Showing 17–32 of 38 resultsSorted by latest
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€12.50
This is a book about abandoned places: ghost towns and exclusion zones, no man’s lands and fortress islands – and what happens when nature is allowed to reclaim its place. In Chernobyl, following the nuclear disaster, only a handful of people returned to their dangerously irradiated homes. On an uninhabited Scottish island, feral cattle live entirely wild.
In Detroit, once America’s fourth-largest city, entire streets of houses are falling in on themselves, looters slipping through otherwise silent neighbourhoods. This book explores the extraordinary places where humans no longer live – or survive in tiny, precarious numbers – to give us a possible glimpse of what happens when mankind’s impact on nature is forced to stop. From Tanzanian mountains to the volcanic Caribbean, the forbidden areas of France to the mining regions of Scotland, Flyn brings together some of the most desolate, eerie, ravaged and polluted areas in the world – and shows how, against all odds, they offer our best opportunities for environmental recovery.
By turns haunted and hopeful, this luminously written world study is pinned together with profound insight and new ecological discoveries that together map an answer to the big questions: what happens after we’re gone, and how far can our damage to nature be undone?
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€18.00
Description
WITH A FOREWORD BY TIM HARFORD
Which nations have North Korean embassies? Which region has the highest number of death metal bands per capita? How many countries have bigger economies than California? Who drives on the ‘wrong’ side of the road? And where can you find lions in the wild?Revelatory, thought-provoking and fun, Brilliant Maps is a unique atlas of culture, history, politics and miscellanea, compiled by the editor of the iconic Brilliant Maps website. As visually arresting as Information is Beautiful and as full of surprising facts and figures as any encyclopaedia, Brilliant Maps is a stunning piece of cartography that maps our curious and varied planet. For graphic design enthusiasts, compulsive Wikipedia readers and those looking for the sort of gift they buy for someone else and wind up keeping for themselves, this book will change the way you see the world and your place in it.
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€19.95
Description
‘In Irish there are so many great rain words and magic words and highly specific natural words (such as the material put on the hooves of donkeys to stop them slipping in ice), or words to communicate with animals, or evocative plant words, or the gorgeous words for different amounts of light in the sky, or words that hint at different ways of seeing colour, or twilight words … ‘ Manchan Magan is fascinated by words, particularly Irish words, with all of their complex meanings and associations and their connections to the natural world. Having enjoyed huge success with his bestselling book Thirty-Two Words for Field, Manchan now brings his infectious wonder and enthusiasm for the Irish language to a younger audience, offering delightful translations and explanations of animal, bird, fish, insect and nature words.
When you see the world through Irish, you see the world differently. Get ready to share the magic with this delightful book for readers of all ages.
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€17.50
Description
This is an incredibly inspiring exploration of the sea’s role in the wellness of people and the planet, beautifully written by Easkey Britton – surfer, scientist and social activist. She offers a powerful female perspective on the sea and surfing, explaining what it’s like to be a woman in a man’s world and how she promoted the sport to women in Iran, surfing while wearing a hijab. She speaks of the undiscussed taboo around entering the water while menstruating – and of how she has come to celebrate her own bodily cycles.
She has developed her own approach to surfing, which instead of seeking to dominate the waves, works in tune with the natural cycles of her body, the moon and the seasons. In a society that rewards busyness, she believes that understanding the influence of cycles becomes even more important – and we all have them, men and women. For Easkey, the sea is a source of mental and physical wellbeing.
She explores the mental toughness needed in big-wave surfing, and presents surfing as an embodied mindfulness practice in which we can find flow and connect with the movement of the waves. She stresses the need to recognize the ocean as our most powerful ally when addressing our greatest global challenge: the climate crisis. Above all, Easkey’s relationship to the sea has taught her about the need to meet life and evolve with it, rather than seeking to control it.
By such wisdom our planet might just survive and thrive.
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€16.95
Description
Discover the fascinating world of Ireland’s diverse and astonishing collection of native wildflowers. This new edition reflects the many changes to our botanical knowledge since The Wildflowers of Ireland was first published in 2014. There’s updated information on the distribution of native wildflowers, along with more than 90 additional species, all beautifully photographed by the author.
For ease of identification, the species are divided into colour categories and within each category the species are grouped by, for example, the number of petals in the flower or whether the species carries its flowers in a cluster or a spike. In easily understood terminology, focus is put on the main identifying features of each plant, by colour, size, shape of flower, leaf, habitat, flowering season, and where in Ireland it might be found. This is a must for enthusiasts of all ages and levels of experience.
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€15.50
How can we be good ancestors?
From the first seeds sown thousands of years ago, to the construction of the cities we still inhabit, to the scientific discoveries that have ensured our survival, we are the inheritors of countless gifts from the past. Today, in an age driven by the tyranny of the now, with 24/7 news, the latest tweet, and the buy-now button commanding our attention, we rarely stop to consider how our actions will affect future generations. With such frenetic short-termism at the root of contemporary crises, the call for long-term thinking grows every day – but what is it, has it ever worked, and can we even do it? In The Good Ancestor, leading public philosopher Roman Krznaric argues that there is still hope.
From the pyramids to the NHS, humankind has always had the innate ability to plan for posterity and take action that will resonate for decades, centuries, even millennia to come. If we want to become good ancestors, now is the time to recover and enrich this imaginative skill. The Good Ancestor reveals six profound ways in which we can all learn to think long-term, exploring how we can reawaken oft-neglected but uniquely human talents like ‘cathedral thinking’ that expand our time horizons and sharpen our foresight.
Drawing on radical solutions from around the world, Krznaric celebrates the innovators who are reinventing democracy, culture and economics so that we all have the chance to become good ancestors and create a better tomorrow.
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€17.95
The harrowing, survival story of an early polar expedition that went terribly wrong, with the ship frozen in ice and the crew trapped inside for the entire sunless, Antarctic winter
August 1897: The Belgica set sail, eager to become the first scientific expedition to reach the white wilderness of the South Pole. But the ship soon became stuck fast in the ice of the Bellinghausen sea, condemning the ship’s crew to overwintering in Antarctica and months of endless polar night. In the darkness, plagued by a mysterious illness, their minds ravaged by the sound of dozens of rats teeming in the hold, they descended into madness.
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€15.95
Description
A beautifully presented, practical gift guide for all surf seekers. Explained with fascinating, easy-to-understand commentary from surfer and scientist Easkey Britton, each guide helps you soak up maximum vitamin sea. The book is divided into six main sections – each filled with exercises, ideas and fun facts to help you reconnect with your oceanic roots and create special moments by the sea…
Reading the Sea – watch waves, move with the tides, understand rips and currents, getting to know the sea and your limits. What the Sea Does for Us – appreciate the food, feel-good factors, and even medicines that the sea has to offer. Plus learn about its fundamental role in climate control.
We are Ocean – explore the multi-sensory environment the sea has to offer. The Power of the Sea to Heal – from seaweed and ocean plasma to social change and ocean therapy. The Sea is Calling – try your hand at beach combing, wave play, rockpooling, bird watching, searching for jellyfish and bioluminescence and swimming in the sea.
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€8.00
Description
This year has demonstrated how quickly our lives can change completely without warning. But every day we face change – whether it’s small changes such as an unscheduled meeting or plans going awry, to bigger changes such as a change of job or coping with the loss of a loved one. Our lives are constantly moving and we, in turn, must move with them.
In his latest book, bestselling author Dr Harry Barry shows us how to not only cope with change but learn in the process, and therefore grow and develop as a human being. Dr Barry, with the benefit of over thirty-five-years-experience as a family doctor assisting people in crisis, shares the practical tools and techniques required to manage change effectively and live your life to the fullest. Revealing how to become the ultimate pragmatist – accepting that there is no such thing as the perfect solution, just the best solution one can find at that moment in time.
Embracing Change is a practical, compassionate companion for anyone looking to boost their resilience, adapt to life’s challenges, and by smoothly navigating through them, reach calmer waters.
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€15.00
‘This diary chronicles the turning of my world, from spring to winter, at home, in the wild, in my head.’
Evocative, raw and lyrical, this startling debut explores the natural world through the eyes of Dara McAnulty, an autistic teenager coping with the uprooting of home, school, and his mental health, while pursuing his life as a conservationist and environmental activist. Shifting from intense darkness to light, recalling his sensory encounters in the wild – with blackbirds, whooper swans, red kites, hen harriers, frogs, dandelions, Irish hares and more – McAnulty reveals worlds we have neglected to see, in a stunning world of nature writing that is a future classic.
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€18.95
An easy-to-use, fully illustrated guide to the birds of Ireland This easy-to-use, full-colour guide describes and illustrates 178 of the most commonly spotted birds in Ireland. Specially designed for people with a general interest in birds,the species have been carefully selected to include those that the non-specialist birdwatcher is most likely to see. Usefully, birds are grouped together according to where they are most likely to be seen: in gardens, parks and buildings; farmland and hedgerows; woodland and scrubland; moorland and uplands; and freshwater or coastal areas, with background information given about each of these habitats.
Essential identification characteristics are given for each species, along with clear illustrations. There are also notes on distribution, numbers and migration for each species, and general pages for groups like thrushes, sparrows and finches will help you to distinguish between similar species. With definitive text, up-to-date distribution maps and superb illustrations, this book is the ultimate field guide to Irish birds, essential on every bookshelf and birdwatching trip.
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€13.95
As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers.
In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two ways of knowledge together. Drawing on her life as an indigenous scientist, a mother, and a woman, Kimmerer shows how other living beings – asters and goldenrod, strawberries and squash, salamanders, algae, and sweetgrass – offer us gifts and lessons, even if we’ve forgotten how to hear their voices. In a rich braid of reflections that range from the creation of Turtle Island to the forces that threaten its flourishing today, she circles toward a central argument: that the awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world.
For only when we can hear the languages of other beings will we be capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and learn to give our own gifts in return.
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€15.95
Richard Nairn has spent a lifetime studying – and learning from – nature. When an opportunity arose for him to buy a small woodland filled with mature native trees beside a fast-flowing river, he set about understanding all its moods and seasons, discovering its wildlife secrets and learning how to manage it properly. Wildwoods is a fascinating account of his journey over a typical year.
Along the way, he uncovers the ancient roles of trees in Irish life, he examines lost skills such as coppicing and he explores new uses of woodlands for forest schools, foraging and rewilding. Ultimately, Wildwoods inspires all of us to pay attention to what nature can teach us. ‘A book to inspire anyone who wants Ireland to grow more Irish trees.’ Michael Viney
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€24.95
Description
In his fascinating and thought-provoking new book, Professor Luke O’Neill, one of the leading voices of authority during the COVID-19 pandemic, grapples with life’s biggest questions and tells us what science has to say about them:Do we have control over our lives?Can we escape working in bullshit jobs?Must we vaccinate our children?Are men and women’s brains different?Will we destroy the planet?Covering topics from global pandemics to gender, addiction to euthanasia, Luke’s trademark easy wit and clever pop-culture references deconstruct the science to make complex questions accessible. Arriving at science’s definitive answers to some of the most controversial topics human beings have to grapple with, Never Mind the B#ll*ocks is a celebration of science and hard facts in a time of fake news and sometimes unhelpful groupthink.
