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Nature and Science December 2019
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Apollo 8: The Thrilling Story of the First Mission to the Moon
by Jeffrey Kluger
What it is: an exciting account of the Apollo 8 mission that blends technical details of the mission with profiles of its participants.
Why you might like it: Science writer Jeffrey Kluger draws on interviews with crew members Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders, as well as materials from the NASA Oral History Project, to recreate the mission.
You might also like: Robert Poole's Earthrise, which examines the creation of the iconic photograph of Earth as seen from space.
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| A Polar Affair: Antarctica's Forgotten Hero and the Secret Lives of Penguins by Lloyd Spencer DavisWhat it's about: the life and career of G. Murray Levick, a member of Robert Scott's Terra Nova expedition to Antarctica who became the first person to conduct extensive field research on penguins.
What sets it apart: While researching this book, penguin biologist Lloyd Spencer Davis gained access to Levick's original (coded) field notes and his unpublished (and censored) manuscript on penguin sexual behavior. |
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| The Number of the Heavens: A History of the Multiverse and the Quest to Understand the.... by Tom SiegfriedWhat it is: an exploration of a hotly debated idea that "refuses to stay dead," namely, is there one universe or many?
Is it for you? Coming down firmly on the side of string theory and focusing more on history than physics, The Number of the Heavens is an accessible survey of the multiverse concept from antiquity to the present.
Further reading: Brian Greene's The Hidden Reality or Sean M. Carroll's Something Deeply Hidden. |
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| Unravelling the Double Helix: The Story of DNA by Gareth WilliamsWhat it's about: the quest to determine the nature and structure of DNA.
What sets it apart: Book-ended by the discoveries of nuclein (1868) and the double helix (1953), this well-researched history reveals the crucial contributions made by lesser-known scientists along the way.
Supplementary materials: a timeline of significant milestones and a "Who's Who" containing biographical profiles of the scientists involved. |
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| Good Habits, Bad Habits: The Science of Making Positive Changes that Stick by Wendy WoodWhat it's about: Drawing on current research, a psychology professor examines the science behind habit formation and offers pointers on how we can use this information to improve our own lives.
The takeaway: Conscious decision-making is overrated; most of what we do (positive or negative) is the result of unconscious habitual behaviors that can be changed and reinforced through repetition.
Who it's for: everyone interested in making a big change (especially anyone who's ever been criticized for "lacking willpower"). |
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| The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World by Steve BrusatteWhat it is: A captivating look at what current research says about the rise, reign, and (so-called) extinction of dinosaurs.
Did you know? If the dinosaurs discussed here seem different than the ones you remember from childhood, that's because they are: paleontologists discover, on average, one new species a week(!).
About the author: American paleontologist Steve Brusatte served as the scientific consultant for the 2013 film Walking With Dinosaurs. |
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The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America
by Margaret O'Mara
What it is: an "accessible yet sophisticated chronicle" (New York Times) of Silicon Valley that spans seven decades and includes the U.S. military-industrial complex, Stanford University, the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965, and a sprawling cast of interesting characters.
Did you know? The name "Silicon Valley" was coined in 1971 by Electronic News writer Don Hoefler.
Try this next: Leslie Berlin's Troublemakers, another well-researched nonfiction account of the region's transformation into a tech hub.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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