Description
NewSouth Publishing, February 2019. 192 pages, paperback, colour photographs throughout
$50.00
The groundbreaking scientific photographs of Australian Museum curator Gerard Krefft and taxidermist Henry Barnes are revealed for the first time.
In the mid-nineteenth century, scientists around the world were quick to see photography’s huge potential for capturing fleeting moments of life, death and discovery. At the Australian Museum, curator Gerard Krefft and taxidermist Henry Barnes began to experiment with the revolutionary new art form, preparing and staging their specimens — from whales and giant sunfish to lifelike lyre bird scenes and fossils — and documenting them in thousands of arresting images.
Capturing Nature reveals these groundbreaking photographs for the first time, along with the Australian Museum’s urgent quest to become more scientific in its practices.
NewSouth Publishing, February 2019. 192 pages, paperback, colour photographs throughout
Blood on the Wattle draws together, in a single volume, most of the information about the massacres of Aboriginal people which has been recorded in books and journals. It also creates a broad-based level of awareness of the scale of the massacres of Aboriginal people so that this dimension of Australian history can become part of the Australian consciousness.
Bruce Elder, the author is a writer, commentator, and journalist with the Sydney Morning Herald specialising in travel and popular culture. His other areas of expertise include film, television and popular music. He has written extensively about Australia and has a passion for Australian history. He has been involved in writing over 60 books, including Blood on the Wattle which, in 2000, was nominated as one of the 10 most influential works of non-fiction published in Australia in the twentieth century.
A very useful and eye-opening book which will inspire people to step outside their front doors and discover the amazing world of wildlife that is all around us. Packed full of inspiring stories and tips, each chapter enthuses readers about the incredible variety of wildlife experiences and species that can be found close to home, and helps them to ‘tune in’ to nature.
If you thought you knew everything there was to know about your local wildlife, and seen everything there is to see, then think again. This unique guide to the birds, animals and invertebrates that can be found close to the average Australian home will offer useful help and advice to all nature enthusiasts, whether long-standing converts or just starting out.
Engaging text explains fascinating and little-known facts about the creatures in question, while accompanying illustrations comprise a series of the author’s stunning images. It gives tips on how to locate species which might be in your neighborhood but you never knew were there, and also imparts fascinating and little-known facts about some of the more common everyday species.
The book, with its hundreds of images of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, insects and spiders, has the primary aim of encouraging readers to open their eyes to the wonders of nature, and to the astounding diversity of wildlife that is never far away. Be warned though, you’ll never look at your local wildlife in the same way! All in all this is an essential addition to the library of any nature enthusiast.
Australia’s Volcanoes takes you on a journey of discovery through Australia’s volcanic landscapes. Every State contains evidence of past cataclysmic volcanic upheaval. Features such as Mount Warning in New South Wales, Tower Hill in Victoria, Cradle Mountain in Tasmania, the Undara lava tubes in Queensland, the diamond deposits in Western Australia’s The Kimberley and Mt Gambier’s crater lakes in South Australia are results of volcanic activity from thousands to millions of years ago.
The book explains what happened all those years ago to create the volcanic landforms that you see today. Most of the sites featured are accessible by car or foot and maps are provided to help you find and explore them.
Full of helpful advice about how to recognize and deal with (move, kill, or leave) the animals that share our homes and backyards.
Australian homes and backyards are abuzz with wildlife: possums in the roof, ants in the cupboards, frogs in the pond and spiders hanging from windows and racing across walls. There are ticks on the dog, fleas on the cat and nits in the children’s hair. When the bandicoots are digging up the lawn, the cockatoos have peeled the flashing off the roof and a bird is trying to mate with the car window reach for Spineless, a useful little book that will help you identify the pests (and pals) that share your home and will show you how to cultivate the good guys while banishing those pesky or downright alarming house guests.
About the author
Dr Bronwen Scott is an invertebrate zoologist at Victoria University, Melbourne. She is an inveterate blogger, a talented science communicator and writes with a lightness and ease which is rare among those in her discipline.