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Nature and Science April 2018
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Original Highways : Travelling the Great Rivers of Canada by Roy MacGregorRoy MacGregor tells the story of our country through the stories of its original highways, and how they sustain our spirit, identity and economy--past, present and future.
No country is more blessed with fresh water than Canada. From the mouth of the Fraser River in BC, to the Bow in Alberta, the Red in Manitoba, the Gatineau, the Saint John and the most historic of all Canada's rivers, the St. Lawrence, chronicler of Canadian life, Roy MacGregor, has paddled, sailed and traversed their lengths, learned their stories and secrets, and the tales of centuries lived on their rapids and riverbanks. He raises lost tales, like that of the Great Tax Revolt of the Gatineau River, and reconsiders histories like that of the Irish would-be settlers who died on Grosse Ile. He meets the successful conservationists behind the resuscitation of polluted wetlands, including Toronto's Don, the most abused river in Canada. Long before our national railroad was built, our rivers held Canada together; in these sixteen portraits, filled with yesterday's adventures and tomorrow's promise, MacGregor weaves together a story of Canada and its ongoing relationship with its most precious resource.
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| Close Encounters with Humankind: A Paleoanthropologist Investigates Our... by Sang-Hee Lee with Shin-Young YoonWhat it's about: Korean paleoanthropologist Sang-Hee Lee discusses a variety of topics pertaining to human evolution in this eye-opening book.
Topics of note: cannibalism, fatherhood, lactose intolerance, and more.
You might also like: For another accessible introduction to paleoanthropology, try Lydia Pyne's Seven Skeletons, which examines human evolution through seven sets of ancient remains. |
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Space Exploration : Past, Present, Future by Carolyn Collins PetersenWhat it's about: Carolyn Collins Petersen takes us on a journey from the first space pioneers and their work, through the First World War led technological advances in rocketry that formed the basis for the Space Age, to the increasing corporate interest in space. This detailed examination of our steps into space is viewed from our potential future there – on Mars to be exact – and considers how we will reach that point. The author concludes with our current advances and our immediate ambitions in space exploration. The future and its scientific possibilities are enthralling: who will be the first to step on Mars? Will matter/antimatter annihilations take us to the Kuiper Belt, or will it be ion propulsion?
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Why you eat what you eat : the science behind our relationship with food by Rachel HerzAcclaimed neuroscientist Rachel Herz examines the sensory, psychological, neuroscientific, and physiological factors that influence our eating habits. Herz, uncovers the fascinating and surprising facts that influence food consumption―such as why bringing reusable bags to the grocery store encourages us to buy more treats, how our beliefs can affect how many calories we burn, why TV influences how much we eat, and how what we see and hear changes how food tastes―and reveals useful techniques for improving our experience of food, such as how aromas can help curb cravings and tips on how to resist repeated trips to the buffet table. Why You Eat What You Eat presents our relationship to food as a complicated recipe, whose ingredients―taste, personality, and emotions―combine to make eating a potent and pleasurable experience. Herz weaves curious findings and compelling facts into a narrative that tackles important questions, revealing how psychology, neurology, and physiology shape our relationship with food, and how food alters the relationship we have with ourselves and each other.
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In forty years, Earth's population will reach ten billion. Can our world support that? What kind of world will it be? Those answering these questions generally fall into two deeply divided groups--Wizards and Prophets, as Charles Mann calls them in this balanced, authoritative, nonpolemical new book. The Prophets, he explains, follow William Vogt, a founding environmentalist who believed that in using more than our planet has to give, our prosperity will lead us to ruin. The Wizards are the heirs of Norman Borlaug, whose research, in effect, wrangled the world in service to our species to produce modern high-yield crops that then saved millions from starvation. Mann delves into these diverging viewpoints to assess the four great challenges humanity faces--food, water, energy, climate change--grounding each in historical context and weighing the options for the future. With our civilization on the line, the author's insightful analysis is an essential addition to the urgent conversation about how our children will fare on an increasingly crowded Earth.
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| Leonardo da Vinci by Walter IsaacsonWhat it is: An engaging biography of Renaissance man Leonardo da Vinci, which examines his extraordinary ability to think across disciplines.
About the author: As with his biographies of Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein, and Steve Jobs, journalist Walter Isaacson conducts copious research to tell the story of "history's most creative genius."
You might also like: Mike Lankford's Becoming Leonardo, another biography that celebrates da Vinci's intellectual curiosity. |
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| How We Got to Now: Six Innovations that Made the Modern World by Steven JohnsonWhat it's about: This thought-provoking book explores six simple concepts -- glass, refrigeration, sound recordings, sanitation, clocks, and artificial light -- that paved the way for modern life.
About the author: Steven Johnson, author of The Invention of Air and Where Good Ideas Come From, is known for his accessible style and anecdote-rich approach to fascinating, yet overlooked, topics.
You might also like: James Burke's Connections and The Day the Universe Changed, as well as Henry Petroski's technology-focused microhistories. |
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| The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons: The History of the Human Brain... by Sam KeanWhat it is: A collection of historical case studies that attempts to answer the question, "Where does the brain stop and the mind start?"
Chapters include: "Cells, Senses, Circuits" (about neurotransmitters and biochemistry); "Beliefs and Delusions" (about brain disorders)
Why you might like it: This witty book by the author of The Disappearing Spoon and The Violinist's Thumb provides a lively and accessible introduction to a complex subject. |
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| Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women... by Margot Lee ShetterlyWhat it is: An inspiring group biography of NASA's African American female mathematicians, whose work in the 1950s and '60s played a pivotal role in launching American astronauts into orbit.
For fans of: Nathalia Holt's Rise of the Rocket Girls, which also spotlights unseen heroines of the space race.
Media buzz: The 2016 film adaptation of Hidden Figures was a big hit with both audiences and critics. |
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| Brilliant Blunders: From Darwin to Einstein -- Colossal Mistakes by Great Scientists... by Mario LivioWhat it's about: Even geniuses make mistakes. This engaging book examines how so-called "blunders" can lead to scientific breakthroughs.
Contains: Plenty of examples! Charles Darwin, Linus Pauling, and Albert Einstein are just a few of the scientists who made major errors during their careers.
Want a taste? "Even the most impressive minds are not flawless; they merely pave the way for the next level of understanding." |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Lambton County Library 787 Broadway St. Wyoming, Ontario N0N1T0 519-845-3324www.lclibrary.ca |
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