Amy Stewart – författare

A tree that sheds poison daggers; a glistening red seed that stops the heart; a shrub that causes paralysis; a vine that strangles; and a leaf that triggered a war. In Wicked Plants, Stewart takes on over two hundred of Mother Nature’s most appalling creations. It’s an A to Z of plants that kill, maim, intoxicate, and otherwise offend. You’ll learn which plants to avoid (like exploding shrubs), which plants make themselves exceedingly unwelcome (like the vine that ate the South), and which ones have been killing for centuries (like the weed that killed Abraham Lincoln's mother).Menacing botanical illustrations and splendidly ghastly drawings create a fascinating portrait of the evildoers that may be lurking in your own backyard. Drawing on history, medicine, science, and legend, this compendium of bloodcurdling botany will entertain, alarm, and enlighten even the most intrepid gardeners and nature lovers.

The Essential, New York Times–Bestselling Guide to Botany and Booze “A book that makes familiar drinks seem new again . . . Through this horticultural lens, a mixed drink becomes a cornucopia of plants.”—NPR's Morning Edition “Amy Stewart has a way of making gardening seem exciting, even a little dangerous.” —The New York Times Sake began with a grain of rice. Scotch emerged from barley, tequila from agave, rum from sugarcane, bourbon from corn. Thirsty yet? In The Drunken Botanist, Amy Stewart explores the dizzying array of herbs, flowers, trees, fruits, and fungi that humans have, through ingenuity, inspiration, and sheer desperation, contrived to transform into alcohol over the centuries.Of all the extraordinary and obscure plants that have been fermented and distilled, a few are dangerous, some are downright bizarre, and one is as ancient as dinosaurs—but each represents a unique cultural contribution to our global drinking traditions and our history.This fascinating concoction of biology, chemistry, history, etymology, and mixology—with more than fifty drink recipes and a new section on how to grow your very own cocktail garden—will make you the most popular guest at any cocktail party.

Life after the war takes an unexpected turn for theKopp sisters, but soon enough, they are putting their unique detective skills to use in new and daringways.

"You know a book is good when you actually welcome one of those howling days of wind and sleet that makes going out next to impossible." —The New York Times In The Earth Moved, Amy Stewart takes us on a journey through the underground world and introduces us to one of its most amazing denizens. The earthworm may be small, spineless, and blind, but its impact on the ecosystem is profound. It ploughs the soil, fights plant diseases, cleans up pollution, and turns ordinary dirt into fertile land. Who knew? In her witty, offbeat style, Stewart shows that much depends on the actions of the lowly worm. Charles Darwin devoted his last years to the meticulous study of these creatures, praising their remarkable abilities. With the august scientist as her inspiration, Stewart investigates the worm's subterranean realm, talks to oligochaetologists—the unsung heroes of earthworm science—who have devoted their lives to unearthing the complex life beneath our feet, and observes the thousands of worms in her own garden. From the legendary giant Australian worm that stretches to ten feet in length to the modest nightcrawler that wormed its way into the heart of Darwin's last book to the energetic red wigglers in Stewart's compost bin, The Earth Moved gives worms their due and exposes their hidden and extraordinary universe. This book is for all of us who appreciate Mother Nature's creatures, no matter how humble.

In this darkly comical look at the sinister side of our relationship with the natural world, Stewart has tracked down over one hundred of our worst entomological foes—creatures that infest, infect, and generally wreak havoc on human affairs. From the world’s most painful hornet, to the flies that transmit deadly diseases, to millipedes that stop traffic, to the “bookworms” that devour libraries, to the Japanese beetles munching on your roses, Wicked Bugs delves into the extraordinary powers of six- and eight-legged creatures. With wit, style, and exacting research, Stewart has uncovered the most terrifying and titillating stories of bugs gone wild. It’s an A to Z of insect enemies, interspersed with sections that explore bugs with kinky sex lives (“She’s Just Not That Into You”), creatures lurking in the cupboard (“Fear No Weevil”), insects eating your tomatoes (“Gardener’s Dirty Dozen”), and phobias that feed our (sometimes) irrational responses to bugs (“Have No Fear”). Intricate and strangely beautiful etchings and drawings by Briony Morrow-Cribbs capture diabolical bugs of all shapes and sizes in this mixture of history, science, murder, and intrigue that begins—but doesn’t end—in your own backyard.

Did you know there are zombie bugs that not only eat other bugs but also inhabit and control their bodies? There’s even a wasp that delivers a perfectly-placed sting in a cockroach’s brain and then leads the roach around by its antennae — like a dog on a leash. Scorpions glow in ultraviolet light. Lots of bugs dine on corpses. And if you want to know how much it hurts to get stung by a bullet ant (hint: it really, really hurts), you can consult the Schmidt Sting Pain Index. It ranks the pain produced by ants and other stinging creatures. How does it work? Dr. Schmidt, the scientist who created it, voluntarily subjected himself to the stings of 150 species. Organized into thematic categories (Everyday Dangers, Unwelcome Invaders, Destructive Pests, and Terrible Threats) and featuring full-color illustrations by Briony Morrow-Cribbs, Wicked Bugs is an educational and creepy-cool guide to the worst of the worst of insects, arachnids, and other arthropods. This is the young readers adaptation of Amy Stewart’s bestselling book for adult readers.

Young learners are full of questions and wonderings, so much so that sometimes they need a guide for their curiosity. Author Amy Stewart brings her manageable approach to close reading in Little Readers, Big Thinkers: Teaching Close Reading in the Primary Grades.With Stewart guiding, you'll be able to harness the big thinking we know is inside their inquisitive minds. She showcases ways that close reading can teach even the youngest students new ways to enjoy texts, think about them critically, and share that thinking with peers and adults. With its description of the pillars of close reading, multiple lesson sequences for grades K-2, and real-life classroom scenarios, Little Readers, Big Thinkers offers a trove of insights:What close reading is (and is not)How to encourage students to read like detectivesWays to weave close reading practices into your lessonsHow to cultivate real reading, organic thinking, and deep conversationWhich books invite amazing learning and thinking experiences.By giving young minds a great foundation, close reading will become a stepping stone to a lifelong love of reading.

A green-fingered gardener, Amy Stewart has always delighted in the sight of freshly cut flowers, but she grew increasingly curious and uneasy about the journey those flowers take to reach her bouquet. In Gilding the Lily, Stewart introduces us to the people, places and plants that make up this multi-million-pound industry, from a lily grower in the American Northwest to the rose fields of Ecuador and the tulip greenhouses in Holland. Gilding the Lily is a page-turning enquiry into the controversial practices that lie behind each bloom, including the treatment of the workers in the fields and greenhouses, the issue of patenting and the use of pesticides, and the financial forces that drive the quest for the "perfect" flower. It is also a wonderful story about the romance and the reality of growingand cultivating flowers.

The politics of water have taken centre stage in global concerns about sustainable development. "The Governance of Water and Sanitation in Africa" investigates a new mode of achieving the Millennium Development Goal of halving the number of people who lack access to safe water and sanitation by 2015. Instead of aid delivered via deals between governments, an initiative arising out of the 2002 World Summit established multi-stakeholder partnerships involving the private sector, civil society and governments to work together in a more effective way.This title includes fieldwork and interviews with key players in Europe, South Africa, Zambia, Ghana and USA, and an examination of three partnerships in Africa, including the EU Water Initiative, that reveal that despite current weaknesses this model offers a promising mode of delivery in the long term. This book is invaluable for all those concerned with issues of water, sanitation and sustainable development, as well as the politics of international aid.

The feisty, fiery Kopp sisters are back in another unforgettable romp by HWA-longlisted international bestseller Amy Stewart.When deputy sheriff Constance Kopp notices how many young women are being jailed over dubious charges of waywardness, incorrigibility, and moral depravity, she smells a rat. But what can she do to fight the forces of sexism? And how will her principles fare when her own sister, Fleurette, starts misbehaving?Against the backdrop of the First World War, and drawn once again from the true story of the Kopp sisters, Miss Kopp’s Midnight Confessions is a spirited page-turner that will delight fans of historical fiction and light-hearted detective fiction alike.

Constance Kopp, America’s first female deputy sheriff, is back in another unforgettable romp by HWA-longlisted international bestseller Amy Stewart.While transporting a woman to an insane asylum, Deputy Kopp discovers something deeply troubling about her story. Before she can investigate, another inmate breaks free and tries to escape.In both cases, Constance runs instinctively toward justice. But 1916 is a high-stakes US election year, and any move she makes could jeopardise Sheriff Heath’s future — and her own. Constance’s controversial career makes her the target of political attacks.With wit and verve, Amy Stewart brilliantly conjures the life and times of the real Constance Kopp and her feisty sisters.

From the New York Times best-selling author of The Drunken Botanist comes an enthralling novel based on the forgotten, true story of one of the US's first female deputy sheriffs.Constance Kopp doesn’t quite fit the mould. She towers over most men, has no interest in marriage or domestic affairs, and has been isolated from the world since a family secret sent her and her sisters from the city to the country fifteen years before. When a powerful, ruthless factory owner runs down their buggy, a dispute over damages turns into a war of bricks, bullets, and threats as he unleashes his gang on their farm. The sheriff enlists her help, and it turns out that Constance has a knack for outwitting (and disarming) the criminal element, which might just take her back out into the world and onto a new path in life.Through Amy Stewart’s exuberant storytelling, Constance Kopp catapults from a forgotten historical anecdote to an unforgettable historical-fiction heroine — an outsized woman not only ahead of her time, but sometimes even ahead of ours.

The bestselling author of Girl Waits With Gun returns with another adventure featuring the feisty, unforgettable Kopp sisters.In 1915, lady cops were not expected to chase down fugitives on the streets of New York City. But Constance Kopp never did what anyone expected.After besting (and arresting) a ruthless silk factory owner and his gang of thugs, Constance Kopp has earned her place as the nation’s first female deputy sheriff. She’s proven that she can’t be deterred, evaded, or outrun. But when a con man escapes from jail on her watch, she must find him before he disappears completely, and she ends up right back where she started — unemployed.