| Symphony in C: Carbon and the evolution of (almost) everything by Robert M. HazenWhat it is: a sweeping history of carbon, the basic yet multifaceted chemical element that's essential to life as we know it.
What sets it apart: Structured like a symphony, this book unfolds in four parts inspired by the classic elements of earth, air, fire, and water.
About the author: Geologist (and semi-professional musician) Robert M. Hazen is a founder of the Deep Carbon Observatory, an international, interdisciplinary group of scientists dedicated to carbon research. |
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| Slime: How algae created us, plague as, and just might save us by Ruth KassingerWhat it's about: the 3.7 billion-year history of algae, "Earth's authentic alchemists": powered by sunlight and water, these organisms play a vital role in turning carbon dioxide into organic matter.
Why you might like it: Science writer Ruth Kassinger travels the world to learn about algae's culinary uses, its role in everyday consumer products, and its potential as a renewable fuel.
Don't miss: a selection of tasty, easy-to-prepare seaweed recipes. |
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| Underland: A deep time journey by Robert MacfarlaneWhat it is: a lyrical and wide-ranging exploration of the world beneath our feet from tunnels and caves to catacombs and burial chambers to underground vaults and bunkers.
Why you might like it: Nature writer Robert Macfarlane embarks on a journey both literal and metaphorical, connecting real-world observations to representations of the underworld in mythology, art, and literature.
Want a taste? "Into the underland we have long placed that which we fear and wish to lose, and that which we love and wish to save." |
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Do dice play god?: The mathematics of uncertainty
by Ian Stewart
Uncertainty is everywhere. It lurks in every consideration of the future; the weather, the economy, the sex of an unborn child, even quantities we think that we know such as populations or the transit of the planets contain the possibility of error. It's no wonder that, throughout that history, we have attempted to produce rigidly defined areas of uncertainty; we prefer the surprise party to the surprise asteroid. We began our quest to make certain an uncertain world by reading omens in livers, tea leaves, and the stars. However, over the centuries, driven by curiosity, competition, and a desire be better gamblers, pioneering mathematicians and scientists began to reduce wild uncertainties to tame distributions of probability and statistical inferences. But, even as unknown unknowns became known unknowns, our pessimism made us believe that some problems were unsolvable and our intuition misled us. Worse, as we realized how omnipresent and varied uncertainty is, we encountered chaos, quantum mechanics, and the limitations of our predictive power. Bestselling author Professor Ian Stewart explores the history and mathematics of uncertainty. Touching on gambling, probability, statistics, financial and weather forecasts, censuses, medical studies, chaos, quantum physics, and climate, he makes one thing clear: a reasonable probability is the only certainty.
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Rewilding: Real life stories of returning British and Irish wildlife to balance
by David Woodfall
Rewilding has become the key talking point in the modern conservation movement. But it's commonly misunderstood as a campaign to fill the forests with lynxes, wolves and bears, when in fact the ethos guiding the British rewilding movement is much more nuanced, and much broader in scope. It's also much more complicated, requiring an in-depth understanding of the complexity of regional ecosystems. Naturalist and photographer David Woodfall has spent years canvassing converts actually working in the countryside, meeting the people on the frontline of rewilding and collecting their stories. The result is a passionate chorus of voices from all facets of the movement. More than 50 contributors share stories of successful examples like the Knepp and Alladale estates, of unique species like the North Atlantic Salmon under threat, of the essential NGOs and trusts, of government agencies and policies, and so much more. Illustrated with Woodfall's stunning nature photography, Rewilding offers at once an in-depth understanding of an essential movement and the people leading it; and of British ecosystems in all their terribly fragility and intricate beauty.
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| Neil Armstrong: A life of flight by Jay BarbreeWhat it is: an engaging biography of astronaut Neil Armstrong, who, on July 20, 1969, made history as the first person to walk on the moon.
About the author: During his 50-year career as a journalist, veteran NBC space correspondent Jay Barbree reported on every single crewed launch of the U.S. space programme.
You might also like: James R. Hansen's First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong, which delves into the personal life of a very private individual. |
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| Rise of the rocket girls: The women who propelled us, from missiles to the Moon to Mars by Nathalia HoltIntroducing: Barby Canright, Macie Roberts, Helen Yee Chow, Barbara Lewis, Janez Lawson, Susan Finley, and others.
Why they matter: This talented group of women calculated rocket trajectories, designed satellites, and analyzed massive amounts of experimental data for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
For fans of: Margot Lee Shetterly's Hidden Figures, another collective biography of the unsung heroines of the U.S. space programme. |
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| Apollo 8: The thrilling story of the first mission to the Moon by Jeffrey KlugerWhat 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: Earthrise, which examines the creation of the iconic photograph of Earth as seen from space. |
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| Rocket men: The daring odyssey of Apollo 8 and the astronauts who made Man's first journey to the Moon by Robert KursonIntroducing: Apollo 8 astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders, who carried out one of NASA's most challenging missions.
What they did: Given 50-50 odds of returning safely, the trio risked their lives to complete the first crewed lunar orbit in December 1968.
Why you might like it: Rocket Men contrasts the lofty achievements of the astronauts with historical events of a turbulent period in U.S. history. |
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The Moon: A history for the future
by Oliver Morton
Every generation has looked up from the Earth and wondered at the beauty of the Moon. 50 years ago, a few Americans became the first to do the reverse, with the whole world watching through their eyes. In this short but wide-ranging book, Oliver Morton explores the history and future of humankind's relationship with the Moon. A counterpoint in the sky, it has shaped our understanding of the Earth from Galileo to Apollo. Its gentle light has spoken of love and loneliness; its battered surface of death and the cosmic. For some, it is a future on which humankind has turned its back. For others, an adventure yet to begin. Advanced technologies, new ambitions and old dreams mean that men, women and robots now seem certain to return to the Moon. What will they learn there about the universe, the Earth, and themselves? And, this time, will they stay?
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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