Bøker av Thor Hanson

'An original, wide-ranging and carefully researched book ... contains important lessons for humanity.' Mark Cocker, The SpectatorA fascinating insight into climate change biology around the globe, as well as in our own backyards.Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid is the first major book by a biologist to focus on the fascinating story of how the natural world is adjusting, adapting, and sometimes measurably evolving in response to climate change. Lyrical and thought-provoking, this book broadens the climate focus from humans to the wider lattice of life.Bestselling nature writer Thor Hanson - author of Buzz (a Radio 4 'Book of the Week') - shows us how Caribbean lizards have grown larger toe pads to grip trees more tightly during frequent hurricanes; and how the 'plasticity' of squid has allowed them to change their body size and breeding habits to cope with altered sea temperatures.Plants and animals have a great deal to teach us about the nature of what comes next, because for many of them, and also for many of us, that world is already here.

The natural and cultural history of how people, birds, and the feather came together

BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK'Popular science at its most accessible: fun, fascinating and full of engaging pen portraits of the scientists and bee enthusiasts he meets in the course of his research' Melissa Harrison, Guardian'A smooth and accessible account of the insects that provide a significant amount of what we eat, introducing their fascinating diversity of behaviour. A reminder of why bees are wonders that we must protect.'Matt Shardlow, BBC WildlifeBees are like oxygen: ubiquitous, essential, and, for the most part,unseen. While we might overlook them, they lie at the heart of relationshipsthat bind the human and natural worlds.InBuzz,the award-winning author ofFeathersandThe Triumphof Seedstakes us on a journey that begins 125 million years ago, whena wasp first dared to feed pollen to its young.From honeybees andbumbles to lesser-known diggers, miners, leafcutters, and masons, bees havelong been central to our harvests, our mythologies, and our very existence. They've given us sweetness and light, the beauty of flowers, and as much as athird of the foodstuffs we eat. And, alarmingly, they are at risk ofdisappearing.As informative andenchanting as the waggle dance of a honeybee,Buzzshows uswhy all bees are wonders to celebrate and protect. Read this book and you'llnever overlook them again.

"[T]he genius of Hanson's fascinating, inspiring, and entertaining book stems from the fact that it is not about how all kinds of things grow from seeds it is about the seeds themselves."-Mark Kurlansky, New York Times Book Review

"The true story of the famous composer's pet starling, who Mozart discovered when he walked past a shop and heard one of his own compositions being sung by a bird"--

*A New York Times Editor's Choice pick*Shortlisted for the 2022 Pacific Northwest Book AwardsA beloved natural historian explores how climate change is driving evolution In  Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid, biologist Thor Hanson tells the remarkable story of how plants and animals are responding to climate change: adjusting, evolving, and sometimes dying out. Anole lizards have grown larger toe pads, to grip more tightly in frequent hurricanes. Warm waters have caused the development of Humboldt squid to alter so dramatically that fishermen mistake them for different species. Brown pelicans have moved north, and long-spined sea urchins south, to find cooler homes. And when coral reefs sicken, they leave no territory worth fighting for, so aggressive butterfly fish transform instantly into pacifists.  A story of hope, resilience, and risk, Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid is natural history for readers of Bernd Heinrich, Robin Wall Kimmerer, and David Haskell. It is also a reminder of how unpredictable climate change is as it interacts with the messy lattice of life.