'Birds do it, bees do it, Even educated fleas do it . . . 'So wrote Cole Porter in his famous song from 1928, 'Let's Do It, Let's Fall In Love'. To which Bruce Montague, author of this enlightening and amusing collection, silently replied, 'Yes, but how do they do it?'Birds, Bees and Educated Fleas is an amusing A-Z of the courtship and mating habits of animals - including Homo sapiens sapiens. From well-hung South American drakes to shy camels arranging secret love trysts, female chameleons whose skin darkens when they're no longer in the mood to giraffes who swing their hips and swish their tails when they're feeling frisky, oysters that can change sex pretty much at will to stud rhinoceroses that can copulate three or four times a day for a week, this is a wide-ranging, light-hearted but well-researched look at the world of animal love and lust. Arranged alphabetically by species, here is the perfect handbook for any peeping Tom or Tomasina who wants to know what goes on in the animal world behind the - metaphorical - bedroom curtains.

What makes me, me – and you, you? What is this thing called ‘love’? Does life have a point? Is ‘no’ the right answer to this question? Philosophy transports us from the wonderful to the weird, from the funny to the very serious indeed. With the aid of tall stories, jokes, fascinating insights and common sense, Peter Cave offers a comprehensive survey of all areas of philosophy, addressing the big puzzles in ethics and politics, metaphysics and knowledge, religion and the emotions, aesthetics and logic. Replete with a smorgasbord of amusing and mind-boggling examples, The Big Think Book is perfect for anyone who delights in life’s conundrums.

This collection is an interdisciplinary edited volume that examines the circulation of Darwinian ideas in the Atlantic space as they impacted systems of Western thought and culture. Specifically, the book explores the influence of the principle tenets of Darwinism -- such as the theory of evolution, the ape-man theory of human origins, and the principle of sexual selection -- on established transatlantic intellectual traditions and cultural practices. In doing so, it pays particular attention to how Darwinism reconfigured discourses on race, gender, and sexuality in a transnational context. Covering the period from the publication of The Origin of Species (1859) to 1933, when the Nazis (National Socialist Party) took power in Germany, the essays demonstrate the dissemination of Darwinian thought in the Western world in an unprecedented commerce of ideas not seen since the Protestant Reformation. Learned societies, literary groups, lyceums, and churches among other sites for public discourse sponsored lectures on the implications of Darwin’s theory of evolution for understanding the very ontological codes by which individuals ordered and made sense of their lives. Collectively, these gatherings reflected and constituted what the contributing scholars to this volume view as the discursive power of the cultural politics of Darwinism.

Ever since men first hunted for honeycomb in rocks and daubed pictures of it on cave walls, the honeybee has been seen as one of the wonders of nature: social, industrious, beautiful, terrifying. No other creature has inspired in humans an identification so passionate, persistent, or fantastical. The Hive recounts the astonishing tale of all the weird and wonderful things that humans believed about bees and their "society" over the ages. It ranges from the honey delta of ancient Egypt to the Tupelo forests of modern Florida, taking in a cast of characters including Alexander the Great and Napoleon, Sherlock Holmes and Muhammed Ali. The history of humans and honeybees is also a history of ideas, taking us through the evolution of science, religion, and politics, and a social history that explores the bee's impact on food and human ritual. In this beautifully illustrated book, Bee Wilson shows how humans will always view the hive as a miniature universe with order and purpose, and look to it to make sense of their own.

Splendidly illustrated from nature, this encyclopedia describes with rigour and grace some of the most complex and bizarre behaviours in the animal world.

Finalist • The Marfield Prize [National Award for Arts Writing] “Not since the late Leonard Bernstein has classical music had a combination salesman-teacher as irresistible as Kapilow.” —Kansas City Star “If you want to understand American history, listen to its popular music,” writes renowned NPR host Rob Kapilow. “If you want to understand America’s popular music, listen to its history.” Through the songs of eight legendary American composers—Kern, Porter, Gershwin, Arlen, Berlin, Rodgers, Bernstein, and Sondheim—Kapilow listens for the history not just of musical theater, but of America itself. Combining close readings of Broadway hits like “Summertime” and “Stormy Weather” with a wide-angled historical point of view, Listening for America shows us how we too can listen along as America discovered its identity through the epochal transformations of the twentieth century.

Your one-stop guide to caring for your avian companion Pet birds are intelligent, affectionate, and rewarding companions. No matter what bird you choose, you need to set up a happy home for him with the right stuff. You also need to keep your bird healthy by performing routine care and knowing what a healthy bird looks like and how he behaves. This friendly guide describes the birds that make the best pets, explains how to select the bird that's best for you, offers tips on bonding with your feathered friend, and provides expert advice on feeding and environmental enrichment that will keep these intelligent pets engaged. Benefit from a full-color guide to pet birds Choose the right bird based on your budget and lifestyle Create a bird-friendly environment that minimizes noise and mess Bond with your winged pet If you’re ready for your love of birds to take flight, this book has everything you need.