Books in Beginner's Guides series

From America's most trusted authorities on birds and nature, a pocket-size, brilliantly colorful, simple-to-use guide to hummingbirds, containing dozens of full-color photographs.Whether you use feeders, flowers, or habitats, this easy-to-use guide will tell you all you need to know to attract tiny jewel-like hummingbirds to your own yard. The Stokes Beginner's Guide to Hummingbirds is factually, visually, and organizationally superior to any other beginner's guide. Special features include:Stunning color photographs of all plumages of North American hummingbirdsA unique and innovative key to identifying all male, female, and immature hummingbirdsHandy color tab index to male hummingbirds by the color of their throatsHow-to section on attracting hummingbirds with feedersHow-to section on using flowers and habitat to attract hummingbirdsComplete life histories, range maps, and identification clues for all North American hummingbirds

Discover the truth about the much-misunderstood thinkerOften quoted yet highly divisive, Nietzsche remains an enigma long after his death. This clear primer moves deftly through the controversy to examine the philosopher's work in the context of his tumultuous childhood and Christian upbringing. Discussing his infamous declaration that God is dead, his posthumous association with Nazism, and his criticisms of conventional morality, this book is the ideal introduction to the much debated thinker and his extensive legacy.

A fascinating and frightening look into terrorism on a global scale.Since the terrible events of 9/11, more attention than ever has been paid to the threats and challenges posed by contemporary terrorists. From suicide bombers to the latest cybertechnology, Leonard Weinberg’s readable and objective introduction explains who the terrorists are, where they came from, what motivates them and what, if anything, can be done to stop them. It provides a fascinating insight into such mythical figures as Carlos the Jackal and Osama bin Laden, while also offering a full account of how terrorist ‘cells’ operate and what they might do in the future. With full resources, including a chronology and list of further reading on the subject, anyone interested in matters of public security and international crises will find this essential reading.

A no-nonsense guide to the science of what we eat and how to make nutrition work for youShocking obesity rates, the rise of eating disorders, killer food allergies, super foods that cure cancer: as the headlines shout every week, we have never been more engaged, or struggled so hard, with what we put in our mouths. Separating fact from fiction, award-winning health journalist and nutritionist Dr Sarah Brewer combines the latest science with practical advice on what really matters to explain exactly how food influences our health and well-being. From the mechanics of digestion and the chemical composition of macro and micronutrients to methods of healthy weight loss and aiding medical conditions with various foods, all the key issues and debates are covered making this essential reading for medics and trainee nutritionists as well as anyone interested in making informed decisions about their diet.

From America's foremost authorities on birds, this pocket-size, brilliantly colorful, simple-to-use guide is an ideal introduction to the birds of the Western United States.Is that butterfly outside your window a Monarch or a Giant Swallowtail? What's the best kind of feeder for attracting birds to your backyard? This pocket-size, brilliantly colorful, simple-to-use guide is an ideal introduction to the birds of the Western United States. It contains dozens of full-color photographs that enable readers of all ages to identify the most common species; range maps; tips on attracting and observing birds; information on habitat needs, life cycle, food preferences; and much more.Special features include:Coverage of 100 speciesUnique organization by birds' plumage colorsUser-friendly color tab index for quick referenceBrilliant full-color photographs of each species, plus separate images of male and female when plumage differsUseful tips for attracting birdsInformation on voice, habitat, nest, eggs, incubation time, population trends, behavior, birdhouse and feeder preferences, and much more

Would you drink milk from a cloned cow? Should we clone extinct or endangered species? Are we justified in using stem cells to develop cures? When will we clone the first human? Ever since Dolly the sheep, such questions have rarely been far from the public consciousness. Aaron Levine explains the science of cloning and guides readers around the thorny political and ethical issues that have developed.

Have you always wanted to explore the Moon like Neil Armstrong or the eleven other astronauts who have walked on its surface? You can tour the Moon from your own backyard with a small telescope or binoculars. This book will point you to the Sea of Tranquility (the landing spot for Apollo 11) and many other fascinating features you can spot on the Moon's surface.Beginning with the New Moon, as each day passes, an additional slice of the Moon becomes visible. With each new slice comes new craters, lunar seas and jagged mountain ranges. This easy-to-use, illustrated reference book enables everyone, young and old, to better appreciate our nearest neighbour in space.

John A. Read covers everything needed to identify constellations, planets, stars, galaxies, nebulae and more. Inquisitive stargazers will find planet hunting and star hopping easy with clearly plotted routes and images of the sky both as seen by the naked eye and detailed views from a telescope.Many fascinating cosmic objects can be easily spotted with the help of this book including beautiful Cassiopeia, regal Leo, the plentiful Kemble's Cascade, the explosive Crab Nebula, the rings of Saturn -- even the moon!This easy to read, fully illustrated reference book will enrich every young person's experience of the skies above.A previous version of this book called "50 Things to See with a Telescope - kids" is also available.

Biologist John Spicer shows how closely our future is linked with that of biodiversity while navigating readers through some key problems facing our planet, including mass extinctions, population explosions, habitat destruction, and pollution. Along the way, he provides valuable insight into the impact humans have had upon the earth and its inhabitants, whether efforts such as ecotourism really help, and how scientists and economists calculate the 'value' of biodiversity. Passionately argued, this book is a must for anyone who has an appreciation for nature and wants to understand the real issues at stake in preserving it.

In this book, the second in the "Beginner's Guide" series, you will create a simple 2D shooter game, create challenging gameplay and learn techniques to code more in less time. This book can be read as a standalone (you don't need to have read the previous books in the series, although it may help) and focuses on: scoring system and lives (e.g., keeping track of the score), user interface (menus and in-game information for 2D games), movement of the spaceship (e.g., left, right, up and down), missiles and explosions (i.e., fire missiles or create animated explosions upon collision), Artificial intelligence (e.g., moving independently or attacking the player) and improving your C# programing and Unity skills (e.g., important and useful functions and principles that you can reuse in your own games). The main idea behind this book is to save you some headaches when you need to create your 2D shooter and to help you to find the time to actually code your game, by explaining simple and effective ways and best coding practices that you can use easily to create more code (and games) in less time with less stress and more fun. The content of each chapter is as follows: Chapter 1, Creating a Simple Level, shows you how to create a simple level for a shooter game including a spaceship that you can move in all directions, missiles that you can fire, and meteorites that appear in random locations and that can be destroyed or avoided by the player. Chapter 2, Adding Special Effects, explains how it is possible to create simple, yet effective, visual effects to improve your game. Along the way, you will learn how to use sprite sheets and slice them to create your own animations. Chapter 3, Improving our Game, explains how you can add some interesting Artificial Intelligence to the NPCS (i.e., enemies) so that they can detect and shoot at the player; you will also learn how to keep track of the health of the player and the NPCs. Chapter 4, Polishing-up the game, shows and explains how to make the game even more challenging by progressively increasing the difficulty levels of the game, to add a temporary shield to the player, along with sound effects. Chapter 5 provides answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) related to the topics covered in this book. Chapter 6 summarizes the topics covered in the book and provides you with more information on the next steps. The method explained in this book has been tried-and-tested, and I can guarantee that after reading this book, you will be able to create your own 2D shooter games; this is because the book includes step-by-step instructions, plenty of screenshots and explanations, and a format that is easy to read (just like a friend or a friendly instructor would explain coding to you: in a casual way, yet concise, accurate, and informative). After buying the book, you also get access to the author, if you have any question, and to plenty of free add-ons worth over $100 exclusively made available to you including a member area with weekly updates, a private Facebook group where you can post your questions, over 25 tutorials (video and text), cheat sheets, discounted paperback copies, and much more!

** Buy this book today and create your first platformer game with Unity in no time ** In this book, the first in the "Beginner's Guide" series, you will create a simple 2D platform game, create challenging gameplay and learn techniques to code more in less time. This book can be read as a standalone (you don't need to have read the previous books in the series, although it may help) and focuses on: scoring system and lives (e.g., keeping track of the score across the game), user interface (menus and in-game information for 2D games), character movement (e.g., walk, run, jump, crouch, etc.), character interaction (i.e., collect objects or avoid other objects), playful game-mechanics (e.g., bouncing objects, moving platforms, time-limited level, collapsing bridges, etc.) and improving C# programing skills (e.g., important and useful functions and principles that you can reuse in your own games). The main idea behind this book is to save you some headaches when you need to create your 2D platformer and to help you to find the time to actually code your game, by explaining simple and effective ways and best coding practices that you can use easily to create more code (and games) in less time with less stress and more fun. >> Buy this book now and get started on creating your 2D platformer right away! The content of each chapter is as follows: Chapter 1, Creating a Simple Level, shows you how to create a simple level for a platformer game including a main character, a mini-map, platforms, cameras following the player, and sprites that you can collect or avoid. Chapter 2, Managing Score, Lives and Levels, explains how it is possible to manage the score and the number of lives across your scenes; you will also learn how to load new scenes based on conditions, and to also minimize your development time by using prefabs. Chapter 3, Adding Sound and Displaying Values Onscreen, explains how you can add audio to your game, and display and update information onscreen (e.g., number of lives or score). Chapter 4, Adding Challenging Gameplay, shows and explains how to make your platform game more challenging by adding engaging game mechanics (e.g., moving platforms, teleportation, etc.). Chapter 5 provides answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) related to the topics covered in this book. Chapter 6 summarizes the topics covered in the book and provides you with more information on the next steps. The method explained in this book has been tried-and-tested, and I can guarantee that after reading this book, you will be able to create your own 2D platform games; this is because the book includes step-by-step instructions, plenty of screenshots and explanations, and a format that is easy to read (just like a friend or a friendly instructor would explain coding to you: in a casual way, yet concise, accurate, and informative). The method used in this book is the same used in the books in the series called "Unity from Zero to Proficiency", a very successful series for which many readers have already given a 5 stars rating, based on the content and the methodology used to teach Unity. After buying the book, you also get access to the author, if you have any question, and to plenty of free add-ons worth over $100 exclusively made available to you including a member area with weekly updates, a private Facebook group where you can post your questions, over 25 tutorials (video and text), cheat sheets, discounted paperback copies, and much more! Download this book now!