How and why human males evolved the capacity to be highly involved caregivers—and why some are more involved than others. We all know the importance of mothers. They are typically as paramount in the wild as they are in human relationships. But what about fathers? In most mammals, including our closest living primate relatives, fathers have little to no involvement in raising their offspring—and sometimes even kill the offspring sired by other fathers. How, then, can we explain modern fathers having the capacity to be highly engaged parents? In Father Nature, James Rilling explores how humans have evolved to endow modern fathers with this potential and considers why this capacity evolved in humans. Paternal caregiving is advantageous to children and, by extension, to society at large, yet variable both across and within human societies. Rilling considers how to explain this variability and what social and policy changes might be implemented to increase positive paternal involvement. Along the way, Father Nature also covers the impact fathers have on children’s development, the evolution of paternal caregiving, how natural selection adapted male physiology for caregiving, and finally, what lessons an expecting father can take away from the book, as well as what benefits they themselves get from raising children, including increased longevity and “younger” brains. A beautifully written book by a father himself, Father Nature is a much-needed—and deeply rewarding—look at the science behind “good” paternal behavior in humans.

How Do you thank the person who gave you a vantage from which to see the world? This question is more than the opening statement of Father Nature: Fathers as Guides to the Natural World - it is the resounding theme that runs through each of the essays in this tribute to fathers and fathering and to nature, the connection that ties them both together. The nineteen personal essays in Father Nature explore the fierce love between fathers and their children and the ultimate need to express this love through nature. There are stories of fathers who take their children fishing, hiking, ice skating, and berry picking, as well as stories about the significance of birds and animals, tidepools, rivers, and tree houses. Beneath each story lies an even greater lesson: Like nature, fatherhood can be difficult, terrifying, and challenging in ways that may never be fully understood. Editors Paul Piper and Stan Tag divide Father Nature into three distinct sections. Fathers contains essays by sons and daughters recounting the ways their fathers shaped their lives and perceptions of nature. The essays in Fathers and Fathering describe the transition from being a son to becoming a father. Final

John Price appears to have thrown in the towel. He has spent the last year struggling to support his family, neglecting to spend time with his wife and children, and becoming increasingly cynical about the degraded state of the natural world around him. After a heart-attack scare, however, his wife demands that he start appreciating all the "good things" in his life: their mouse-infested old house, their hopelessly overgrown yard, and most of all, the joys and humiliations of parenthood. In his quest to become a better father, Price faces many unexpected challenges—like understanding his grandmother’s decision to die, and supporting his nature-loving sons’ decision to make their home a "no-kill zone" for all living creatures. Still he finds the second chance he was looking for—to save himself and, perhaps, his small corner of an imperfect yet still beautiful world.

A biography of the naturalist, founder of the Sierra Club, and advisor to presidents on protecting western lands from development.

In this refreshing collection, one of our best writers on desert places, Gary Paul Nabhan, challenges traditional notions of the desert. Beautiful, reflective, and at times humorous, Nabhan’s extended essay also called “The Nature of Desert Nature” reveals the complexity of what a desert is and can be. He passionately writes about what it is like to visit a desert and what living in a desert looks like when viewed through a new frame, turning age-old notions of the desert on their heads. Nabhan invites a prism of voices—friends, colleagues, and advisors from his more than four decades of study of deserts—to bring their own perspectives. Scientists, artists, desert contemplatives, poets, and writers bring the desert into view and investigate why these places compel us to walk through their sands and beneath their cacti and acacia. We observe the spines and spears, stings and songs of the desert anew. Unexpected. Surprising. Enchanting. Like the desert itself, each essay offers renewed vocabulary and thoughtful perceptions. The desert inspires wonder. Attending to history, culture, science, and spirit, The Nature of Desert Nature celebrates the bounty and the significance of desert places. Contributors Thomas M. Antonio Homero Aridjis James Aronson Tessa Bielecki Alberto Búrquez Montijo Francisco Cantú Douglas Christie Paul Dayton Alison Hawthorne Deming Father David Denny Exequiel Ezcurra Thomas Lowe Fleischner Jack Loeffler Ellen McMahon Rubén Martínez Curt Meine Alberto Mellado Moreno Paul Mirocha Gary Paul Nabhan Ray Perotti Larry Stevens Stephen Trimble Octaviana V. Trujillo Benjamin T. Wilder Andy Wilkinson Ofelia Zepeda

"A biography of ancient Greek philosopher Democritus, who believed that all matter was made up of indivisible and indestructible particles called atoms moving around in a void"--Provided by publisher.