|
Nature and Science April 2021
|
|
|
Recent Releases & Hidden Gems |
|
|
Zooburbia : meditations on the wild animals among us
by Tai Moses
"To be alienated from animals is to live a life that is not quite whole, contends nature writer Tai Moses in Zooburbia. Urban and suburban residents share our environments with many types of wildlife: squirrels, birds, spiders, and increasingly lizards, deer, and coyote. Many of us crave more contact with wild creatures, and recognize the small and large ways animals enrich our lives, yet don't notice the animals already around us. Zooburbia reveals the reverence that can be felt in the presence of animals and shows how that reverence connects us to a deeper, better part of ourselves. "
|
|
|
The Ends of the World: Volcanic Apocalypses, Lethal Oceans, and Our Quest to Understand...
by Peter Brannen
Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice. Based on Earth's five previous mass extinction events, it's more likely that carbon dioxide will kill us all. By consulting researchers and examining the fossil record, science journalist Peter Brannen discovers that although the delivery method may differ (volcanoes, ocean acidification, asteroid impacts), the result is the same: spikes in CO2 levels that render the planet uninhabitable. Brannen's accessible presentation of complex issues make this sobering book a good bet for fans of Elizabeth Kolbert's The Sixth Extinction.
|
|
| Chatter: The Voice in Our Head, Why It Matters, and How to Harness It by Ethan KrossWhat it's about: an experimental psychologist examines the science behind "the most important conversations of our lives: the ones we have with ourselves."
Read it for: the practical tips on how to harness the positive aspects of "chatter" while minimizing the adverse effects of negative self-talk on mental health. |
|
|
Invincible microbe : tuberculosis and the never-ending search for a cure
by Jim Murphy
A thoroughly researched history of tuberculosis incorporates more than 100 archival images and traces centuries of ineffective treatments before the causative microorganism was identified, describing modern tactics for addressing drug-resistant varieties. 20,000 first printing.
|
|
|
The half-life of facts : why everything we know has an expiration date
by Samuel Arbesman
A Harvard University research fellow and scientometrics expert analyzes the changing nature of factual information to explain how knowledge in most fields evolves in systematic and predictable ways that, if properly understood, can be powerful tools for training and professional improvement.
|
|
| Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age by Annalee NewitzWhat it does: explores four so-called "lost" (abandoned) cities and analyzes their "common point of failure" (political instability plus environmental disaster) while exploring the origins of this enduring trope.
Includes: the Neolithic Anatolian settlement of Çatalhöyük; the Roman town of Pompeii; Angkor, the capital of the Khmer Empire; and Cahokia, North America's largest city prior to European invasion.
About the author: Annalee Newitz is a journalist and science fiction writer who co-hosts the podcast Our Opinions Are Correct with novelist Charlie Jane Anders. |
|
| This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends: The Cyberweapons Arms Race by Nicole PerlrothWhat it is: an "intricately detailed, deeply sourced and reported" (New York Times) exposé of the underground cyberarms industry -- and the critical role the United States played in creating it.
About the author: Nicole Perlroth is a journalist who covers cybersecurity for The New York Times.
Try these next: Andy Greenberg's Sandworm; Richard A. Clarke and Robert K. Knake's The Fifth Domain; Kim Zetter's Countdown to Zero Day. |
|
| The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey Into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred by Chanda Prescod-WeinsteinMeet: theoretical physicist Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, who researches the origins of spacetime and is one of fewer than 100 Black women to earn a PhD in physics.
What sets it apart: Dr. Prescod-Weinstein presents an accessible introduction to cosmology alongside an examination of the social context of science, with particular emphasis on race and gender. |
|
| The Bears Ears: A Human History of America's Most Endangered Wilderness by David RobertsWelcome to: the Bears Ears National Monument, 1.35 million acres in southeastern Utah sacred to the Hopi, Navajo, Ute, and Zuni peoples, and the focus of an ongoing battle between mining companies and environmental activists.
Further reading: archaeologist R.E. Burillo's Behind the Bears Ears: Exploring the Cultural and Natural Histories of a Sacred Landscape, Rebecca Robinson's beautifully illustrated Voices from Bears Ears: Seeking Common Ground on Sacred Land. |
|
Contact your librarian for more great books!
|
|
|
|
|
|