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Nature and Science December 2020
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Humankind : a hopeful history by Rutger BregmanThe author of the best-selling Utopia for Realists challenges popular conceptions of an innately selfish human race to offer new historical and evolutionary perspectives that argue we are more hardwired for kindness, cooperation and trust.
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Tales from the Ant World by Edward O. WilsonWhat it is: a memoir by acclaimed biologist Edward O. Wilson, in which he shares his passion for myrmecology (the study of ants) while reflecting on a lifetime of studying the natural world.
Lessons learned? "There is nothing I can even imagine in the lives of ants that we can or should emulate for our own moral betterment."
Reviewers say: a "rapturously unapologetic hymn of praise to the roughly one quadrillion ants on the planet" (The Boston Globe).
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| How to Be a Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals by Sy Montgomery; illustrated by Rebecca GreenFeaturing: feisty Scottish terrier Molly; Christopher Hogwood, a pig with personality; a trio of emus; tarantula Clarabelle, friend to children in French Guiana; and more!
Is it for you? Author Sy Montgomery opens up about her difficult childhood and lifelong struggle with depression, which is exacerbated by the passing of some of the animals featured in the book.
Crossover alert: Fans of the author's National Book Award finalist The Soul of an Octopus will remember charismatic cephalopod Octavia, who makes an appearance here. |
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Every penguin in the world : a quest to see them all by Charles BergmanFollow an award-winning author and photographer on his quest to see all 18 species of penguins, in this thought-provoking book that beautifully combines narrative and photography to capture the plight and experience of penguins worldwide.
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Horse crazy : the story of a woman and a world in love with an animal by Sarah Maslin Nir"In the bestselling tradition of works by such authors as Susan Orlean and Mary Roach, a New York Times reporter and Pulitzer Prize finalist explores why so many people-including herself-are obsessed with horses. It may surprise you to learn that there are over seven million horses in America-even more than when they were the only means of transportation-and nearly two million horse owners. Acclaimed journalist and avid equestrian Sarah Maslin Nir is one of them; she began riding horses when she was just two years old and hasn't stopped since. Horse Crazy is a fascinating, funny, and moving love letter to these graceful animals and the people who-like her-are obsessed with them.
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Vanishing fleece : adventures in American wool by Clara ParkesJoin Clara Parkes on a cross-country adventure and meet a cast of characters that includes the shepherds, dyers, and countless workers without whom our knitting needles would be empty, our mills idle, and our feet woefully cold. Travel the country with her as she meets a flock of Saxon Merino sheep in upstate New York, tours a scouring plant in Texas, visits a steamy Maine dyehouse, helps sort freshly shorn wool on a working farm, and learns how wool fleece is measured, baled, shipped, and turned into skeins.
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Kittens For Dummies is your source for understanding what you can expect if you decide to welcome a high energy and high maintenance four-legged friend into your home. You'll not only figure out if you're ready to fit a kitty into your lifestyle, but also how to go about - Adopting or buying the right kitten for you
- Making sure your home is kitten-proof
- Introducing your new pet to children and other pets
- Preventing and treating feline illnesses
- Dealing with behavioral issues
- Rescuing an orphaned kitten
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Pharma : greed, lies, and the poisoning of America by Gerald L. PosnerThe award-winning author of God’s Bankers traces the rise of the Salker family and the role of opioid addiction and soaring drug prices on healthcare, exposing the deadly consequences of industry corruption and profiteering.
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Outbreaks and epidemics : battling infection from measles to coronavirus by Meera SenthilingamIn recent years, outbreaks of Ebola and Zika have provided vivid examples of how difficult it is to contain an infection once it strikes, and the panic that a rapidly spreading epidemic can ignite. But while we chase the diseases we are already aware of,new ones are constantly emerging, like the coronavirus that spread across the world in 2020. At the same time, antimicrobial resistance is harnessing infections that we once knew how to control, enabling them to thrive once more.
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Microbes : the life-changing story of germs by Phillip K. PetersonWith straight-forward and engaging writing, infectious diseases physician Phillip Peterson surveys how our understanding of viruses has changed throughout history, from early plagues and pandemics to more recent outbreaks like HIV/AIDS, Ebola, and the Zika virus. Microbes also takes on contemporary issues like the importance of vaccinations in the face of the growing anti-vaxxer movement, as well as the rise of cutting-edge health treatments like fecal transplants. Microbes explains for general readers where these germs came from, what they do to and for us, and what can be done to stop the bad actors and foster the benefactors".
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Overkill : When Modern Medicine Goes Too Far by Paul A. OffitAn award-winning patient advocate presents a revelatory assessment of 15 out-of-date, common and widely used medical interventions, from vitamins and sunscreen to prescription drugs and surgeries, that are proving more harmful than helpful.
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The end of everything : (astrophysically speaking) by Katie MackFrom one a dynamic rising star in astrophysics comes an accessible and eye-opening look at five ways the universe could end, and the mind-blowing lessons each scenario reveals about the most important concepts in cosmology.
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The smallest lights in the universe : A Memoir by Sara SeagerIn this luminous memoir, an MIT astrophysicist must reinvent herself in the wake of tragedy and discovers the power of connection on this planet, even as she searches our galaxy for another Earth. Sara Seager has always been in love with the stars: so many lights in the sky, so much possibility. Now a pioneering planetary scientist, she searches for exoplanets--especially that distant, elusive world that sustains life. But with the unexpected death of Seager's husband, the purpose of her own life becomes hard for her to see.
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