Free (nook/Kindle/Kobo) No Way Home: Animal Migrations [Nature Science Travel Tales]

[ATDrake]

No Way Home: The Decline of the World's Great Animal Migrations by endangered species expert David S. Wilcove, a Professor of Ecology etc. at Princeton University, is his globe-trotting wildlife-tracking survey, layman-friendly scientific explanation, species/habitat preservation exhortation, and historical scientific/researcher travel adventure anecdote-sharing account of Exactly What It Says In The Title, free courtesy of publisher Island Press' Shearwater imprint, who've given us some rather nice climate/ecology freebies in the past and are currently offering a few more this week.

Like the other Island Press freebies we've gotten recently, this is really quite nifty in terms of being accessible, educational, and entertaining besides, and has garnered high praise in the editorial reviews from both specialty and general audience media outlets.

Currently free @ B&N, Amazon, & Kobo (all available to Canadians). This doesn't seem to exist in e-book format in the UK or Australia, but is also free at various regional Amazon stores in EU and South American countries when I spot-check.

ETA: now also free @ Google Play & iTunes (both available to Canadians).

And this has been the selected 3rd (non-repeat) free ebook thread of the day.

Because science, and nature, and stories, oh my!

Enjoy!

Description
Animal migration is a magnificent sight: a mile-long blanket of cranes rising from a Nebraska river and filling the sky; hundreds of thousands of wildebeests marching across the Serengeti; a blaze of orange as millions of monarch butterflies spread their wings to take flight. Nature’s great migrations have captivated countless spectators, and none more than premier ecologist David S. Wilcove. In No Way Home, his awe is palpable—as are the growing threats to migratory animals.

We may be witnessing a dying phenomenon among many species. Migration has always been arduous, but today’s travelers face unprecedented dangers. Skyscrapers and cell towers lure birds and bats to untimely deaths, fences and farms block herds of antelope, salmon are caught en route between ocean and river, breeding and wintering grounds are paved over or plowed, and global warming disrupts the synchronized schedules of predators and prey. The result is a dramatic decline in the number of migrants.

Wilcove guides us on their treacherous journeys, describing the barriers to migration and exploring what compels animals to keep on trekking. He also brings to life the adventures of scientists who study migrants. Often as bold as their subjects, researchers speed wildly along deserted roads to track birds soaring overhead, explore glaciers in search of frozen locusts, and outfit dragonflies with transmitters weighing less than one one-hundredth of an ounce.

New discoveries and advanced technologies are helping us to understand migrations better, but alone, they won’t stop sea turtles and songbirds from going the way of the bison or passenger pigeon. What’s required is the commitment and cooperation of the far-flung countries migrants cross—long before extinction is a threat. As Wilcove writes, “protecting the abundance of migration is key to protecting the glory of migration.” No Way Home offers powerful inspiration to preserve glorious journeys.

[ATDrake]

Now also free @ Google Play & iTunes (links also added to OP).