Nature Myths

From acclaimed Atlantic staff writer and host of BBC’s podcast “The New Gurus” Helen Lewis comes a timely and provocative interrogation of the myth of genius, exploring the surprising inventions, inspirations and distortions by which some lives are elevated to 'greatness' - and others are...

Humans are primates, much like chimps—or so we've been continually told. Yet recent discoveries show that our species has a different brain design, function, and chemistry; different eating, sleeping, mating, and rearing patterns; a different metabolism; and a different physiology than apes. Nor is our behavior much like theirs, and we don't even have the feet made for climbing trees that define the primate order. Could it be that conceiving of ourselves as primates isn't helping us understand what it is to be human?

Happiness expert Sonja Lyubomirsky’s research-based lessons in how to find opportunity in life’s thorniest moments In The Myths of Happiness, Sonja Lyubomirsky isolates the major turning points of adult life, looking to both achievements (marriage, children, professional satisfaction...

A wolf mother has given birth, but the warm bundle snuffling next to her brings only anguish. The pup, otherwise healthy, has a twisted paw, and the mother knows what the harsh code of the pack demands. Her pup will be taken from her and abandoned on a desolate hill. The pack cannot have weakness—the wolf mother knows that her pup is condemned to die. But alone in the wilderness, the pup, Faolan, does not perish. This his story—a story of survival, of courage, and of love triumphant.

Revisit the tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears with this audiobook for listeners. Goldilocks takes a walk and discovers a special place in the woods. She innocently eats some food, breaks a chair, and falls asleep. What happens when a bear family discovers a sleeping Goldilocks?

A harrowing adventure inside enemy territory. Heather and Picket are plunged into the darkness of Morbin's shadow, fighting to bear the flame of the cause and light the way for rabbitkind's upright insurrection.

What if the world around you was not empty, ordinary, or silent—but alive with sacred meaning? Celtic Spirituality for Beginners opens the door to a tradition where rivers bless, trees teach, stories carry wisdom, and the turning seasons reveal the deeper rhythm of life. This clear and engaging guide introduces readers to the beauty, mystery, and spiritual power of Celtic wisdom without confusion, academic heaviness, or romantic exaggeration. Inside, you’ll discover: How the ancient Celtic worldview saw nature as sacred, alive, and full of presence Why trees, rivers, wells, mountains, ...

Ben and his trained dog, Sancho, run away from the circus and soon find a warm welcome in a kind community where spirited games are played. Theatricals and imaginative pageantry are all part of the fun.

A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK #1 LibraryReads Pick Indie Next Pick A spellbinding novel about sisters separated by centuries, but bound together by the sea, from the author of the runaway New York Times bestseller Weyward. “Narrator Barrie Kreinik offers a first-rate...

In this beautifully illustrated guide, bring the power of ancient tradition to the modern world, and reconnect with nature and yourself through traditional folk wisdom. Organized around the pagan wheel of the year, The Ancient Ways introduces readers to the natural rhythms that governed our...

In the ground-breaking The Myth of Human Nature Dr Heidi Colleran, an associate professor of evolutionary anthropology, looks at cultures all over the world and throughout history that live according to different social facts of life than ours in the West - and not simply by the brute facts of...

Jo is a gifted archer with a burden on his back and a fire within. Eager to see the Longtreaders receive justice, he travels from his Halfwind Citadel home to a Cloud Mountain poised on the brink of war. What he finds there will confront his convictions and test his resolve as the war begins and King Jupiter's heir is revealed. A kingdom in the balance. An arrow aimed at the heart of darkness. Who will take the shot?

Deep in the North Ridge Valley, some secrets are better left buried. Steve is a Wilderness Response ranger who has seen it all, but an anonymous tip about illegal poaching leads him into a restricted zone where the rules of nature no longer apply. Lena is a determined wildlife photographer chasing the shot of a lifetime, unaware that she is about to become the prey. When a brutal flash flood traps them in a "dead zone" of magnetic interference and impenetrable timber, they realize they aren't just fighting the elements. A team of ruthless mercenaries is hunting a legend, and they won't ...

This book is a three-part journey into the rabbit hole we call the nature of reality. Its ultimate destination is a plausible, living validation of transcendence. Each of its three parts is like a turn of a spiral, exploring recurring ideas through the prisms of religious myth, truth, and belief, respectively. With each turn, the book seeks to convey a more nuanced and complete understanding of the many facets of transcendence. 

Anyone who has ever lived in the great state of Pennsylvania has at one time or another either read about or heard someone talk about one of its folktales and legends. These types of stories seem to be a part of our heritage here in the Keystone State, and they are unquestionably an intriguing source of entertainment even yet today. In fact, they seem so popular that new ones are born all the time. However this continuous creation of new material tends to push the older tales into the background until they are either lost forever or are barely kept alive in the undercurrents of oral history...

Think you know the story of the three little pigs? Not until you've experienced this version, retold by award-winning author-illustrator James Marshall. Children will know and love the familiar characters—three pig brothers and one huffing-puffing wolf—and they will giggle over the funny, new dialogue, which puts a fresh, modern twist on the classic tale.

Something was buried in the ice. Now it’s awake. Cole Maddox knows the mountains. As a wilderness guide, he respects the cold, the terrain, and the storms. But he has never seen anything like the facility hidden in the deep valley of the Timberline. Hired to escort a team of investors and scientists into the frozen wild, Cole thinks it’s just another high-paying babysitting job. He’s wrong. Inside the compound, a disgraced geneticist has achieved the impossible. He hasn’t just cloned a fossil; he has resurrected an apex predator that evolution tried to erase. A hunter designed for ...

One of The Washington Post's 10 Best Audiobooks of 2023 "Such a large cast of characters would normally be difficult to keep straight in an audiobook without tedious backtracking, but McFarlane’s skill in evoking their distinct inner lives and Jones’s deftness in capturing them in manner and...

Remarkably relevant, beautifully written, and filled with wit and wisdom, these three essays by Bertrand Russell allow the listener to test the concepts of the good life, morality, the existence of God, Christianity, and human nature. "What I Believe" was used prominently in the 1940 New York court proceedings in which Russell was judicially declared "unfit" to teach philosophy at City College of New York. "Why I Am Not a Christian" concludes that churches throughout history have retarded progress and states that we should instead "look to our own efforts here below to make this world a fit place to live in." Finally, "A Free Man's Worship", perhaps the most famous single essay written by Russell, considers whether humans operate from free will.

Presenting scientific evidence from diverse fields, including anthropology, biology, and psychology, Fuentes devises a myth-busting toolkit to dismantle persistent fallacies about the validity of biological races, the innateness of aggression and violence, and the nature of monogamy, sex, and gender. This revised and expanded edition provides up-to-date references, data, and analyses, and addresses new topics, including the popularity of home DNA testing kits and the lies behind ‘"incel" culture.