"For decades the suburbs have been where art happens "despite": despite the conformity, the emptiness, the sameness. The familiar story is one of gems formed under pressure, creative transcendence fueled by suburban resentment. But what if the suburb has actually been an incubator for distinctly American art, as positively and as surely as in any other cultural hothouse? Mixing personal experience, cultural reportage, and history while rejecting clichés...

What would you do if you found an alligator in your garage? Or if you spotted a mountain lion downtown? In cities and suburbs around the world, wild creatures are showing up where we least expect them. Not all of them arrive by accident, and some are here to stay. As the human population tops seven billion, animals are running out of space. Their natural habitats are surrounded and sometimes even replaced by highways, shopping centers, office parks,...

"The fourth largest metropolitan area in North America is home to more than nine million people and a surprisingly large population of coyotes. Join the wildlife scientists of the Urban Coyote Research Project as they carry on their twenty-five-year mission: Studying the coyotes of Cook County, Illinois, home to the city of Chicago. Explore questions such as 'Where did the coyotes come from-and why?,' 'Are they a danger to Chicagoans?,' and 'Do predators...

How do you connect the artsy, science-nerd mom to the art and science of parenting? Lynn Brunelle shares her field trip through pregnancy and parenting, sprinkled with a sparkle of science, in this hilarious and awe-inspiring memoir. With great enthusiasm, Lynn shows how she shares her inner geek--the part of her that is gleefully curious and wide-eyed with wonderment--with her children. For Lynn, science is the stardust that makes common things glow....