THE RANDOM HOUSE BOOK OF HOW NATURE WORKS

Carefully organized and comprehensive, a visual introduction to living things—from life's basic chemicals to plant and animal structures and processes and the cycles in nature. Originally published in England, this attractive, extremely useful book is a bargain, covering almost any subject in the biological sciences- -from DNA to food webs. Each spread focuses on a topic— ``Digestion,'' ``Movement,'' ``Reproduction,'' etc. A brief organizing paragraph accompanies a dozen or more color drawings and photos explaining and expanding concepts. Color and format are used effectively used: one layout depicts different brains (octopus, insect, fish, lizard, bird, mammal), with sections labeled and color-coded for easy comparison. Specialized terms are defined in the text; many also appear in the glossary. Excellent for browsing or reference. Detailed index. (Nonfiction. 8+)