, and educational
and interesting facts are provided everywhere along the way. Beautiful photography
is a highlight of this entire series from David Attenborough, through episodes
called Ocean World, Frozen Seas, Open Ocean, The Deep, Seasonal Seas, Coral
Seas, Tidal Seas, and Coasts. Though not for the squeamish (Attenborough never
lets you forget that the sea is a place of predators and prey), the videos are
beautifully done and highly recommended.
Pub AV&M QL668 .E227 C36
1988
Cane Toads. New York: First Run Features, 1988.
Interesting information is presented in an irreverent manner in this film about
the introduction of the cane toad in Queensland, Australia. The idea of using
the toads as a biological control was conceived in the 1930s when Australia's
sugar crops were threatened by cane grubs and beetles. The toads were thought
to be a perfect way to eradicate the problem. However, beetles fly and toads
do not, and the toads would rather mate, anyway. Thus began the infestation
that has spread from Queensland to other areas of Australia. At once amusing
and alarming, this documentary provides natural history information about the
toads as well as a lesson in the danger of introduced species.
All of the materials above are available for loan to Academy members.
For more books and videos, try this link to the lending page!
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May 29, 2003.
