Lina and Adelia Beard, co-founders of the first American girls' scouting group, originally called the Girl Scout Society, then the Girl Pioneers, and finally as the Camp Fire Girls, provide practical advice and encouragement to girls and young women who wish to explore a "free, wholesome, and adventurous outdoor life." - Summary by Christine Lehman, aka stoogeswoman

Simple and unpretentious as a statement by Francis d’Assisi, yet full of a gentle modern sophistication and humour, this little work will bring delight and refreshment to all who seek flight from the heavy-laden hour. It is, moreover, one of the most subtle and penetrating studies of the psychology of the dog that has ever been written—tender yet unsentimental, realistic and full of the detail of masterly observation and description, yet in its final form and precipitation a work of exquisite literary art. - Summary from the Foreword by Herman George Scheffauer

The Living Animals of the Natural World, subtitled "a popular Natural History", proposed to present the most updated version of the wonders of the Animal World in a new and clearer form. It used photography instead of the traditional illustrations of the life of beasts, birds, fishes, insects, corals, and the subjects photographed were obtained from every part of the world, many of them from the most distant islands of the Southern Ocean, the great barrier reef of Australia, the New Zealand hills, the Indian jungle, the South African veldt, and the rivers of British Columbia...

In this early nineteenth-century classic, William Paley assesses how our understanding of nature reflects characteristics of its creator. First published in 1802, the book went through more than twenty editions, remains in print, and is still a reference point in the ongoing conversation about evolution or creation as the better explanation for the appearance of order and design in our universe. - Summary by Barry Ganong

In 1918 over 2,000 Roman Catholic nuns left their convents in the Philadelphia area to nurse the sick and dying of the influenza epidemic. Twenty-three of the sisters died because of their ministrations. This is an account of their heroic work published in the American Catholic Historical Society Of Philadelphia, 1919. “Gathered and arranged from reports of personal experiences of the sisters and contributed by request of the compiler.” The compiler/author was an academic/priest at Villanova University in Pennsylvania. Since there are no chapter headings, this recording uses the section headings of the book. - Summary by David Wales and book's subtitle

When John Muir was a student in the University of Wisconsin he was a frequent caller at the house of Dr. Ezra S. Carr. The kindness shown him there, and especially the sympathy which Mrs. Carr, as a botanist and a lover of nature, felt in the young man's interests and aims, led to the formation of a lasting friendship. He regarded Mrs. Carr, indeed, as his "spiritual mother," and his letters to her in later years are the outpourings of a sensitive spirit to one who he felt thoroughly understood and sympathized with him...

The Outline of Science was written specifically with the man-on-the-street in mind as the target audience. Covering scientific subjects ranging from astronomy to biology to elementary physics in clear, concise and easily understood prose, this popular science work is largely as relevant today as when first published in 1922. In this fourth volume , we learn about bacteria, luminous organisms and lower vertebrates as well as domesticated animals. Other chapters are devoted to ethnology, health, relativity theory and philosophy of science.

Arthur Henry Patterson was a self-taught naturalist with an immeasurable knowledge and perspicacity of the Broadland region’s flora and fauna – especially the area around Great Yarmouth and Breydon Water. He was the author of many books about Broadland and was a regular and popular contributor to the local county newspaper. From an early age, he developed an affinity with the natural history of the Broads and kept extensive daily notes on the area’s wildlife – which ultimately led him to collate and distil the observations that he had recorded over 25 years into this book...

Birds, Illustrated by Color Photography was a monthly publication of the Nature Study Publishing Company of Chicago. It includes short poems, anecdotes and factual descriptions of birds with accompanying color plates. The magazine was published from 1897-1907 under the various titles, "Birds," "Birds and all Nature," "Nature and Art" and "Birds and Nature." Later issues were expanded to include animals, plants, etc. Summary by J. M. Smallheer

Arthur Henry Patterson was a self-taught naturalist who, from a very early age, devoted much of his free time to observing, discovering and documenting all aspects of the natural history of the Norfolk Broads, especially the area around Breydon Water near his home town of Great Yarmouth. At some 75000 acres , the Broads are the largest protected wetland in Britain. AHP was the author of many books about Broadland as well as submitting numerous papers and articles to nature societies and journals...

A guide to hikes around Sydney, Australia, from the early years of the twentieth century. In 1895, Henry J. Tompkins and William Mogford Hamlet, two friends with literary inclinations and a taste for romantic scenery, formed the Warragamba Walking Club. Although the strength of their membership is unknown , the Warragambas also counted John Le Gay Brereton, poet and professor of literature, among their number. Published by the Government Tourist Bureau, With Swag and Billy ran to three editions ...

Naturalis Historia is an encyclopedia published circa AD 77-79 by Pliny the Elder. It is one of the largest single works to have survived from the Roman empire to the modern day and purports to cover the entire field of ancient knowledge, based on the best authorities available to Pliny. The work became a model for all later encyclopedias in terms of the breadth of subject matter examined, the need to reference original authors, and a comprehensive index list of the contents. The scheme of his great work is vast and comprehensive, being nothing short of an encyclopedia of learning and of art so far as they are connected with nature or draw their materials from nature...

Birds, Illustrated by Color Photography was a monthly publication of the Nature Study Publishing Company of Chicago. It includes short poems, anecdotes and factual descriptions of birds with accompanying color plates. The magazine was published from 1897-1907 under the various titles, "Birds," "Birds and all Nature," "Nature and Art" and "Birds and Nature." Later issues were expanded to include animals, plants, etc. Summary by J. M. Smallheer

The Living Animals of the Natural world, subtitled "a popular Natural History", proposed to present the most updated version of the wonders of the Animal World in a new and clearer form. It used photography instead of the traditional illustrations of the life of beasts, birds, fishes, insects, corals, and the subjects photographed were obtained from every part of the world, many of them from the most distant islands of the Southern Ocean, the great barrier reef of Australia, the New Zealand hills, the Indian jungle, the South African veldt, and the rivers of British Columbia...

Birds, Illustrated by Color Photography was a monthly publication of the Nature Study Publishing Company of Chicago. It includes short poems, anecdotes and factual descriptions of birds with accompanying color plates. The magazine was published from 1897-1907 under the various titles, "Birds," "Birds and all Nature," "Nature and Art" and "Birds and Nature." Later issues were expanded to include animals, plants, etc. Summary by J. M. Smallheer

Birds, Illustrated by Color Photography was a monthly publication of the Nature Study Publishing Company of Chicago. It includes short poems, anecdotes and factual descriptions of birds with accompanying color plates. The magazine was published from 1897-1907 under the various titles, "Birds," "Birds and all Nature," "Nature and Art" and "Birds and Nature." Later issues were expanded to include animals, plants, etc. Summary by J. M. Smallheer

Birds, Illustrated by Color Photography was a monthly publication of the Nature Study Publishing Company of Chicago. It includes short poems, anecdotes and factual descriptions of birds with accompanying color plates. The magazine was published from 1898-1907 under the various titles, "Birds," "Birds and all Nature," "Nature and Art" and "Birds and Nature." Later issues were expanded to include animals, plants, etc. Summary by J. M. Smallheer

Birds, Illustrated by Color Photography was a monthly publication of the Nature Study Publishing Company of Chicago. It includes short poems, anecdotes and factual descriptions of birds with accompanying color plates. The magazine was published from 1898-1907 under the various titles, "Birds," "Birds and all Nature," "Nature and Art" and "Birds and Nature." Later issues were expanded to include animals, plants, etc. Summary by J. M. Smallheer

Birds, Illustrated by Color Photography was a monthly publication of the Nature Study Publishing Company of Chicago. It includes short poems, anecdotes and factual descriptions of birds with accompanying color plates. The magazine was published from 1898-1907 under the various titles, "Birds," "Birds and all Nature," "Nature and Art" and "Birds and Nature." Later issues were expanded to include animals, plants, etc. Summary by J. M. Smallheer

A surprisingly complete and informative 64-page booklet describing common spices used in cooking and for other purposes. Written especially for grocers, but helpful for all interested. - Summary by KevinS

] Birds, Illustrated by Color Photography was a monthly publication of the Nature Study Publishing Company of Chicago. It includes short poems, anecdotes and factual descriptions of birds with accompanying color plates. The magazine was published from 1898-1907 under the various titles, "Birds," "Birds and all Nature," "Nature and Art" and "Birds and Nature." Later issues were expanded to include animals, plants, etc. Summary by J. M. Smallheer

"I fell an easy prey to the beckonings of the other principal feature of California's topography, the dreamy, dreary desert. Long ago, on short expeditions into and across it at various points, I had fallen under its inexplicable charm; now I determined to know it more closely, by daily and nightly intercourse through months of travel in its sun-blasted solitudes: gaining the experience I desired at the price, certainly, of some discomfort, and, possibly, of a trifling degree of danger — merely enough for spice. This volume, then, is the fruit of over two years continuous camping and traveling on the desert." - Summary by Steven Seitel

In these little sketches [1899] of a few out of the innumerable multitude of ways in which the sea has spoken to me during my long acquaintance with it, I have tried with ’prentice hand to reproduce for shore-dwellers some of the things it has told me. His whales and sharks and other monsters of the deep are creatures with whom one is proud to be associated. These Idylls—little pictures—strike me as some of the most vivid things ever written about the sea. I take it that only a man who has used the sea as a common sailor, and before the mast, really knows it in all its humours,… It is not conventionally that I have called Mr...

Published in 1907 by Arthur Henry Patterson, a self-taught local naturalist, Wild Life on a Norfolk Estuary was one of his defining books on the seasonal nature and natural history of the Norfolk Broads. The book is presented in two sections - The first part documents life on and around Breydon Water and the Broads throughout each season of the year, whilst the second part is a continuation of a previous AHP book – Notes of an East Coast Naturalist. AHP’s approachability, enthusiasm and extensive knowledge of the natural history of the Broads region would allow him to develop regular contacts with a wide range of fellow naturalists...

F. Matthias Alexander was an Australian actor, author and educator, who is best known as the inventor of Alexander Technique, a method for "unlearning" acquired habits of movement and posture that are harmful or suboptimal, and allowing natural, healthy patterns of body use to emerge in their place. Alexander Technique is now taught by specially trained instructors through in-person lessons around the world, and is particularly popular among musicians and other performance artists. In this 1923 book, considered by many to be his best, Alexander explains the principles of his technique and the theory behind it...

Book I Grouping of animals and the parts of the human body. Book II Different parts of red-blooded animals. Book III Internal organs. Book IV Animals without blood . Books V & VI Animal reproduction. Book VII Human reproduction. Book VIII Habits . Book IX Social behavior. Book X Dealing with barrenness in women was excluded from the translation of D'Arcy Thompson for being spurious so the translation of the Clergyman Richard Cresswell is used instead. Sir D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson was a biologist, mathematician and classicist who also wrote On Growth and Form which discusses the mathematical patterns and structures formed in plants and animals.

This mother and son team, each distinguished in their field, collaborate to give charming portraits of a dozen of our favorite song birds. Their use of poetry and flowing prose makes each of these birds come alive in and endearing and accessible way. - Summary by Larry Wilson

Naturalis Historia is an encyclopedia published circa AD 77-79 by Pliny the Elder. It is one of the largest single works to have survived from the Roman empire to the modern day and purports to cover the entire field of ancient knowledge, based on the best authorities available to Pliny. The work became a model for all later encyclopedias in terms of the breadth of subject matter examined, the need to reference original authors, and a comprehensive index list of the contents. The scheme of his great work is vast and comprehensive, being nothing short of an encyclopedia of learning and of art so far as they are connected with nature or draw their materials from nature...

A regular contributor to magazines and periodicals on outdoor pursuits, in this work, Fraser discusses salmon fishing, deer stalking, fauna in the forest, high hills and more. - Summary by Lynne Thompson

Nothing is ordinary in the world of John Muir, naturalist and author known as the Father of the US National Parks. In this short work, written in the latter part of his life for Century Magazine, Muir beckons us to come with him, unrushed, to behold the wonder of the Grand Canyon. Some of the beauty every life needs awaits here. Its magnificence envelops, "carrying us back into the midst of the life of a past infinitely remote. And as we go on and on, studying this old, old life in the light of the life beating warmly about us, we enrich and lengthen our own." - Summary by Rebecca Eden Walker

This mother and son team, each distinguished in their field, collaborate to give charming portraits of common birds of the western United States from the western robin and cedar waxwing to the crow and roadrunner. The book is written in a plain and accessible style designed to stimulate an interest in nature among young people and give us a deeper appreciation of these birds and their charm. - Summary by Larry Wilson

William Warde Fowler was a true polymath; although his early studies focused on natural history, he became a well-known authority on the history and religious traditions of ancient Rome — recognized as a peer of James Frazer in the understanding and interpretation of Roman beliefs and their influence on the character of the Roman people. Additionally, Professor Frazer was celebrated as an expert in ornithology, served for a time as curator of the Parks and the Botanic Garden in Oxford, and in 1910 was appointed as the first lay Sub-Rector in Oriel college...