David Barrie

Un libro que cautivará a todos aquellos interesados en la observación animal.Todos nos hemos maravillado viendo bandadas de pájaros que vuelan ejecutando lo que parece ser una danza, u observando cómo las cigueñas anidan cada año en los mismos lugares. En esta obra aves, peces o reptiles encuentran su camino: escarabajos que se guian por la luz de la Via Lactea; abejas que navegan usando patrones de luz invisibles para los humanos; tortugas marinas que encuentran su camino utilizando el campo magnetico de la Tierra. Tambien salmones que regresan a su lugar de nacimiento siguiendo su olfato, ballenas que nadan miles de millas mientras siguen un rastro de rocas o aves que vuelven a anidar en una pequeña isla despues de atravesar un oceano. Existe una gran diversidad de sistemas de navegacion animal, que a menudo utilizan sentidos y habilidades desconocidos para los humanos.

THE SUNDAY TIMES NATURE BOOK OF THE YEARA compelling investigation of navigation in the animal kingdom.Mail on SundayDavid Barrie, who himself has sailed the oceans using a sextant, is passionate about navigation and describes in delightful detail the myriad ways in which animals get around ... eye-opening book. Frans de Waal, New York Times Only a sailor could relate the navigational powers of both humans and animals with such appreciation, excitement, and precision. Thank you, David Barrie, for taking us along on these riveting voyages by sail and wing, hoof and flipper. We arrive surprised, delighted, and awed. Sy Montgomery, author of The Soul of an OctopusImmensely entertaining... [Barrie] is an admirably reliable and assiduous guide to what we do and dont yet know. Andrew Holgate, Sunday TimesBarrie has a good eye for colourful detail. Kathryn Hughes, Mail on SundayThis is a must-read for anyone fascinated with the wonders of nature.Publishers Weekly In Incredible Journeys, award-winning author David Barrie takes us on a tour of the cutting-edge science of animal navigation, where breakthroughs are allowing scientists to unravel, for the first time, how animals as various as butterflies, birds, crustaceans, fish, reptiles and even people find their way.Weaving interviews with leading experts on animal behaviour with the groundbreaking discoveries of Nobel-Prize winning neuroscientists, Barrie shines a light on the astounding skills of animals of every stripe. Dung beetles that steer by the light of the Milky Way. Ants and bees that navigate using patterns of light invisible to humans. Sea turtles, spiny lobsters and moths that find their way using the Earths magnetic field. Salmon that return to their birthplace by following their noses. Baleen whales that swim thousands of miles while holding a rock-steady course and birds that can locate their nests on a tiny island after crisscrossing an entire ocean. Theres a stunning diversity of animal navigators out there, often using senses and skills we humans dont have access to ourselves. For the first time, Incredible Journeys reveals the wonders of these animals in a whole new light.

With 2014 marking the tercentenary of the Longitude Act, this eloquent celebration of the sextant tells the story of this elegant instrument and explores its vital role in mans attempts to map the world. This is the story of an instrument that changed the world. In prose as crisp as the books subject, David Barrie tells how and why the sextant was invented; how offshore navigators depended on it for their lives in wild and dangerous seas until the advent of GPS and the sextants vital role in the history of exploration. Much of the book is set amidst the waves of the Pacific Ocean as explorers searched for the great southern ocean, charted the coasts of Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Alaska as well as the Pacific islands. Among the protagonists are Captain James Cook, the great French navigator, La Perouse, who built on Cooks work in the exploring the Pacific during the 1780s, but never made it home, George Vancouver, Matthew Flinders the first man to circumnavigate Australia, Robert FitzRoy of the Beagle, Joshua Slocum, the redoubtable old lunarian and successful pilot of a small boat across the wild Southern Ocean and Frank Worsley of the Endurance. Their stories are interwoven with the authors account of his own transatlantic passage aboard Saecwen in 1973, using the very same navigational tools as Captain Cook, and the book is infused with a sense of wonder and dramatic discovery. A heady mix of adventure, science, mathematics and derring-do, Sextant is a timeless tale of sea-faring and exploration. A love letter to the sea, it is narrative history for star gazers and sailors, for everyone with a love of salty breezes and a sense of adventure. Beautifully produced, Sextant offers storytelling at its very best.

Un libro que cautivará a todos aquellos interesados en la observación animal.Todos nos hemos maravillado alguna vez viendo bandadas de pájaros que vuelan ejecutando lo que parece ser una danza, u observando como las cigueñas anidan cada año en los mismos lugares. En esta obra, aves, peces, reptiles e incluso las personas encuentran su camino: escarabajos peloteros que se guian por la luz de la Via Lactea; hormigas y abejas que navegan usando patrones de luz invisibles para los humanos; tortugas marinas, langostas y polillas que encuentran su camino utilizando el campo magnetico de la Tierra y salmones que regresan a su lugar de nacimiento siguiendo su olfato. Los animales cuentan con una gran diversidad de medios para orientarse, a menudo utilizando sentidos y habilidades a los que los humanos no tenemos acceso. Por primera vez,Los viajes mas increibles revela las maravillas de la navegacion animal y nos muestra estos animales bajo una luz completamente nueva.