Island of the Blessed: The Secrets of Egypt's Everlasting Oasis

Secrets of Egypt's Everlasting Oasis

History

Thurston, Harry

Middle East

Doubleday Canada, Limited

Canadians leading an archaeological dig in Egypt’s Western Desert are at the forefront of an amazing scientific detective story as they uncover 400,000 years of human history and examine the fragile balance between humankind and our environment.\nAward-winning author and journalist Harry Thurston combines elements of adventure travelogue, scientific detective story, and environmental chronicle to offer a uniquely modern, ecological perspective on the story of humanity, entwining it with a fascinating portrait of Egypt from prehistory, through ancient times, to the present.\nIsland of the Blessed follows the footsteps of a Canadian-led international team of archaeologists as they penetrate the Sahara to unlock the secrets of Egypt’s “everlasting oasis” -- Dakhleh. This fertile island in a sea of sand has been home to humans for almost half a million years. Archaeologists are using high-tech methods to decipher humankind’s prehistory and have unearthed a perfect Old Kingdom town, replete with palaces and temples from the Golden Age of ancient Egypt, a stunning cache of mummies, a Roman-era archive of 10,000 papyri, and the world’s two oldest books. As well, they are excavating an entire Roman city -- a “desert Pompeii” buried by the inexorable march of the Sahara.\nWhat we can learn from Dakhleh is nothing less than the whole history of our species and its ambivalent relationship with our planet. Island of the Blessed is that rare book about the past that sheds light upon the present day.

Ancient Civilizations

Shorebirds are known for their swift flight, their piercing cries, and their extravagantly long legs and bills. They are also known for their spectacular migrations, which may take them from the Canadian High Arctic to the tip of South America, spanning 15,000 miles or more on their round trip. Magnificently illustrated with some of the best photographs of shorebirds in the world, The World of the Shorebirds illuminates the mystery of this migration, along with many other aspects of North American shorebirds' lives. Award-winning author Harry Thurston examines the dazzling diversity of shorebirds, looks at the birds' obsessive feeding behavior, necessitated by their long migrations and the need to accumulate reserves of fat, and describes the sometimes-bizarre mating patterns of various species. He also describes the epic migrations of shorebirds as they travel south for the winter and then back north to breed and take advantage of the abundance of food produced by long hours of sunlight. Finally, Thurston examines the threats to shorebird habitat from agriculture, urban development, power projects, pollution, and recreation and describes the efforts to conserve critical wetlands throughout the world. Harry Thurston's elegant, authoritative text is accompanied by color photographs of the many species of shorebirds as they probe in the mud for their dinner, flock across the skies, or stand silhouetted against a sunset. The book also includes photographs of the birds' natural habitat and of the other animals that share this habitat. Together, text and photographs provide a tantalizing look at the world of the restless, roving shorebirds.

Sch-World of the Shorebirds

Science & Math

Biological Sciences

Random House, Inc.

Atlantic Outposts

Travel

Canada

Pottersfield Pr

Tidal Life: A Natural History of the Bay of Fundy

Camden House Pub

Tidal Life is the definitive natural and human history of the unique and massive Bay of Fundy. With visual reminders of the Bay's immensity and impact. Winner of the Evelyn Richardson Award for non fiction, the Dartmouth Book Award for non-fiction and the Atlantic Provinces Booksellers Choice Award.

Tidal life: A natural history of the Bay of Fundy

Nature & Ecology

Camden House Publishing

A perfect gift for anyone who enjoys great nature writing or is interested in touring Canada`s Atlantic region. (1998)

The Atlantic Canada Nature Guide (Nature Guide Series)

Key Porter Books

The Nature of Hummingbirds: Rainbows on Wings

Sports & Outdoors

Douglas & McIntyre, Ltd

Vivid and powerfully descriptive, this collection of poems demonstrates a trained naturalist's eye, painting a sensuous and idiosyncratic portrait of the author’s rugged maritime landscape. Simultaneously staking out an emotional territory, this engrossing examination is layered with hard-edged textures and fiercely felt cadences. Combining selections from the author’s previous compendiums with new verse, this poetic exploration presents a unique blend of scientific detachment and empathetic range.

Animals of My Own Kind: New and Selected Poems

Literature & Fiction

Poetry

Signal Editions

The popular story of the construction of the fixed link from the mainland to PEI. It includes the details of the design challenges and construction solutions for this monumental achievement.

Building the bridge to P.E.I

Nimbus Pub

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Thurston, Harry. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Thurston, Harry