A riveting investigation of the myriad ways that parasites control how other creatures - including humans - think, feel, and act. These tiny organisms can live only inside another animal, and, as McAuliffe reveals, they have many evolutionary motives for manipulating their host's behavior. Far more often than appreciated, these puppeteers orchestrate the interplay between predator and prey. With astonishing precision, parasites can coax rats to approach cats, spiders to transform the patterns of their webs, and fish to draw the attention of birds that then swoop down to feast on them. We humans are hardly immune to the profound influence of parasites. Organisms we pick up from our own pets are strongly suspected of changing our personality traits and contributing to recklessness, impulsivity - even suicide. Microbes in our gut affect our emotions and the very wiring of our brains. Germs that cause colds and flu may alter our behavior even before symptoms become apparent. Parasites influence our species on the cultural level, too. As McAuliffe documents, a subconscious fear of contagion impacts virtually every aspect of our lives, from our sexual attractions and social circles to our morals and political views. Drawing on a huge body of research, she argues that our dread of contamination is an evolved defense against parasites - and a double-edged sword. The horror and revulsion we feel when we come in contact with people who appear diseased or dirty helped pave the way for civilization but may also be the basis for major divisions in societies that persist to this day. In the tradition of Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel and Neil Shubin's Your Inner Fish, This Is Your Brain on Parasites is both a journey into cutting-edge science and a revelatory examination of what it means to be human. Read more

Have you ever wished you had the ability to draw?Now you can draw beautiful birds with this Step-by-Step Guide!There is no problem if you are a beginner, this book will guide you step by step in your journey of drawing the most beautiful birds in the world. You will be able to draw hummingbirds, owls, swans, gooses, falcons, and many more birds, by following this drawing tutorial from the guidelines to the finished drawing. Perfect for children, teens, and adults who want to improve their drawing skills.45 drawing projects of birdsStep by step instructionsDrawing grid to facilitate your illustrationPractice page with the same gridValuable information about each birdPerfect as a giftFor all ages!Spark your creativity and become an artist! Read more

“Engrossing . . . [An] expedition through the hidden and sometimes horrifying microbial domain.” —The Wall Street Journal Parasites can live only inside another animal and, as Kathleen McAuliffe reveals, these tiny organisms have many evolutionary motives for manipulating the behavior of their hosts. With astonishing precision, parasites can coax rats to approach cats, spiders to transform the patterns of their webs, and fish to draw the attention of birds that then swoop down to feast on them. We humans are hardly immune to their influence. Organisms we pick up from our own pets are strongly suspected of changing our personality traits and contributing to recklessness and impulsivity—even suicide. Germs that cause colds and the flu may alter our behavior even before symptoms become apparent. Parasites influence our species on the cultural level, too. Drawing on a huge body of research, McAuliffe argues that our dread of contamination is an evolved defense against parasites. The horror and revulsion we are programmed to feel when we come in contact with people who appear diseased or dirty helped pave the way for civilization, but may also be the basis for major divisions in societies that persist to this day. This Is Your Brain on Parasites is both a journey into cutting-edge science and a revelatory examination of what it means to be human. “If you’ve ever doubted the power of microbes to shape society and offer us a grander view of life, read on and find yourself duly impressed.” —Bookforum “Fascinating—and full of the kind of factoids you can’t wait to share.” —Scientific American“Humorous, inspiring, and macabre, this is infectious reading in the tradition of giants like Robert S. Desowitz and Jared Diamond.” —Michael A. Huffman, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University Read more

This book of simple step-by-step line drawings from beloved art teacher Peggy Dean of The Pigeon Letters will deepen your appreciation for the wonders of the Pacific Northwest.Learn to draw 150 Pacific Northwest natural wonders (plus iconic landmarks) in just a few simple steps each! Rooted in love for the PNW, this no-skills-necessary how-to-draw book will encourage users to stop and notice the beauty that surrounds them. Here you’ll learn the basics of line drawing as well as facts about the ecology, plants, wildlife, and landmarks of this amazing region. Inside you'll find:Native plants like salmonberries, sword ferns, and Pacific rhododendronMajestic trees like the Western red cedar and Douglas firMysterious mushrooms like the chanterelle and morelIconic animals like otters and orcasBucket-list birds like the Northern spotted owl and tufted puffinPopular landmarks like the Space Needle, Mount Rainier, and Crater LakeLine drawing is a meditative, easy-to-master art form featuring illustrative, doodle-like designs. Peggy, who has deep roots in the Pacific Northwest, teaches you how to start with the simplest doodles, building into more elaborate, delicate illustrations. These simple line drawings will allow you to branch out and have fun with your own personal style, as well as inspire you to add flourishes to other projects. Drawings are ordered from simple to advanced, and by category (flora, fauna, landmarks).If you enjoyed Ed Emberley as a child, you’ll love this book of simple step-by-step line drawings with space to practice! Read more

With Drawing: Birds, learn to render a variety of beautiful, realistic birds in graphite pencil. Artists of all skill levels and bird enthusiasts alike will find creative inspiration and valuable drawing instruction in Drawing: Birds. This comprehensive, 10.25 × 13.75–inch book book opens with an introduction to essential drawing tools, including graphite pencils, erasers, paper, and other materials. Then learn a variety of basic drawing techniques, such as shading, stippling, hatching, crosshatching, and others. Discover helpful tips for creating a good composition, understanding and seeing value, transferring photo references, and taking artistic liberties. After learning the drawing basics, jump into the easy step-by-step projects to draw specific birds, including a barred owl, a great blue heron, a ruby-throated hummingbird, a gray parrot, a pileated woodpecker, and black-capped chickadees. In this book, professional artist and nature enthusiast Maury Aaseng offers simple, comprehensive instruction for drawing a range of lovely birds, as well as information for achieving accurate proportions, capturing motion, and building up form. Aaseng also shows you how to create realistic textures, such as feathers, nests, tree bark, and water. With his easy step-by-step projects that start with basic shapes and progress to detailed final drawings, you can draw many birds, from the common to the exotic. Easy-to-follow instruction and art tips throughout make Drawing: Birds a complete guide for creating realistic and detailed drawings of these feathered friends. For the aspiring avian artist, this book is a must-have art-instruction reference. Designed for beginners, the How to Draw & Paint series offers easy-to-follow guides that introduce artists to basic tools and materials and include simple step-by-step lessons for a variety of projects suitable for the aspiring artist. Drawing: Birds allows artists to develop drawing skills by demonstrating how to start with basic shapes and use pencil and shading techniques to create varied textures, values, and details for a realistic, completed drawing. Read more

With Let’s Draw Dragons, you can learn to bring your mythological drawings to life, guided by realistic illustrations and step-by-step instructions for a variety of these amazing fantasy creatures. The easy-to-follow visual and written instructions in this book make it achievable and fun to draw lifelike dragons. Each drawing lesson begins with basic shapes and progresses, step by step, to a finished piece of artwork, making it easy to follow along. You just need to grab a pencil, a piece of paper, and your copy of Let’s Draw Dragons, and then flip to the mythological beast you want to draw. The drawing projects include: Dragons in different poses Elemental dragons Fire-breathing dragon Flying dragon Swimming dragon Sleeping dragon And more! The detailed written instructions in this 48-page book also provide tips for placement of details, how to create realistic scales and wings, how to shade, and much more. If you’ve never drawn before, don’t be intimidated. Just start with a few basic shapes and follow the illustrated steps—you’ll be creating your own amazing mythological masterpieces in no time at all! And each time you draw, you should see an improvement in your artistic skills.Also available from the Let’s Draw series:Let’s Draw Cats, Let’s Draw Dogs, Let’s Draw Favorite Animals, Let’s Draw Wild Animals, Let’s Draw Birds & Butterflies, Let’s Draw Sea Creatures, and Let’s Draw Dinosaurs. Read more

how to draw birds step by stepthis drawing book will teach you how to draw birds step by step easily.40 pages will teach you how to draw all you need to know about drawing birds. if you are interested in drawing of birds or birds drawing step by step than this is the best book for you and it will teach you how to draw all kinds of birds in an way step by step using a unique and the most simple techniquethe author and illustrator Amit Offir teaches you to draw and succeed in a short time even if you dont know how to draw at all!everybody can draw and now you can too!a unique technique that will give you great drawing tools and lead you to success.recommended for age 6 and all ages (for adults that want how to draw easily also)in this book you will learn how to draw birds, cartoon characters and comicsfigures that will help you to draw anything you like in the subjectthis is a practical guide for anyone that love drawing and illustrating Read more