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Measuring Mother Earth

Joseph Burr Tyrrell left his mark on much of Canada during his long life as an explorer, geologist, miner and accidental paleontologist, but since his death in 1957, he's descended into relative obscurity. Heather Robertson, a journalist and author, looks to remedy this with her new book, Measuring Mother Earth: How Joe the Kid became Tyrrell of the North. She traces his career with the Geological Survey of Canada, during which he travelled across much of the country's relatively unknown West and North, discovering minerals, tracing geological history and incidentally discovering Canada's first fossil of a carnivorous dinosaur. During later life, Tyrrell became a gold miner and successful businessman and one of the country's most famous characters.

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Related Links

Measuring Mother Earth - published by McClelland & Stewart
Biographical Sketch of Tyrrell from the University of Toronto Library
Tyrrell and Albertosaurus - from the Geological Survey of Canada
Natural Resources Canada tribute to Tyrrell
Historica.ca video minute on Tyrrell
The Royal Tyrrell Museum

The Last Wild Wolves

We've all seen nature films that show packs of wild wolves hunting deer, or even pulling down a black bear. But how about a group of wolves that fish for salmon - and even eat seals? Just such a population exists on BC's coast, and their unique behaviour has now been documented in a new book by West Coast photographer and naturalist, Ian McAllister. The book is called The Last Wild Wolves: Ghosts of the Great Bear Rainforest. McAllister lives on a small island near Bella Bella, in the heart of the Great Bear Rainforest, and he's spent years photographing and getting to know these amazing animals. Now he has written a book that provides an intimate portrait of these animals and their day-to-day life. It also contains dozens of stunning photographs of the wolves as they hunt, eat, and play.

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Related Links

Publisher's Page on the book
Conservation Pacific
Scientific studies on the wolves by Dr. Chris Darimont
Raincoast Conservation Foundation

Good Germs, Bad Germs

Ever since bacteria were first discovered, over 100 years ago, and found to cause disease, society has tried to get rid of them. We've cleaned up our water supplies, created antibiotics and today spend millions of dollars every year on antibacterial products. But the bacteria that cause problems make up a very small fraction of the microbes that are out there. In fact, many of the bacteria that live in and on our bodies actually help to keep us healthy. Is it possible that by killing the 'good' bacteria, we're endangering our own health? That's the premise behind Jessica Snyder Sachs' new book, Good Germs, Bad Germs: Health and Survival in a Bacterial World. In the book she explores the history of sanitation, the development of antibiotic resistance and the concept of the hygiene hypothesis, in an attempt to see what the future holds for the war on bacteria.

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Related Links

Jessica Snyder Sachs' blog
Ms. Sachs profile with the National Association of Science Writers
Publisher's Page on the book

Theme music copyright Raphaël Gluckstein. Creative Commons License by-nc-nd-2.0