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Nature and Science October 2018
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| Accessory to War: The Unspoken Alliance Between Astrophysics and the Military by Neil deGrasse Tyson and Avis LangWhat it is: a thought-provoking examination of the long-standing relationship between science and the military-industrial complex, with a special focus on astrophysics and the aerospace industry.
Who it's for: readers interested in the intersection of science, industry, and politics; anyone who wonders what the proposed U.S. Space Force might look like.
Author alert: Well-known astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson teams up with longtime editor and frequent collaborator Avis Lang for this eye-opening book. |
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| The Tangled Tree: A Radical New History of Life by David QuammenWhat it's about: molecular phylogenetics, which uses biopolymers (DNA, RNA, and proteins) to study the evolutionary history of organisms and determine relationships between species.
Contains: three "big surprises" that will make you rethink your understanding of evolution: the domain of Archaea, the process of horizontal gene transfer, and a probable ancestor of humans previously unknown to science. |
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When the Last Lion Roars: The Rise and Fall of the King of the Beasts
by Sara Evans
The 2015 killing of a much-loved lion called Cecil by an American big-game hunter in Zimbabwe sparked international outrage. It also drew world attention to shrinking numbers of the 'king of the beasts' and and the facts that humans continue to hunt them for sport.
Sara Evans considers the cultural significance of the Lion over thousands of years as well as its historic rise and fall as a global species. She also explores the many, and often complex, reasons that explain why numbers have plummeted so catastrophically in recent decades. As humans are the lion's only predator, she asks what is being done to reverse, or at least stem this hemorrhage?
By interweaving vivid personal encounters with Africa's last lions, she hopes to answer this question as well as turn the spotlight on the plight of Africa's most iconic and mesmerizing animals.
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| American Canopy: Trees, Forests, and the Making of a Nation by Eric RutkowWhat it's about: Environmental lawyer and historian Eric Rutkow demonstrates how the history -- and destiny -- of the United States is inextricably linked to its millions of acres of forest.
Did you know? Twenty percent of freshwater reserves originate in U.S. forests, which are threatened by the average American's annual consumption of 250 board feet of lumber and 700 pounds of paper.
You might also like: Martin Doyle's The Source: How Rivers Made America and America Remade Its Rivers. |
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| The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate: Discoveries from a... by Peter Wohlleben; translated by Jane BillinghurstDid you know? Trees have families and friends, memories, sophisticated communication systems, and even the ability to feel pain.
Why you might like it: Without sacrificing scientific accuracy, author Peter Wohlleben enchants readers with combination of lyrical vignettes and anecdotes about his experiences as a forester in Germany. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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