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Nature and Science April 2018
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| The Earth Gazers: On Seeing Ourselves by Christopher PotterWhat it's about: Discover how human flight has transformed our perceptions of planet Earth in this history of aviation from World War I to the Space Age.
What's inside: Profiles of aviator Charles Lindbergh, inventor Robert Goddard, and engineer Wernher von Braun, plus the experiences of the Apollo astronauts who first saw the Earth from space.
Read this next: Robert Poole's Earthrise, which documents the creation of the iconic "Earthrise" photograph. |
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| A Magical World: Superstition and Science from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment by Derek K. WilsonWhat it's about: Richly detailed yet briskly paced, A Magical World surveys the profound intellectual and cultural shifts that occurred in Europe between the Renaissance and the Enlightenment.
What sets it apart: Historian Derek K. Wilson rejects the notion of humanity's steady progress from barbarism to civilization and views great thinkers as products of their time, not anomalies.
Read it for: a thought-provoking meditation on the complementary roles of science and religion in Western civilization. |
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A wilder time : notes from a geologist at the edge of the Greenland ice.
by William E. Glassley
What it is: Greenland, one of the last truly wild places, contains a treasure trove of information on Earth's early history embedded in its pristine landscape. Over numerous seasons, William E. Glassley and two fellow geologists traveled there to collect samples and observe rock formations for evidence to prove a contested theory that plate tectonics, the movement of Earth's crust over its molten core, is a much more ancient process than some believed. As their research drove the scientists ever farther into regions barely explored by humans for millennia--if ever--Glassley encountered wondrous creatures and natural phenomena that gave him unexpected insight into the origins of myth, the virtues and boundaries of science, and the importance of seeking the wilderness within.
What sets it apart: An invitation to experience a breathtaking place and the fascinating science behind its creation, A Wilder Time is nature writing at its best.
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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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Rex appeal : the amazing story of Sue, the dinosaur that changed science, the law, and my life
by Peter L. Larson
What it is: The author tells the story of his Black Hills Institute's discovery of the world's largest and most complete T. rex skelton uncovered in the hills of South Dakota in 1990 and his fight to retain "Sue" and keep himself out of jail.
About the authors: Peter L. Larson is the founder and president of the Black Hills Institute of Geographical Research. He has personally collected and prepared fossil material from North and South America, Europe, and Asia. He lives in Hill City, South Dakota. Kristin Donnan is a writer who investigated controversial legal cases for NBC's Unsolved Mysteries and worked on a special magazine series on collecting dinosaurs. She lives in Hill City, South Dakota.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Central Mississippi Regional Library System
100 Tamberline Street
Brandon, Mississippi 39042
601-825-0100
http://www.cmrls.lib.ms.us
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