| The Great Derangement: Climate Change and The Unthinkable by Amitav GhoshFor acclaimed writer Amitav Ghosh, who describes his ancestors (hailing from what is now Bangladesh) as "ecological refugees long before the term was invented," climate change is personal. In this passionate, issue-oriented account, Ghosh characterizes our collective response to the crisis as a failure of imagination. He also makes a case for art, particularly literature, as a means of addressing the subject in a world that largely lacks the political will to acknowledge or act on the threat that climate change poses to humanity. |
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The Boy Who Could Run but Not Walk : Understanding Neuroplasticity in the Child’s Brain
by M.D. Pape, Karen
Dr. Karen Pape, a respected neonatologist and clinical neuroscientist, demonstrates that neuroplasticity, the ability of the brain to change and heal itself, can transform children’s lives, just as it has transformed the outlook for adults suffering from brain injuries like stroke or Alzheimer’s.This book offers readers a new understanding of how the baby brain grows and recovers differently than an adult brain.
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Stuffed Animals: A Modern Guide to Taxidermy
by Divya Anantharaman
A how-to taxidermy guide places emphasis on ethical sourcing and personal expression, examining the form's blend of art, science and alchemy to demonstrate how to create display-worthy pieces from small birds and mammals.
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Virus
by Marilyn J Roossinck
Offers a look at over one hundred microbes that infect all branches of life on Earth, examining how each was discovered, how they are transmitted, and whether or not there is a current vaccine.
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The Wood For the Trees: One Man's Long View of Nature
by Richard A Fortey
The author of Earth: An Intimate History traces a year in his four-acre woodland property in the Chiltern Hills of Oxfordshire, England, where he discovered a new species and explored the myriad connections in the natural world and how they reflect history and our role in the universe.
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| Time Travel: A History by James GleickAs he did in The Information, popular science writer James Gleick weaves together literature, science, and philosophy in this fascinating exploration of time travel in popular culture. Beginning with H.G. Wells’ 1895 novel The Time Machine, which Gleick describes as an attempt to "gin up a plausible-sounding plot device for a piece of fantastic storytelling," the book examines fictional time travel in the context of its scientific underpinnings. From going back in time to prevent one’s own birth to creating alternate timelines, no plot device or paradox goes unexamined in this concise and accessible, yet intellectually wide-ranging discussion. |
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A Most Improbable Journey: A Big History of Our Planet and Ourselves
by Walter Alvarez
The famed geologist and author of T. Rex and the Crater of Doom surveys the cosmic, geologic and evolutionary forces that have shaped our planet, outlining a science-based approach to "Big History" that illuminates such topics as evolution, the movement of the continents and humanity's unique ascendance.
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The Aliens are Coming!: The Extraordinary Science Behind our Search for Life in the Universe
by Ben Miller
The Aliens Are Coming! is a refreshingly clear, hugely entertaining guide to the search for alien life. Miller looks everywhere for insight, from the Big Bang’s sea of energy that somehow became living matter, to the equations that tell us Earth is not so rare, to the clues bacteria hold to how life started. And he makes the case that our growing understanding of life itself will help us predict whether it exists elsewhere, what it might look like, and when we might find it.
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Common Ground: Encounters With Nature at the Edges of Life
by Rob Cowen
Common Ground is a fascinating tour of the edges of ecosystems, urban and natural. It is in these heterogeneous landscapes that human animals encounter those of the non human variety. Like an archaeologist, Cowen unearths human and natural histories. He carries the reader into the worlds of owls, foxes, and wheat fields, glimpses of what lies beneath and beyond, but also grounds the narrative in the everyday immediacies of iPhones, WiFi, and cafés. It is particularly appealing in its focus on the edges, spaces many creatures pass through and yet which few really appreciate. The edge-land's inhabitants are here introduced in immersive, kaleidoscopic detail as their voices and visions rise from the fields and woods: beasts, birds, insects, plants, and people and their changes across the seasons.
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Dinosaurs: How They Lived and Evolved
by Darren Naish
Offers an illustrated guide to dinosaurs based on the latest scientific research, looking at their anatomy, behavior, diversity, and evolutionary path.
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The Unnatural World: The Race to Remake Civilization in Earth's Newest Age
by David Biello
An award-winning environmental journalist, combining the historical perspective of The Song of the Dodo with the urgency of An Inconvenient Truth, examines the world we have created and chronicles the scientists, billionaires and ordinary people who are working toward saving the best home humanity is likely to ever have.
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The Stars
by Robert Dinwiddie
A guide filled with 3D artworks of each constellation and incredible new imagery from the Hubble Space Telescope and more combines astrology and cosmology, exploring the wonders of the universe, from the Big Bang to the search for extraterrestrial life.
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Human Evolution: Our Brains and Behavior
by R. I. M. Dunbar
This book covers the psychological aspects of human evolution with a table of contents ranging from prehistoric times to modern days. Dunbar focuses on an aspect of evolution that has typically been overshadowed by the archaeological record: the biological, neurological, and genetic changes that occurred with each "transition" in the evolutionary narrative.
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Goldilocks and the Water Bears: The Search for Life in the Universe
by Louisa Preston
Explores the possibilities of extraterrestrial life by studying the evolution of earth¡s life forms, particularly organisms that still exist in harsh environments that mimic the atmosphere and conditions of other worlds, including the microscopic "water bear."
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Calculating the Cosmos: How Mathematics Unveils the Universe
by Ian Stewart
Using mathematical modeling to explain the cosmos, a prize-winning scientist presents an exciting guide to the cosmos, from the solar system to the galaxy and the entire universe, describing the architecture of space and time, dark matter and dark energy, how galaxies form, why stars implode, how everything began and how it's all going to end.
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| Urban Forests: A Natural History of Trees and People in the American Cityscape by Jill JonnesFrom the stately specimens that grace the National Mall to the scrappy sapling of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, trees have always played an important role in American life. "Critical to public and individual health," according to author Jill Jonnes, urban trees improve air quality, absorb excess rainwater and surface runoff, and save energy as well as inspiring and uplifting a city's human inhabitants. Spotlighting notable tree enthusiasts, such as Philadelphian William Hamilton (who introduced the gingko to the U.S.), Jonnes also examines threats, past and present, to urban canopies. Readers who enjoy this book may also like Peter Wohlleben's The Hidden Life of Trees or Eric Rutkow's American Canopy: Trees, Forests, and the Making of a Nation. |
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| How to Bake Pi: An Edible Exploration of the Mathematics of Mathematics by Eugenia ChengIf you dread math, this book might just change your mind. Armed with a seemingly infinite supply of logic, enthusiasm, and baking tips, math professor Eugenia Cheng explains how mathematicians think by focusing on category theory, which she dubs "the mathematics of mathematics." Employing a blend of accessible lessons, personal anecdotes, and tasty recipes to introduce concepts such as abstraction and axiomatization, Cheng also emphasizes the underlying mathematical mindset that uses logic to discover truth. |
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| This Is What You Just Put in Your Mouth? From Eggnog to Beef Jerky, the Surprising Secrets... by Patrick Di JustoHave you ever wondered what's in eggnog? Steak sauce? Chewing gum? For journalist Patrick Di Justo, it was a can of Easy Cheese that sent him a nearly decade-long quest to find out exactly what ingredients comprise the food products we eat. Based on Wired's popular column "What's Inside," this eye-opening book is the result of in-depth research and interviews with CEOs and PR departments as well as scientists, government officials, and lawyers. As a bonus, it also examines the composition of everyday products that we don't (or at least shouldn't) consume, including household cleaners and illegal drugs. |
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| To Eat: A Country Life by Joe Eck and Wayne WinterrowdDon't worry, you're not the only one who doesn't quite know what to do with chard. Nevertheless, with more than 40 years of gardening and culinary experience, authors Joe Eck and Wayne Winterrowd have a lot of good ideas to share. In this book, the couple -- who in 1974 moved to southern Vermont to start a farm on 28 acres of wilderness -- shares what they've learned from a lifetime of growing and cooking their own food. Divided into short thematic chapters, the book also includes charming black-and-white illustrations as well as recipes by chef and restauranteur Beatrice Tosti di Valminuta. |
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| Tasty: The Art and Science of What We Eat by John McQuaidThe tongue has one job: "to distinguish food from everything else." However, the process though which we determine what's edible is complicated, requiring an understanding of, among other areas, microbiology, genetics, and neuroscience. It also requires cleansing one's mental palate by, for example, discarding that diagram of the tongue depicting four distinct regions dedicated to sweet, salty, sour, and bitter flavors (which has no scientific basis) and accepting that, to a large extent, taste is hereditary. If you've ever wondered why and how we eat what we eat, check out Tasty. |
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| Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal by Mary RoachCan your stomach really burst? And why doesn't it digest itself? As she's proven in previous books, including Stiff and Bonk, science writer Mary Roach isn't squeamish when it comes to the physiology or functions of the human body. In addition to exploring the science of the digestive system, she also debunks myths and misconceptions including flammable farts and the possibility of surviving being swallowed by a whale. And as a bonus, you'll be able to impress your friends with all kinds of trivia ranging from explosive colonoscopies (France, 1977) to slang terms describing the act of concealing contraband in one's rectum ("keistering," "hooped," and "prison wallet" are but a few examples). |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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