You may have heard that Minnesota's ten thousand lakes are the hoofprints of Paul Bunyan's big blue ox, Babe. “Don't you believe it!

Tiny pieces of space rock called micrometeorites are everywhere on Earth. In Search of Stardust shows you how to find them! The solar system is a dusty place. Every day approximately 100 metric tons of cosmic dust collides with Earth, mainly in the form of micrometeorites. Most of these mineral particles (iron, nickel, etc.) are smaller than grains of sand, and they are falling down on us all the time and all over the globe. Still, little is known about these exotic extraterrestrials. In Search of Stardust is the first comprehensive popular science book about micrometeorites. It's also a photo documentary comprising more than 1,500 previously unpublished images: the first atlas of micrometeorites, hundreds of which are depicted here in high-resolution color microscopic photography and in scanning electron microscope imagery. Author Jon Larsen shows readers how and where to look for micrometeorites, explains the history of micrometeoritics, and offers chapters about micrometeorite formation, classification, and analysis. Thanks to Larsen's work, for the first time it is now possible for anyone to find these amazing tiny stones from space. For more than a century it was believed these incredible space objects could be found only in pristine, unsullied environs like Antarctica and ocean floors. Larsen became the first to break the code and find micrometeorites in populated areas -- in fact, they can be found in the nearest rain gutter. In the book Larsen explains how anyone with a bit of inexpensive equipment can find their own micrometeorites. It was recently discovered that King Tut's dagger was forged from a chunk of a meteorite. What else is made of extraterrestrial rock? Join the hunt!

In Catastrophobia Barbara Hand Clow shows that a series of cataclysmic disasters 11,500 years ago rocked the world and left humanity's collective psyche chronically scarred. This unprocessed fear is responsible for our constant expectations of apocalypse, from Y2K to the famed end of the Mayan calendar in 2012. But according to the author there is every indication that the changes in consciousness over the last 30 years are the beginnings of a collective healing from these deep fears.

An enthralling glimpse into the life of William Smith, a nineteenth-century engineer who became the founding father of modern geology, explores his creation of a lavish map detailing his discovery that rocks are comprised of many different layers amidst the backdrop of his wife's madness and debtors prison. By the author of The Professor and the Madman. 100,000 first printing.

An acclaimed biographer and science writer profiles the early geologists who were the first to excavate from the layers of the world its buried history, exploring their triumphs and disappointments, and the theological, philosophical and scientific debates their findings provoked.

By the world-renowned seismologist, a riveting history of natural disasters, their impact on our culture, and new ways of thinking about the ones to come Earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, hurricanes, volcanoes--they stem from the same forces that give our planet life. Earthquakes give us natural springs; volcanoes produce fertile soil. It is only when these forces exceed our ability to withstand them that they become disasters. Together they have shaped our cities and their architecture; elevated leaders and toppled governments; influenced the way we think, feel, fight, unite, and pray. The history of natural disasters is a history of ourselves. In The Big Ones, leading seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones offers a bracing look at some of the world's greatest natural disasters, whose reverberations we continue to feel today. At Pompeii, Jones explores how a volcanic eruption in the first century AD challenged prevailing views of religion. She examines the California floods of 1862 and the limits of human memory. And she probes more recent events--such as the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 and the American hurricanes of 2017--to illustrate the potential for globalization to humanize and heal. With population in hazardous regions growing and temperatures around the world rising, the impacts of natural disasters are greater than ever before. The Big Ones is more than just a work of history or science; it is a call to action. Natural hazards are inevitable; human catastrophes are not. With this energizing and exhaustively researched book, Dr. Jones offers a look at our past, readying us to face down the Big Ones in our future.

In this brilliant exploration of our cosmic environment, the renowned particle physicist andNew York Times bestselling author of Warped Passages and Knocking on Heaven’s Dooruses her research into dark matter to illuminate the startling connections between the furthest reaches of space and life here on Earth. Sixty-six million years ago, an object the size of a city descended from space to crash into Earth, creating a devastating cataclysm that killed off the dinosaurs, along with three-quarters of the other species on the planet. What was its origin? InDark Matter and the Dinosaurs, Lisa Randall proposes it was a comet that was dislodged from its orbit as the Solar System passed through a disk of dark matter embedded in the Milky Way. In a sense, it might have been dark matter that killed the dinosaurs. Working through the background and consequences of this proposal, Randall shares with us the latest findings—established and speculative—regarding the nature and role of dark matter and the origin of the Universe, our galaxy, our Solar System, and life, along with the process by which scientists explore new concepts. In Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs, Randall tells a breathtaking story that weaves together the cosmos’ history and our own, illuminating the deep relationships that are critical to our world and the astonishing beauty inherent in the most familiar things.

McPhee traces the geologic history of the region extending from eastern Utah to eastern California, juxtaposes descriptions of this terrain as it was eons ago with its contemporary features, and examines the plate tectonics revolution

Everything you need to know about the framework of the body - our bones! Bone is one of the most extraordinary materials in the natural world; flexible, strong, and available in a number of types and densities. Yet we can only absorb quite how amazing it is when we look at the range of different jobs it can do, from supporting a huge and heavy mammal like an elephant, to enabling a bat to fly. It can even teach us about the past! Scientists have gathered all the information they know about the dinosaurs and their dependents from their fossilized bones, extraordinary reminders of the way our world used to be. Skeletons covers everything you need to know about bones! Beautifully illustrated with the engravings of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, learn all about the skeleton and the variety of actions it preforms to enable an animal to survive. Then, go deeper and see how skeletons have evolved over time. They can even adapt to different climates to help animals survive! You'll also find complete directory of skeletons with its own box of key facts and statistics. It's scientific eye candy!

Traces the history of coal from its foundations three million years ago through its role in industry and disease, covering such areas as its uses as jewelry in ancient Rome, in the establishment of China as a twelfth-century superpower, and as a tool in the Civil War. Reprint. 50,000 first printing.