GrrlScientist is an evolutionary biologist, ornithologist, aviculturist, birder and freelance science and nature writer. A native of the Pacific Northwest, she relocated from Seattle to NYC with her parrots after earning a BS in Microbiology (emphasis in Virology) and PhD in Zoology (Ornithology) from the University of Washington. In NYC, she was the Chapman Postdoctoral Fellow at the American Museum of Natural History for two years, pursuing part of her "dream" research project by reconstructing a molecular phylogeny of the parrots of the South Pacific islands. GrrlScientist and her five parrots are currently relocating to Germany, where she will continue writing her blog while also writing a book and learning German. (Meanwhile, her parrots will continue to nibble on her extensive personal library.) If you appreciate GrrlScientist's writing, you can help pay her living expenses by hiring her to "blog" your conference, speak at your club or write articles for your publication (or by clicking on the Paypal button below). If you read an essay on this blog that you especially enjoyed, please nominate it for inclusion in 
tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, animal books, natural history books, ecology books
"How does one distinguish a truly civilized nation from an aggregation of
barbarians? That is easy. A civilized country produces much good bird
literature."
--Edgar Kincaid
The Birdbooker Report is a special weekly report of a wide variety of science, nature and behavior books that currently are, or soon will be available for purchase. This report is written by one of my Seattle birding pals and book collector, Ian "Birdbooker" Paulsen, and is edited by me and published here for your information and enjoyment. Below the fold is this week's issue of The Birdbooker Report which lists ecology, environment, natural history and bird books that are (or will soon be) available for purchase.
FEATURED TITLE:
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Carroll, Robert. The Rise of Amphibians: 365 Million Years of Evolution. 2009. Johns Hopkins University Press. Hardbound: 360 pages. Price: $65.00 U.S. [Amazon: $46.80]. SUMMARY: This up-to-date volume follows the evolution of the amphibians. Included are more than 200 illustrations and 16 color plates. Anyone interested in tetrapod evolution will want this book!
New and Recent Titles:
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Klein, Richard G. The Human Career: Human Biological and Cultural Origins (3rd edition). 2009. University of Chicago Press. Hardbound: 989 pages. Price: $75.00 U.S. [Amazon: $60.89]. SUMMARY: This standard college textbook on Human evolution is now in its third edition. Numerous tables, new citations and more than 50 illustrations have been added to this revised edition. Anyone with an interest in Human evolution will need this book! -
Yoon, Carol Kaesuk. Naming Nature: The Clash Between Instinct and Science. 2009. W.W. Norton. Hardbound: 344 pages. Price: $27.95 U.S.[Amazon: $18.45]. SUMMARY: The author takes a look at the history of taxonomy and how it has shaped our view of nature. She then goes on to describe what is called "umwelt" or how a species perceives the world. Yoon then describes how this umwelt and modern taxonomy are in conflict and how this conflict can be resolved.
You can read more Birdbooker Reports in the archives, and Ian now has his own website, The Birdbooker's Bookcase, where you can read his synopses about newly published science, nature and animal books. But Ian assures me that he still loves us here, so he'll still share his weekly newly-published-books Reports with us!
Education
Humanities & Social Science
