Author: Joe Roman
Publisher: Reaktion Books
Keywords: books, reaktion, whale
Number of Pages: 240
Published: 2006-05-01
List price: $19.95
ISBN-10: 1861892462
ISBN-13: 9781861892461

One hundred years ago, a beached whale would have been greeted by a mob wielding flensing knives; today, people bring harnesses and boats to help it return to the sea. The whale is one of the most awe-inspiring and intelligent animals in nature, sharing a complex relationship with humans that has radically evolved over the centuries. Joe Roman offers in Whale a fascinating and in-depth look at the cultural and natural history of these majestic aquatic mammals. From the Biblical prophet Jonah to Moby-Dick to recent discoveries of cetacean songs and culture, Roman examines the whale’s role

Author: Armando
Publisher: Reaktion Books
Keywords: topographics, books, reaktion, berlin
Number of Pages: 144
Published: 1997-08-01
List price: $18.95
ISBN-10: 0948462876
ISBN-13: 9780948462870

Author: Richard Schweid
Publisher: Reaktion Books
Keywords: books, reaktion, eel
Number of Pages: 224
Published: 2009-05-15
List price: $19.95
ISBN-10: 1861894236
ISBN-13: 9781861894236

When pulled from the mud of creeks, ponds, rivers, or the sea, the eel, with its slick, snake-like body, emerges as an extremely mundane and even unappealing fish. But don’t let the appearance fool you—the eel has been one of the world’s favorite foods since ancient Greece, and the eel’s life cycle is one of the most remarkable on the planet—during the middle ages, impoverished Londoners survived on eel and the eel later saved the Mayflower pilgrims from starvation on American shores.             In Eel, Richard Schweid chronicles the many facets of these slippery creature

Author: Martin Wallen
Publisher: Reaktion Books
Keywords: books, reaktion, fox
Number of Pages: 206
Published: 2006-12-15
List price: $19.95
ISBN-10: 1861892977
ISBN-13: 9781861892973

We know very little about the fox and its habits—and our ignorance, Martin Wallen argues, is rooted in the fox’s bad reputation. Lowly, sly, and classified as vermin, foxes raid henhouses and garbage bins, spread disease, and injure domestic pets. At the same time, foxes are often considered beautiful, mysterious, and even oddly human. This book is the first to fully explore the fox as the object of both derision and fascination, from the forests of North America to the deserts of Africa to the Arctic tundra. Whether portrayed as an unrepentant thief, a shape-shifter, or an outlaw, the fox

Author: Claire Preston
Publisher: Reaktion Books
Keywords: books, reaktion, bee
Number of Pages: 208
Published: 2006-02-20
List price: $19.95
ISBN-10: 186189256X
ISBN-13: 9781861892560

"How doth the little busy bee improve each shining hour / and gather honey all the day from every opening flower!" This famed Isaac Watts verse reveals the enduring fascination that bees have held for humans: bees have long been admired for their remarkable socialization and architectural skills, and since the earliest times they have carried profound symbolic meanings. Claire Preston’s Bee offers a comprehensive survey of the natural and cultural history of the bee and explores the impressive body of literature that has grown out of man’s search for honey. Bee traces the bee̵

Author: Lucian Boia
Publisher: Reaktion Books
Keywords: topographics, books, reaktion, romania
Number of Pages: 240
Published: 2004-01-02
List price: $27.00
ISBN-10: 1861891032
ISBN-13: 9781861891037

Romania examines the development of this eastern European country from the Middle Ages to the present day, introducing the reader to its culture, history, language, politics, ethnic identity, and international relations. Lucian Boia shows how modernization and the influence of Western language and culture have divided the nation, arguing that the country today is having difficulty fixing its identity and envisioning a future, and concludes with a tour of present-day Bucharest whose houses, streets and monuments embody the country’s values and contradictions.

Author: Dean Crawford
Publisher: Reaktion Books
Keywords: books, reaktion, shark
Number of Pages: 224
Published: 2008-08-01
List price: $19.95
ISBN-10: 1861893256
ISBN-13: 9781861893253

A sleek hunter of the seas, the shark has struck fear into the hearts of men since the days of the first fishermen. Dean Crawford now explores here the long relationship between shark and man, revealing that behind the fearsome caricature is a complex animal that deserves a thoughtful reconsideration.With a lineage stretching back over 100 million years, the shark has evolved into 350 different species, from the great white to the pike-bearing goblin to the tiny cookie-cutter. Crawford compiles here a fascinating narrative that analyzes how and why the animal looms large in our cultural psyche