Extreme scientists battle some of the Earth's most intense conditions, from hurricanes to caves to the crowns of towering redwoods, in order to save lives, preserve species, and help us to better understand the way our planet works.

A pale, spotted, almost cloud-like coat makes the snow leopard uncannily invisible in its rocky mountain habitat. Author Sy Montgomery and photographer Nic Bishop accompany conservationist Tom McCarthy and his team as they travel to Mongolia's Altai Mountains to gather data about snow leopard populations in an attempt to save this endangered species.

This book chronicles the efforts of Dr. Merlin Tuttle and his colleagues at Bat Conservation International, as they try and save bat species from loss of habitat and white-nose syndrome.

On remote Codfish Island off the southern coast of New Zealand live the last 91 kakapo parrots on earth. Originally this bird numbered in the millions before humans brought predators to the islands. Now on the isolated island refuge, a team of scientists is trying to restore the kakapo population.

"In the world there are probably fewer than 30 people who spend all or most of their effort working with polar bears. A veteran polar bear biologist, and the man in charge of Alaskan polar bear research for the past thirty years, Dr. Steven Amstrup has worked full time on polar bears since he joined the Polar Bear Project in 1980. The Polar Bear Project conducts ongoing research on polar bear populations and habitats in the Southern Beaufort Sea in...

"In The Spider Silk Scientists, readers enter Randy Lewis' lab where they come face to face with golden orb weaver spiders and genetically engineered goats, whose milk contains the proteins to spin spider silk--and to weave a nearly indestructible fiber. Learn how this amazing material might someday be used to repair or replace human ligaments and bones, improve body armor, strenghten parachute rope, and even tether an airplane to an aircraft carrier!...

Describes the cheetah's essential role in the ecosystem and the ways in which Namibia's Cheetah Conservation Fund is promoting cohabitation between cheetahs and farmers.

Explores the leatherback sea turtle's natural history and recounts the extraordinary efforts by scientists trying to save them.

"In the 1990s, scientists lived inside Biosphere 2 (Biosphere 1 is the Earth itself) for two years, trying to figure out if colonizing Mars would ever be possible. Now scientists don't live there but instead conduct all sorts of studies and experiments aimed to help us better understand our environment and especially understand what sort of things are happening to it due to climate change and other man-made problems. It's a unique take on the Scientists...