No creature has quite the sting in our mythology and folklore as the scorpion. From the dawn of human civilization they have been a dangerous figure in our imaginations--poisonous, precise, and deadly quiet--but as Louise M. Pryke shows in this book, their bad reputation has overshadowed many exceptional qualities. Scurrying across hundreds of millions of years and across every continent except Antarctica, this book gives the scorpion its due as one of nature's longest lasting survivors.
Indeed scorpions are older than dinosaurs. An ancient arthropod, their form--notable for its pair of...

They are famously fat--cumbersome, lethargic, and oddly charming for the way they lounge around half-submerged in muddy pools all day. Hippos are gregarious herbivores that don't much like the heat, but as Edgar Williams shows in this colorful book, they can also be quite ill-tempered, and their huge mouths, sharp tusks, and powerful jaws can cut a small boat right in half. Taking readers into the swampy lands of Africa--as well as a few other surprising places--Hippopotamus tells the story of these iconic lumbering beasts.

As Williams recounts, while Hippos are only found in...

"Top-notch street lit...one of the top urban fiction novels of the year." -- Library Journal Starred Review on Diamonds and Pearl

'K'wan does a masterful job of keeping readers on their toes right up to the very last page.' -- Publishers Weekly Re-Mastered featuring Bonus material. Also includes a sneak peek at The Good Son: A Hoodlum Novel.
From the moment Animal's former lover Red Sonja showed up on his doorstep, he knew trouble wouldn't be far behind. It wasn't because the last time he'd seen her, he had been fleeing for his life from a strange...

Zebra is a comprehensive and wide-ranging study of the natural and cultural history of this popular animal.

The surprising and intriguing history of the much-loved goldfish.

An enlightening and entertaining guide to the natural and cultural history of the wasp.