{"title":"Erik Butler","description":"\u003cp\u003eErik Butler’s works explore the intricate intersections of science, nature, and human culture with a keen eye for detail and nuance. His writing invites readers to reconsider the familiar world through provocative narratives that blend natural history with creative insight.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the provocative examination of botanical life in \u003cem\u003eSexus Botanicus\u003c\/em\u003e to the compelling challenges posed in \u003cem\u003eThe Devil and His Advocates\u003c\/em\u003e, Butler’s books offer a thoughtful journey into the complexities of our environment and its cultural reflections.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"sexus-botanicus-by-erik-butler-9780262546454","title":"Sexus Botanicus","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eSexus Botanicus\u003c\/i\u003e is a richly illustrated exploration of the astonishing diversity in sexual characteristics and behaviours of plants, from the fig-tree to the sacred lotus.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhy do some plants flower while others do not? What happens during pollination? How can the Haleakala silversword reproduce all alone? In \u003ci\u003eSexus Botanicus\u003c\/i\u003e, artist and writer Joanne Anton sheds light on the fertilisation process of plants, relating their origins and their spectacular diversity. While sexuality has long been a source of interest for humans, we sometimes forget its primordial role in evolution. Without sexuality and the genetic union it enables, life would not assume the biodiversity it displays.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eSexus Botanicus\u003c\/i\u003e introduces readers to a wide range of extraordinary specimens, some very ancient and still with us, and some that are descendants by millions of years. It explores time-travelling plants, from the wedding of a mushroom and an alga 450 million years ago, to the amorous mosses that help maintain the balance of our ecosystems today. Discover the literal flower-power sexual revolution of angiosperms, from their reliance on wind for reproduction to some of their edible ovaries commonly referred to as \"fruit\".\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe book delves into zoophilic plants, including the sexual doings of bumblebees and tomato plants and the mutually beneficial pollination programme between yucca and moths. It examines the games of deception played between plants, insects, and birds, and the improbable plants operating in extreme environments such as deserts and volcanoes. Some, like Australia's Queensland grasstree, utilise conflagration to reproduce.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHand-illustrated by the author in colour throughout, \u003ci\u003eSexus Botanicus\u003c\/i\u003e also includes a full glossary of all relevant terms to introduce readers to the scientific language of plant sex.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46342689816812,"sku":"9780262546454","price":59.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/12577553482281.jpg?v=1743934866"},{"product_id":"the-devil-and-his-advocates-by-erik-butler-9781789143737","title":"The Devil and His Advocates","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSatan is not God's enemy in the Bible, and he's not always bad—much less evil.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThrough the lens of the Old and New Testaments, Erik Butler explores the Devil through literature, theology, visual art, and music from antiquity up to the present, discussing canonical authors such as Dante, Milton, and Goethe, along with a wealth of lesser-known sources.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSince his first appearance in the Book of Job, Satan has pursued a single objective: to test human beings, whose moral worth and piety leave plenty of room for doubt. Satan can be manipulative, but at worst he facilitates what mortals are inclined to do anyway. \u003cem\u003eThe Devil and His Advocates\u003c\/em\u003e explains why, with wit and surprising examples. 'The Devil made me do it' does not hold up in the court of cosmic law.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"NewSouth Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47428242211052,"sku":"9781789143737","price":49.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781789143737.jpg?v=1774766816"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/collections\/erik-butler.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}