Fifteen essays illustrate Emerson's ideas of the relation of nature to the self, the uniquely American perception of co-existence with, rather than brute domination of, nature.

A selection of nature-themed essays by the biologist author of Magdalena Mountain explores such subjects as his early years as a national park ranger, the "wilderness" of modern times and the life of Vladimir Nabokov.

Darwin consolidated a lifetime of work in On the Origin of Species, compiling his discoveries from the voyage of the Beagle, his experiments, research and correspondence. He argues for the transmutation of species over time by the process of natural selection. His work laid the foundation of evolutionary biology, though when it was published it caused tremendous religious and philosophical debates. Darwin's work is still seen by many people

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Having discovered that her dying husband has an illegitimate child living in Florida, a devout Christian housewife leaves her sheltered world on a mission to reunite father and son.

Collects the author's recent essays exploring motherhood as an older mom, her life as a reader, her relationships with her parents, her newspaper career, and her experiences as a novelist.

"These intimate stories of South Indian immigrants and the families they left behind center women's lives and ask how women both claim and surrender power"-- Traveling from Pittsburgh to Washington to Tamil Nadu, these astonishing stories about dislocation and dissonance see immigrants and their families confront the costs of leaving and staying, identifying sublime symmetries in lives growing apart.