In this New York Times bestseller and longlist nominee for the National Book Award, “our greatest living chronicler of the natural world” (The New York Times), David Quammen explains how recent discoveries in molecular biology affect our understanding of evolution and life’s history. In the mid-1970s, scientists began using DNA sequences to reexamine the history of all life. Perhaps the most startling discovery to come out of this new field—the study of life’s diversity and relatedness at the molecular level—is horizontal gene transfer (HGT), or the movement of genes across species lines. It turns out that HGT has been widespread and important; we now know that roughly eight percent of the human genome arrived sideways by viral infection—a type of HGT. In The Tangled Tree, “the grandest tale in biology….David Quammen presents the science—and the scientists involved—with patience, candor, and flair” (Nature). We learn about the major players, such as Carl Woese, the most important little-known biologist of the twentieth century; Lynn Margulis, the notorious maverick whose wild ideas about “mosaic” creatures proved to be true; and Tsutomu Wantanabe, who discovered that the scourge of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a direct result of horizontal gene transfer, bringing the deep study of genome histories to bear on a global crisis in public health. “David Quammen proves to be an immensely well-informed guide to a complex story” (The Wall Street Journal). In The Tangled Tree, he explains how molecular studies of evolution have brought startling recognitions about the tangled tree of life—including where we humans fit upon it. Thanks to new technologies, we now have the ability to alter even our genetic composition—through sideways insertions, as nature has long been doing. “The Tangled Tree is a source of wonder….Quammen has written a deep and daring intellectual adventure” (The Boston Globe).

If you are easily frightened, stay away from Tangle Tree, where diabolical entities watch for opportunities to persecute the living. Even today, Tangle Tree Valley is cursed by the legend of a deadly confrontation in 1192 between a powerful Shawnee sorceress and a ruthless tribal leader. The disturbing presence of five oak trees stand in memorial of his murders and her revenge. Likewise, Tangle Tree Manor is believed to be haunted by the ghosts of the Crayton family, who built the mansion after fleeing the potato famine of Scotland in the 1850s. The family was tormented with suspicion, tragedy, and the constant fear of retribution for Richard Crayton’s betrayal of vindictive conspirators. Being unaware of the danger, six people seeking psychiatric treatment, two psychiatrists, and Jesse Kingston, the property manager, commit to a six-week stay in the isolated mansion, despite its haunted reputation. Supernatural apparitions menace the occupants and secret agendas complicate the treatment process. Dangerous intruders, mysterious disappearances, and unexplainable events abound as relationships, both amiable and antagonistic, develop during their stay. The nine face physical and emotional challenges as they struggle to untangle the truth of their own tragedies and survive the curse of Tangle Tree Valley.

The kitten has climbed the Christmas tree! Climbed so high and climbed so far to cling with her claws to the Christmas star. So begins the magically illustrated story of the - Christmas Tree Tangle - in which the kitten, the cat, the dog, the goat and even the pigs get stuck in the branches of the town Christmas tree. This is a delightful tale to read along with Children at the festive season.

Piers Anthony’s bestselling Xanth series is one of the cornerstones of fantasy, a lively and whimsical interpretation of a genre often criticized for taking itself too seriously. Anthony’s first Xanth novel, A Spell for Chameleon, was initially edited to target a more traditional audience. Now, in an eBook exclusive, A Spell for Chameleon has been reworked line by line—its language matching the simpler, playful way with words that made Piers Anthony an enduring fan favorite. Xanth is an enchanted land where magic rules, a land of centaurs and dragons and basilisks where every citizen has a unique spell to call their own. For Bink of North Village, however, Xanth is no fairy tale. He alone has no magic. And unless he gets some—and fast!—he will be exiled. Forever. But the Good Magician Humfrey is convinced that Bink does indeed have magic. In fact, both Beauregard the genie and the magic wall chart insist that Bink has magic as powerful as any possessed by the King, the Good Magician Humfrey, or even the Evil Magician Trent. Be that as it may, no one can fathom the nature of Bink’s very special magic. This is even worse than having no magic at all . . . and he still faces exile!

Winner of the 2021 John Burroughs Medal for Distinguished Natural History Writing "This deeply nourishing book invites us to reclaim reciprocity with the living world." —Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrass Once, farmers and rural people knew how to prune hazel to foster abundance: both of edible nuts and of straight, strong, flexible rods for bridges, walls, and baskets. Townspeople felled their beeches to make charcoal to fuel ironworks. Shipwrights shaped oaks to make hulls. No place could prosper without its inhabitants knowing how to cut their trees so they would sprout again. Pruning the trees didn’t destroy them. Rather, it created the healthiest, most sustainable and diverse woodlands that we have ever known. Arborist William Bryant Logan offers us both practical knowledge about how to live with trees to mutual benefit and hope that humans may again learn what the persistence and generosity of trees can teach. He recovers the lost tradition that sustained human life and culture for ten millennia.

When four college kids are buried alive and there's only one way out, don't ask questions. Just survive. After barely escaping a torturous series of undiscovered tunnels far beneath the Sierra foothills, Mae and her friends emerge, dehydrated and nearly dead from starvation.But everything Mae knows and loves is now gone.Through some bizarre tangle in time, they've been reeled back into the past. To a time that, according to Mae-"is constipated with antiquated gender inequality." With danger lurking behind every tree and no easy way home, they must begin adapting to their new surroundings before it's too late. So, when struck with an unexpected opportunity, Mae is faced with the difficult choice of returning to her own time or living out the greatest adventure of her life and carving her own path in history.Gin Westcott's debut novel is the first in the unique Tangle of Time series that will take you through an exciting, historical, and romantic adventure that you won't be able to put down.

‘After I finished this book I alarmed my family by going into the garden and climbing the apple tree.’ – Damian Whitworth, The Times