- presents an engaging and accessible examination of the role of systematic biology in species exploration and biodiversity conservation - clarifies misconceptions about systematic biology, reimagining it for the 21st Century - proposes an ambitious, planetary-scale project to inventory and make known every kind of plant, animal, and microbe on Earth - challenges the next and present generations of taxonomists to allow molecular data to assume it’s proper place alongside traditional data, to reembrace the fundamentally important mission of systematics - will be of great interest to those researching and working in systematics in botany and zoology, as well as professionals working in taxonomy and biodiversity conservation.
No question in theoretical biology has been more perennially controversial or perplexing than "What is a species?" Recent advances in phylogenetic theory have called into question traditional views of species and spawned many concepts that are currently competing for general acceptance. Once the subject of esoteric intellectual exercises, the "species problem" has emerged as a critically important aspect of global environmental concerns. Completion of an inventory of biodiversity, success in conservation, predictive knowledge about life on earth, management of material resources, formulation of scientifically credible public policy and law, and more depend upon our adoption of the "right" species concept. Quentin D. Wheeler and Rudolf Meier present a debate among top systematic biology theorists to consider the strengths and weaknesses of five competing concepts. Debaters include (1) Ernst Mayr (Biological Species Concept), (2) Rudolf Meier and Rainer Willmann (Hennigian species concept), (3) Brent Mishler and Edward Theriot (one version of the Phylogenetic Species Concept), (4) Quentin Wheeler and Norman Platnick (a competing version of the Phylogenetic Species Concept), and (5) E. O. Wiley and Richard Mayden (the Evolutionary Species Concept). Each author or pair of authors contributes three essays to the debate: first, a position paper with an opening argument for their respective concept of species; second, a counterpoint view of the weakness of competing concepts; and, finally, a rebuttal of the attacks made by other authors. This unique and lively debate format makes the comparative advantages and disadvantages of competing species concepts clear and accessible in a single book for the first time, bringing to light numerous controversies in phylogenetic theory, taxonomy, and philosophy of science that are important to a wide audience. Species Concepts and Phylogenetic Theory will meet a need among scientists, conservationists, policy-makers, and students of biology for an explicit, critical evaluation of a large and complex literature on species. An important reference for professionals, the book will prove especially useful in classrooms and discussion groups where students may find a concise, lucid entrée to one of the most complex questions facing science and society.
A chameleon so tiny it can fit on your thumbnail? A spider named after David Bowie? A fungus that turns ants into zombies? What on Earth? What on Earth? is a compendium of the 100 coolest, weirdest, and most intriguing new species of this century as determined by the International Institute for Species Exploration. From animals to plants, fossils to bacteria, What on Earth? is an accessible, informative, and offbeat look at the creatures that also call our planet home, including: • A dangerous cobra that can spit its venom almost ten feet • A miniscule orchid that is less than a half-inch wide • A rainforest mushroom named after the cartoon character Spongebob Squarepants • A beautiful seahorse that changes colors to protect itself from predators • A stick insect that is as long as a man’s arm Featuring visually striking images alongside surprising facts about each new species, What on Earth? is a testament to the incredible and ever-evolving diversity of our planet.
More than 99% of all life that has ever existed on this planet is extinct. Moreover, human acceleration of the extinction of species has created a crisis in biodiversity. How can the history of past life be retreived? How does this history bear on our understanding of the organization and evolution of present-day species? These questions are addressed in extinction and phylogeny.
A series of horrifying murders rips through a sanatorium - and only the patients can stop the killings. 'Baffling crimes, brilliant writing' SATURDAY REVIEW 'Quentin is a craftsman of the first class' TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT Peter Duluth turned to drink after his wife's untimely death; now, two years later and desperate to dry out, he enters a sanitorium, hoping to turn his life around. But he doesn't quite get the calm relaxation he expected. Strange, malevolent occurrences plague the hospital - and Peter hears his own voice crying out the warning 'There will be murder.' With a murderer is on the loose, and the staff every bit as erratic as the idiosyncratic patients, everyone is a suspect - including Peter, who is desperate to clear his name before the killer strikes again.
From the Edgar Award–winning author of the Peter Duluth Mysteries comes an electrifying thriller of one man’s desperate search for his missing wife. Patrick Quentin, best known for the Peter Duluth puzzle mysteries, also penned outstanding detective novels from the 1930s through the 1960s under other pseudonyms, including Q. Patrick and Jonathan Stagge. Anthony Boucher wrote: “Quentin is particularly noted for the enviable polish and grace which make him one of the leading American fabricants of the murderous comedy of manners; but this surface smoothness conceals intricate and meticulous plot construction as faultless as that of Agatha Christie.” Returning from Venezuela, mining engineer Mark Liddon is hoping to surprise his wife as much as she surprised him by agreeing to marry him. After all, he came up the rough way in back rooms and boxing rings, while Ellie is a social scion from a family of money and influence. But when Mark crosses the doorstep, Ellie is nowhere to be found and her ex-boyfriend is in their home, shot dead. Using instincts honed from a lifetime of hard knocks, Mark launches himself into an investigation of his own to find Ellie. But the further he goes in his search, the more people try to slow him down. And now they’re trying to kill him . . .
This Edgar Award–winning collection from the author behind the Peter Duluth novels delivers “a dozen shock treatments for varying degrees of murder” (Kirkus Reviews). Patrick Quentin, best known for the Peter Duluth puzzle mysteries, also penned outstanding detective novels from the 1930s through the 1960s under other pseudonyms, including Q. Patrick and Jonathan Stagge. Anthony Boucher wrote: “Quentin is particularly noted for the enviable polish and grace which make him one of the leading American fabricants of the murderous comedy of manners; but this surface smoothness conceals intricate and meticulous plot construction as faultless as that of Agatha Christie.” This Edgar Award–winning short story collection introduces multiple murderers with a myriad of motives: In the title story, which was adapted for an episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, a wealthy woman trapped in a vault passes the hours pondering her life and her loves as time—and her oxygen supply—runs out . . . In post–World War II Sicily, a visiting American discovers that his charity toward a young boy has ensnared him in a trap only a child could have dreamed up . . . A cheating husband planning on killing his wife learns that even the best-laid plans can go astray—especially if your wife is a lot smarter than you . . . A child writes down what she’s going to say in a court case, revealing the honest, innocent heart of a little girl—and the cold, calculating mind of a monster . . . Quentin’s collection of crimes “produces a cool chill and a calculated thrill” (Kirkus Reviews) and includes: “The Ordeal of Mrs. Snow,” “A Boy’s Will,” “Portrait of a Murderer,” “Little Boy Lost,” “Witness for the Prosecution,” “The Pigeon-Woman,” “All the Way to the Moon,” “Mother, May I Go Out to Swim?,” “Thou Lord Seest Me,” “Mrs. Appleby’s Bear,” “Love Comes to Miss Lucy,” and “This Will Kill You.”
The inimitable Quentin Letts dares to say in a new book what we've all been secretly thinking' Mail on Sunday 'Fuming and chuckling by turns' Daily Telegraph 'Underneath the jocularity of Letts's style is a lot of real anger' Roger Lewis, The Times Hands, face, space. Curfews. Don't drink. Bend your knees. Conform, obey, comply - surrender. British life has become infested by bossiness. Post Lockdown, Quentin Letts storms back with a vituperative howl against the 'bossocracy'. They tell us what to do, what to say, how to think. Letts gives them a prolonged, resonant raspberry. He names the guilty men and women: Dominic Cummings, Prof Neil Ferguson, that strutting self-polisher Nicola Sturgeon, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cressida Dick, Michael Gove, even the sainted Sir David Attenborough. Bang! They all take a barrel. And then there's publicity-prone plonker Matt Hancock posing for photographs while doing his 'Mr Fit' press-ups. Reasonable people have had enough of being bossed about. And when reasonable people stop respecting the law, society has a problem. 'Brilliantly critical, but always warm-hearted and fair' Rory Knight Bruce, The Field
The Edgar Award–winning author of the Peter Duluth series delivers a taut mystery of a mild-mannered man out to prove himself innocent of murder. Patrick Quentin, best known for the Peter Duluth puzzle mysteries, also penned outstanding detective novels from the 1930s through the 1960s under other pseudonyms, including Q. Patrick and Jonathan Stagge. Anthony Boucher wrote: “Quentin is particularly noted for the enviable polish and grace which make him one of the leading American fabricants of the murderous comedy of manners; but this surface smoothness conceals intricate and meticulous plot construction as faultless as that of Agatha Christie.” Andrew Jordan might be called an everyman—if it meant that every man drifts through life in a perpetual haze of boredom, a completely bland creature married to a woman who neither appreciates nor loves him. Even the series of anonymous messages warning him of his wife’s infidelity spark nothing in him except a belief that whatever is wrong must be his fault. Then his wife is murdered, and the meek Andrew is a prime suspect. With no one to turn to, Andrew begins his own investigation, discovering there were more than a few people who had it in for his wife. The more he learns, the more he realizes someone is setting him up for a big fall. And if he doesn’t stand up, man up, and prove his innocence, they are going to succeed.
In this mystery from an Edgar Award–winning author, sleuth Peter Duluth is caught in “a succession of double takes and double-crosses” (Kirkus Reviews). Patrick Quentin, best known for the Peter Duluth puzzle mysteries, also penned outstanding detective novels from the 1930s through the 1960s under other pseudonyms, including Q. Patrick and Jonathan Stagge. Anthony Boucher wrote: “Quentin is particularly noted for the enviable polish and grace which make him one of the leading American fabricants of the murderous comedy of manners; but this surface smoothness conceals intricate and meticulous plot construction as faultless as that of Agatha Christie.” With his marriage to his wife on the rebound—but still precarious—Peter Duluth knows the last thing he needs now is more trouble. With Iris away making a movie, maybe he can finally get back to writing his next Broadway hit. Unfortunately, after the sultry Deborah Brand slinks into his car asking for a ride, things are about to get far more complicated—and dangerous. Because when his passenger ends up dead, Peter becomes ensnared in a conspiracy that will take him from the jungles of Mexico to the back alleys of New Orleans. And if Peter isn’t careful, it may take him straight to the grave . . .
A “drastic domestic mystery story verging on nightmare” from the Edgar Award–winning author of the Peter Duluth series (Tatler). Struggling artist John Hamilton is a man living a lie. Since moving to the small New England town of Stoneville to pursue painting, he’s been desperately trying to cope with his wife’s alcoholism. Linda has become an expert at hiding it from her wealthy circle of friends—and at keeping John from exposing her. Though, their marriage has devolved into a never-ending cycle of deception and denial. But when John is offered his old job back in New York City at twice the pay, things come to a head. Linda wants nothing more than to be back in the city among her old friends, living the high life—only John and his artistic ambitions stand her way. When John comes back from Manhattan, turning down the job, he finds his house in utter disarray—and Linda nowhere to be found. In her wake, she has made sure that suspicions immediately fall on John. And as the villagers turn against him and evidence points to murder, John must delve into the darkness of his own wife’s twisted mind to uncover the truth. After all, no one knows her better than him . . . “For lovers of anxiety crime fiction, The Man in the Net certainly fills the bill. At the same time, there is a neat central crime puzzle to solve and some excellent acerbic writing and character portraits.” —The Passing Tramp The basis for the 1959 movie starring Alan Ladd
In this “bright, amusing addition to this series” by an Edgar Award winner, sleuth Peter Duluth faces his greatest challenge: remembering who he is . . . (Kirkus Reviews). Patrick Quentin, best known for the Peter Duluth puzzle mysteries, also penned outstanding detective novels from the 1930s through the 1960s under other pseudonyms, including Q. Patrick and Jonathan Stagge. Anthony Boucher wrote: “Quentin is particularly noted for the enviable polish and grace which make him one of the leading American fabricants of the murderous comedy of manners; but this surface smoothness conceals intricate and meticulous plot construction as faultless as that of Agatha Christie.” When Gordy Friend wakes up in the hospital, he’s got a broken arm, a broken leg, and apparently a broken head, since he can’t remember anything that’s happened before now. Luckily, Gordy learns he has a doting mother, a loving sister, and an absolute knockout wife to care for him and remind him of his lavish, hedonistic lifestyle. He’s also in line to inherit a great deal of money from his recently deceased father—if the will isn’t contested by some killjoys who think Gordy isn’t up to snuff. Then, his trip down easy street hits the skids as Gordy realizes not everything around him is what it seems, and that his father’s passing might not have been so peaceful. Plus, he’s got some weird thoughts clanking around his head—strange memories about the bright lights of Broadway and a beautiful starlet. The more Gordy finds out about himself, the more he suspects that his entire life might be a lie. And that the lie might just kill him . . .
In this mystery from an Edgar Award–winning author, sleuth Peter Duluth steps in when his rebellious nephew is charged with murder. Patrick Quentin, best known for the Peter Duluth puzzle mysteries, also penned outstanding detective novels from the 1930s through the 1960s under other pseudonyms, including Q. Patrick and Jonathan Stagge. Anthony Boucher wrote: “Quentin is particularly noted for the enviable polish and grace which make him one of the leading American fabricants of the murderous comedy of manners; but this surface smoothness conceals intricate and meticulous plot construction as faultless as that of Agatha Christie.” Jake Duluth is a man alone. Three years after the suicide of his beloved wife, the wall between Jake and his son, Bill, has only grown higher. Bill’s constant impulsiveness has driven Jake to distraction, while Jake’s constant concern for his publishing business alienates Bill even more. But when Bill is accused of murdering Jake’s business partner after falling in love with the man’s much younger wife, Jake has no choice but to believe his son and call in someone with much more experience in such sinister matters—his brother, Peter. Now, with Bill’s life at stake, Jake and Peter must follow a trail of secrets and twisted loyalties if they are going to uncover a culprit neither could have ever imagined.
From an Edgar Award–winning author, sleuth Peter Duluth must drop the curtain on a killer in this “medley of off-stage theatrics with a teaser of a solution” (Kirkus Reviews). Patrick Quentin, best known for the Peter Duluth puzzle mysteries, also penned outstanding detective novels from the 1930s through the 1960s under other pseudonyms, including Q. Patrick and Jonathan Stagge. Anthony Boucher wrote: “Quentin is particularly noted for the enviable polish and grace which make him one of the leading American fabricants of the murderous comedy of manners; but this surface smoothness conceals intricate and meticulous plot construction as faultless as that of Agatha Christie.” Theater producer Peter Duluth is fresh out the sanitarium where he got sober; found his new love, Iris; and also happened to help catch a murderer. Now he’s dead set on staging his big comeback with a new play featuring his lady as the star. Unfortunately, they end up in a broken-down theater where the rats keep company with ghosts, and where there hasn’t been a hit in years. Combined with the usual egos, divas, and personal demons, it will be a miracle if Peter can get the play off the ground. But his seemingly cursed production turns deadly when an actor literally dies onstage, with another murder soon to follow—this is not a dress rehearsal. Now it’s up to Peter to shine a spotlight on a killer.
In this mystery from an Edgar Award–winning author, sleuth Peter Duluth must overcome his own demons as he investigates a case south of the border (Kirkus Reviews). Patrick Quentin, best known for the Peter Duluth puzzle mysteries, also penned outstanding detective novels from the 1930s through the 1960s under other pseudonyms, including Q. Patrick and Jonathan Stagge. Anthony Boucher wrote: “Quentin is particularly noted for the enviable polish and grace which make him one of the leading American fabricants of the murderous comedy of manners; but this surface smoothness conceals intricate and meticulous plot construction as faultless as that of Agatha Christie.” Returning from World War II, Broadway big shot Peter Duluth thought he and his wife, Iris, could simply resume the life they had before. He was wrong. Peter is carrying some heavy baggage from his time in the service, and the weight is more than Iris can bear. By the time the detective gets back to his old self, Iris is gone. Following his wife to Mexico, he discovers she’s fallen for someone else. But Peter isn’t about to give up and go home. He’s going to stay and fight for her. To win this battle, Peter will have to investigate the murder of Iris’s lover’s wife, become entangled with the man’s depraved family—and face the possibility that the love of his life may a cold-blooded killer . . .
The story of Samuel S. Liebowitz, one of America's renowned criminal lawyers. It is told in terms of the trials of the men and women for whose lives he battled. Now, the author reveals the testimonies behind many of these celebrated cases.
A chance meeting with an ex throws a man’s current marriage into turmoil, from the author “in the very first line of detective-story writers” (Sphere). On the surface, Bill Harding has landed on his feet. After failing as a writer and having his first wife desert him and their son, he remarried into a family of wealth and power. His “perfect” new wife is renowned for her charity work, and her father’s publishing empire provides Bill with a job, a ritzy Manhattan apartment, and a glamorous lifestyle. All is well until Bill runs into his beautiful ex. Though she’s in a sorry state, Bill pushes the thought of her out of his mind. The last thing he expects is to see her again, but her sordid life soon creeps into his rarefied world, bringing with it murder. Now, the more steps Bill takes to protect himself and his marriage, the more the truth is obscured. Bill’s own shortcomings come to light, as well as the secrets of a dysfunctional family. With Det. Timothy Trant on the case, Bill must make a decision that could ruin everything—and strip away the lies that have engulfed them all . . . “This is a fine mid-century detective novel, the essence of a page turning thriller, but one which neglects neither clueing nor characterization.” —The Passing Tramp “Svelte.” —Kirkus Reviews The basis for the 1967 Japanese film Tsuma Futari (“Two Wives”), directed by Yasuzo Masamura
- presents an engaging and accessible examination of the role of systematic biology in species exploration and biodiversity conservation - clarifies misconceptions about systematic biology, reimagining it for the 21st Century - proposes an ambitious, planetary-scale project to inventory and make known every kind of plant, animal, and microbe on Earth - challenges the next and present generations of taxonomists to allow molecular data to assume it’s proper place alongside traditional data, to reembrace the fundamentally important mission of systematics - will be of great interest to those researching and working in systematics in botany and zoology, as well as professionals working in taxonomy and biodiversity conservation.
A journalist and maritime historian investigates the deadly 2013 storm that claimed the lives of five fishermen off the coast of eastern Canada. It was a frigid night in February 2013 when the five young fishermen vanished. The crew of the Miss Ally—a 12-metre Cape Islander from Woods Harbour, Nova Scotia—was fishing for halibut far off the Nova Scotia coast when their boat’s spotlight malfunctioned. A vicious winter storm was approaching from her south, and all other boats at the fishing grounds were steaming for shore. Unable to locate his longlining gear, the Miss Ally’s young captain decided to stay an extra day to retrieve the gear and, hopefully, a big catch. Their retreat delayed, the Miss Ally crew ended up pounded by hurricane-force winds and waves well over 10 meters high. Late on February 17, the boat foundered. The five young men aboard—Katlin Nickerson, Billy Jack Hatfield, Joel Hopkins, Cole Nickerson, and Tyson Townsend—were never found. The Sea Was in Their Blood explores two key questions: who were the men aboard the Miss Ally, and why were they battered and sunk by a storm forecasted days in advance? Through interviews with the crew’s families and friends, rescue personnel, and members of the tight-knit fishing communities of Woods Harbour and Cape Sable Island, award-winning journalist Quentin Casey pieces together the tragic sinking—including important case details not previously reported—and weaves in the backstories of the Miss Ally’s crew and the lingering effects of their disappearance. A portion of the royalties from the sale of this book will be donated to various charitable causes associated with the Miss Ally.
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