Bøger af Bill Schutt

"A longtime research associate in zoology at the American Museum of Natural History, Bill Schutt turns his expertise to teeth, taking readers on a fascinating and sometimes creepy journey through their natural, scientific, and cultural history, arguing that tooth evolution has been the most important factor to vertebrate species' success"--

The authors of Hells Gate and The Himalayan Codex deliver their third high-octane thrillera page-turning blend of science, history, and suspense featuring zoologist and adventurer Captain R. J. MacCready.Looks like Schutt and Finch are filling the void left by the passing of Michael Crichton.James Cameron, director/writer/explorerThough the fighting has stopped and Hitler is vanquished, a dangerous new war between America and the Soviet Union has begun. Invaluable in defeating the Nazis, accidental crypto-zoologist R. J. MacCready and Yanni Thorne, an indigenous Brazilian and expert in animal behavior, are working for the Pentagon once again. Sent to a mysterious Greek island in a remote corner of the Mediterranean, they are investigating rumors about a volcanic spring with miraculous healing properties that the locals say is guarded by sea monsters from ancient legends.The islanders believe that, like Fatima, the spring is a gift from God. To the Greek Orthodox Church, it is a sign of a deadly evil foretold in apocalyptic texts. Alongside French and Chinese researchersmen who share their strange, blood-stained pastMac and Yanni discover that the volcanic springs undersea plumes release an exotic microbe that can transform life with astonishing speed. To find the source of the Volcanic spring, Mac and Yanni must find a way to neutralize the Dragons of Revelationa fearsome aquatic species also known as Kraken, which are preventing the scientists from exploring deep beneath the seas surface. Mutating at an astonishing pace, the Kraken have evolved into a chillingly high alien intelligence. As the race to possess the miracle microbe heats up, tensions between geopolitics, religion, and ordinary scientists confronted with the unknown escalate into chaos. Mac and Yanni know all too well that one wrong choice can easily set in motion a biological chain reaction that will reach across the decades to enhanceor destroyeverything that lives.

It is 1946, and the world is rebuilding itself from the war's devastating ashes. R. J. MacCready is headed for the Himalayas to examine some recently discovered mammoth bones?a mission that may help him put the loss of his friend and colleague Bob Thorne behind him.Arriving in Asia with the bright and fearless Yanni Thorne, Bob's widow and now his invaluable assistant, Mac learns the bones are only a cover story. He's actually been sent there to investigate an ancient codex allegedly written by Pliny the Elder, a fascinating text filled with revelatory secrets. The Roman naturalist claimed to have discovered a new race of humans, a divergent species that inspired the myths of the Yeti and is rumored to have the ability to accelerate the process of evolution. If Pliny's assertions are true, this seemingly supernatural ability holds unlimited potential to shape?or end?the future of human civilization. Charged with uncovering more about this miracle species, Mac sets off into the remote valleys of Tibet, into a region known to locals as the Labyrinth. As he and his associates plunge deeper into the unknown, it becomes more and more uncertain that any of them will survive Mac's odyssey.

"Surprising. Impressive. Cannibalism restores my faith in humanity." -Sy Montgomery, The New York Times Book ReviewFor centuries scientists have written off cannibalism as a bizarre phenomenon with little biological significance. Its presence in nature was dismissed as a desperate response to starvation or other life-threatening circumstances, and few spent time studying it. A taboo subject in our culture, the behavior was portrayed mostly through horror movies or tabloids sensationalizing the crimes of real-life flesh-eaters. But the true nature of cannibalism--the role it plays in evolution as well as human history--is even more intriguing (and more normal) than the misconceptions we've come to accept as fact.In Cannibalism: A Perfectly Natural History, zoologist Bill Schutt sets the record straight, debunking common myths and investigating our new understanding of cannibalism's role in biology, anthropology, and history in the most fascinating account yet written on this complex topic. Schutt takes readers from Arizona's Chiricahua Mountains, where he wades through ponds full of tadpoles devouring their siblings, to the Sierra Nevadas, where he joins researchers who are shedding new light on what happened to the Donner Party--the most infamous episode of cannibalism in American history. He even meets with an expert on the preparation and consumption of human placenta (and, yes, it goes well with Chianti).Bringing together the latest cutting-edge science, Schutt answers questions such as why some amphibians consume their mother's skin; why certain insects bite the heads off their partners after sex; why, up until the end of the twentieth century, Europeans regularly ate human body parts as medical curatives; and how cannibalism might be linked to the extinction of the Neanderthals. He takes us into the future as well, investigating whether, as climate change causes famine, disease, and overcrowding, we may see more outbreaks of cannibalism in many more species--including our own.Cannibalism places a perfectly natural occurrence into a vital new context and invites us to explore why it both enthralls and repels us.

"A witty, scientifically accurate, and often intensely creepy exploration of sanguivorous creatures." —San Francisco ChronicleFor centuries, blood feeders have inhabited our nightmares and horror stories, as well as the shadowy realms of scientific knowledge. In Dark Banquet, zoologist Bill Schutt takes us on a fascinating voyage into the world of some of nature's strangest creatures-the sanguivores. Using a sharp eye and mordant wit, Schutt makes a remarkably persuasive case that blood feeders, from bats to bedbugs, are as deserving of our curiosity as warmer and fuzzier species are-and that many of them are even worthy of conservation. Enlightening and alarming, Dark Banquet peers into a part of the natural world to which we are, through our blood, inextricably linked."Dark Banquet is an amazing account of all those creatures that most of us consider really creepy! But author Bill Schutt doesn't, and actually embraces these critters and their bloodthirsty lifestyles. It's great to see such wonderful animal research in a reader-friendly form. After finishing the book, you'll have a lot to discuss at your next dinner party!"—Jack Hanna, director emeritus, Columbus Zoo, and host of television's Emmy Award—winning series Into the Wild"[A] passionate defense of bloodsuckers from the leech to the candiru."—Discover