Why does a pickle light up when you plug it into a wall socket? Can iron burn? Are Cheerios magnetic? Explore these strange questions and more in The Electric Pickle, an indispensible collection of 50 madcap experiments based on the periodic table. Each project demonstrates an element's unique properties using easy-to-follow instructions. Experiments include:Hexed Helium Balloon, Green Tornado Fire, Black Light Jell-O, Gonzo Pickle Batteries, Totally Tricky Thermometer, Ludicrous Lead-Pencil Lightbulb. The Electric Pickle is also sprinkled with mind-bending scientific facts and entertaining sidebars about historic experiments and less common, often dangerous, elements.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 272

Dimensions: 140 x 217 mm

Publication Date: 20-10-2017

Written as an expansive update to the author's previous book Grapegrowing and Winemaking in Cool Climates, Practical Field Guide to Grape Growing and Vine Physiology serves as a necessary complement to all the processes of modern grape growing in the variety of climes where grapes are found. Organized by growing cycles, the field guide gives detailed prescriptions for managing each season's unique processes: vine dormancy, root growth, canopy training, and identifying various pathogens and bacteria in the winter; bud burst, flower cluster development, and canopy construction in the spring; berry growth, respiration rate, water and nitrogen usage, phenolic metabolism, vigor control, and irrigation or dry farming in the summer; and yield estimates, harvesting, and harvest vine management in the autumn. Also included are detailed explanations of properly adapting grapevines to various sites and agricultural systems.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 146

Dimensions: 217 x 280 mm

Publication Date: 01-05-2017

Whether they're testing the boundaries of their nine lives or demonstrating unusual talents, cats are always full of surprises. In Super Cats, prepare to meet the most surprising of all. Discover loyal moggies and extraordinary survivors in this heart-warming collection of true tales, and marvel at the astonishing powers of these remarkable animals.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 208

Dimensions: 129 x 198 mm

Publication Date: 09-03-2017

The geometric shapes and natural forms, captured with exceptional precision in Ernst Haeckel's prints, still influence artists and designers to this day. This volume highlights the research and findings of this natural scientist. Powerful modern microscopes have confirmed the accuracy of Haeckel's prints, which even in their day, became world famous. Haeckel's portfolio, first published between 1899 and 1904 in separate installments, is described in the opening essays. The plates illustrate Haeckel's fundamental monistic notion of the "unity of all living things" and the wide variety of forms are executed with utmost delicacy. Incipient microscopic organisms are juxtaposed with highly developed plants and animals. The pages, ordered according to geometric and "constructive" aspects, document the oness of the world in its most diversified forms. This collection of plates was not only well-received by scientists, but by artists and architects as well. Rene Binet, a pioneer of glass and iron constructions, Emile Galle, a renowned Art Nouveau designer, and the photographer Karl Blossfeld all make explicit reference to Haeckel in their work.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 144

Dimensions: 240 x 300 mm

Publication Date: 25-08-2008

Ernst Haeckel's series of incredibly detailed prints have influenced designers and artists for over a century. Collected in books such as the perennial bestsellers Art Forms in Nature and Art Forms from the Ocean, they now form the basis of a beautiful colouring book that is suitable for any age. Each page contains boldly outlined designs based on Haeckel's original illustrations of Radiolaria, Foraminifera and other forms of microscopic life; jellyfishes, starfishes, corals and other sea life; mosses, lichens, orchids and other plants. With nearly 100 pages to choose from, the variety of designs presented in the book is breathtaking. With colouring books quickly becoming a remedy for daily stress, this collection is certain to be a popular source for those seeking a relaxing pastime that is both artistic and satisfying.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 90

Dimensions: 240 x 300 mm

Publication Date: 15-05-2016

At the nexus of art and science, this dazzling new edition of Ernst Haeckel's first work reintroduces the genius of an enigmatic scientist and passionate observer of the natural world. Although original editions of this book are extremely rare, it is now available for the first time in a paperback edition, beautifully reproducing his drawings and watercolours. While the variety and detail of Haeckel's drawings display an impressive understanding of biological structure, the skill with which Haeckel drew these tiny, aquatic protozoa renders them genuine works of art. This volume features commentary and descriptions of each of the radiolarians from Haeckel's work.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 96

Dimensions: 240 x 300 mm

Publication Date: 28-05-2005

From jewellery designers to scientists, graphic artists to naturalists, the range of people inspired by Ernst Haeckel's illustrations continues to grow. Following up on Prestel's Art Forms in Nature and Art Forms from the Ocean, this new collection features startlingly beautiful images created by Haeckel, who was commissioned to contribute to the report of the HMS Challenger expedition, which circumnavigated the world from 1872-76. The Challenger's achievements were unparalleled, with nearly 5,000 new species discovered and catalogued from the depths of Earth's oceans. Full-page reproductions bring these organisms colourfully to life, drawing readers into a world at once hypnotic and highly ordered. Divided into three sections-Siphonophores, Medusae and Radiolarians-these illustrations display Haeckel's remarkable artistic skill and understanding of the architecture of organic matter. The authors provide a brief history of the Challenger expedition, background on Haeckel's scientific and artistic accomplishments, as well as informative texts on each group of organisms.A guide to the natural world and an inspiration to artists of every stripe, this collection of Haeckel's work is a fitting tribute to a 19th century genius.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 144

Dimensions: 240 x 300 mm

Publication Date: 25-10-2015

Throughout his life photographer Jim Naughten has been fascinated with the natural world. As a child, he collected fossils he found near his home in Dover. Now a renowned photographer, Naughten has started to experiment with stereography and has turned to his boyhood interest, gaining access to the archives of some of the world's most prestigious natural history museums. This gorgeously produced book contains fifty images of marine life, reptiles, mammals, birds and primates photographed expressly for viewing through a stereoscope, which is included with the book. Stereoscopy was invented in 1839 to study and explain binocular vision. Having two eyes allows humans to determine distance and depth and stereoscopy shows a left- and right-eye view from a slightly different angle, as we see things in day-to-day life. Looking through the stereo viewer, readers will see the specimens as three-dimensional objects. As the images jump off the page, their incredible details become apparent-delicate bat wings, the spiraling skeleton of a python, the almost mythic form of a leafy sea dragon.A foreword by Martin Barnes of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London offers an assessment of the work while essays on the specimens themselves and the history of stereoscopy provide rich background to this photographic technology, and to Naughten's achievement in bringing to life a world that seamlessly melds the past and present.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 136

Dimensions: 270 x 220 mm

Publication Date: 06-06-2016

Earth Crisis encapsulates 25 years of Shepard Fairey’s work focused on environmental themes, from its recent manifestation as a globe suspended from the Eiffel Tower to posters, murals and prints. Earth Crisis includes two oversized volumes in a slip-case. Volume one contains more than one hundred pages encapsulating Fairey’s entire ouvre of environmentally focused work. Volume two is a massive board-bound 10-print set, suitable for display either intact or as frame-worthy stand alone pieces. Bilingual French/English. “My political stance on protecting the planet is driven by my concern for the quality of life for future generations.” -Shepard Fairey

Bind: paperback

Pages: 130

Dimensions: 350 x 450 mm

Publication Date: 01-03-2017

Martijn Doolaard traded the convenience of a car and the distractions of daily life for a cross-continental cycling journey: a biped adventure that would take him from Amsterdam to Singapore. Leaving behind repetitive routines, One Year on a Bike indulges in slow travel, the subtlety of a gradually changing landscape, and the lessons learned through traveling. Venturing through Eastern European fields of yellow rapeseed to the intimate hosting culture and community in Iran, One Year on a Bike is a vivid chronicle of what can happen when the norm is pointedly replaced by exceptional self-discoveries and beautiful sceneries. Doolaard shares the gear and knowledge that made his trip possible alongside the passionate curiosities that served as his impetus. 

Bind: hardback

Pages: 368

Dimensions: 240 x 320 mm

Publication Date: 01-01-2017