Staff Picks
New in Science
- Bland L.
- Wednesday, December 14, 2022
Collection
Among the latest science titles are two from award-winning authors whose books regularly appear on the nonfiction best-seller lists. Unlike most previous books on Covid-19, which have focused on the medical drama of the pandemic, David Quammen’s Breathless takes a purely scientific perspective on the struggle to understand the virus. Siddhartha Mukherjee’s The Song of the Cell explores recent developments in the field of cellular therapy, which promises great advances in combating conditions such as cancer (the subject of Mukherjee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning The Emperor of All Maladies).
Silent Spring Revolution
John F. Kennedy, Rachel Carson, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and the Great Environmental Awakening
Published in 2022
"Chronicles the rise of environmental activism during the Long Sixties (1960-1973), telling the story of an indomitable generation that saved the natural world under the leadership of John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Richard Nixon"-- Provided by publisher.
The Rise and Reign of the Mammals
A New History, from the Shadow of the Dinosaurs to Us
Published in 2022
"Renowned paleontologist and New York Times bestselling author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs Steve Brusatte charts the extraordinary story of the dinosaurs' successor: mammals, which emerged from the shadows to rule the Earth"-- Provided by publisher.
The Biggest Ideas in the Universe
Space, Time, and Motion
Published in 2022
"The most trusted explainer of the most mind-boggling concepts pulls back the veil of mystery that has too long cloaked the most valuable building blocks of modern science. Sean Carroll, with his genius for making complex notions entertaining, presents in his uniquely lucid voice the fundamental ideas informing the modern physics of reality. Physics offers deep insights into the workings of the universe but those insights come in the form of equations that often look like gobbledygook. Sean Carroll shows that they are really like meaningful poems that can help us fly over sierras to discover a miraculous multidimensional landscape alive with radiant giants, warped space-time, and bewilderingly powerful forces. High school calculus is itself a centuries-old marvel as worthy of our gaze as the Mona Lisa. And it may come as a surprise the extent to which all our most cutting-edge ideas about black holes are built on the math calculus enables. No one else could so smoothly guide readers to grasping the very equation Einstein used to describe his theory of general relativity. In the tradition of the legendary Richard Feynman lectures presented sixty years ago, this book is an inspiring, dazzling introduction to a way of seeing that will resonate across cultural and generational boundaries for many years to come"-- Provided by publisher.
100 Plants to Feed the Birds
Turn Your Home Garden into a Healthy Bird Habitat
Published in 2022
"In-depth profiles offer planting and care guidance for 100 native plant species that provide food and shelter for birds throughout the year, from winter all the way through breeding and migrating periods"-- Provided by publisher.
Wild New World
The Epic Story of Animals and People in America
Published in 2022
"A deep-time history of how humans engaged wildlife in North America, by the best-selling and award-winning author of Coyote America. In 1908, a cowboy discovered bones from an extinct giant bison near Folsom, New Mexico. When archeologists found handmade weapons embedded in the fossils, the discovery vastly expanded our continent's known human history, but also revealed the long-standing danger Homo sapiens have presented to their fellow animals. Dan Flores's ambitious new history tells the epic story of animals and humans in the "wild new world"-from the grand forces that shaped North American biology to Pleistocene mass extinctions; clashes between Euro-American belief systems and animals' learned behaviors; and the precipitous decline and miraculous rescue of species in recent centuries. In thrilling narrative style, informed by native religions, cutting-edge science, and environmental history, Flores celebrates the astonishing bestiary that arose on our continent and introduces the complex human characters who studied America's animals, hastened their eradication, and are working to recover them. Eons in scope, and continental in scale, Wild New World is an intimate yet sweeping re-examination of animal-human relations"-- Provided by publisher.
Water Always Wins
Thriving in an Age of Drought and Deluge
Published in 2022
"Water Always Wins transports us around the world and back through time, exposing us to better ways to live with water. Gies introduces us to water experts the world over as they search for clues to water's past and present, using close observation, historical research, ancient animal and human wisdom, and cutting-edge science to effect change. We become more aware of the ways in which modern civilizations speed water away, erasing its slow phases on the land. But that's when, Gies says, "the magic happens": the slow phases absorb floods, store water for droughts, and feed natural systems. Innovators in what she calls the Slow Water movement are accommodating that desire, and showing us how to forge a more resilient future"-- Provided by publisher.
The Big Fix
7 Practical Steps to Save Our Planet
Published in 2022
"An engaging, accessible citizen's guide to the seven urgent changes that will really make a difference for our climate-and how we can hold our governments accountable for putting these plans into action. Dozens of kids in Montgomery County, Maryland, agitated until their school board committed to electric school buses. Mothers in Colorado turned up in front of an obscure state panel to fight for clean air. If you think the only thing you can do to combat climate change is to install a smart thermostat or cook plant-based burgers, you're thinking too small. That's where The Big Fix comes in, offering everyday citizens a guide to the seven essential changes our communities must enact to bring our greenhouse gas emissions down to zero-and sharing stories of people who are making those changes reality. Energy policy advisor Hal Harvey and longtime New York Times reporter Justin Gillis hone in on the seven areas where ambitious but eminently practical changes will have the greatest effect: electricity production, transportation, buildings, industry, urbanization, use of land, and investment in promising new green technologies. In a lively, jargon-free style, the pair illuminate how our political economy really works, revealing who decides everything from what kind of power plants to build to how efficient cars must be before they're allowed on the road to how much insulation a new house requires-and how we can insert ourselves into all these decisions to ensure that the most climate-conscious choices are being made. At once pragmatic and inspiring, The Big Fix is an indispensable action plan for citizens looking to drive our country's greenhouse gas emissions down to zero-and save our climate"-- Provided by publisher.
The Minerals Encyclopedia
Published in 2022
"This is a superior reference for rockhounds, geology students and outdoors people with an interest in what's under their feet."-- Provided by publisher.
Existential Physics
A Scientist's Guide to Life's Biggest Questions
Published in 2022
"A contrarian scientist wrestles with the big questions that modern physics raises, and what physics says about the human condition Not only can we not currently explain the origin of the universe, it is questionable we will ever be able to explain it. The notion that there are universes within particles, or that particles are conscious, is ascientific, as is the hypothesis that our universe is a computer simulation. On the other hand, the idea that the universe itself is conscious is difficult to rule out entirely. According to Sabine Hossenfelder, it is not a coincidence that quantum entanglement and vacuum energy have become the go-to explanations of alternative healers, or that people believe their deceased grandmother is still alive because of quantum mechanics. Science and religion have the same roots, and they still tackle some of the same questions: Where do we come from? Where do we go to? How much can we know? The area of science that is closest to answering these questions is physics. Over the last century, physicists have learned a lot about which spiritual ideas are still compatible with the laws of nature. Not always, though, have they stayed on the scientific side of the debate. In this lively, thought-provoking book, Hossenfelder takes on the biggest questions in physics: Does the past still exist? Do particles think? Was the universe made for us? Has physics ruled out free will? Will we ever have a theory of everything? She lays out how far physicists are on the way to answering these questions, where the current limits are, and what questions might well remain unanswerable forever. Her book offers a no-nonsense yet entertaining take on some of the toughest riddles in existence, and will give the reader a solid grasp on what we know-and what we don't know"-- Provided by publisher.
Nineteen Ways of Looking at Consciousness
Published in 2022
"A concise, elegant, and thought-provoking exploration of the mystery of consciousness and the functioning of the brain. Despite decades of research, remarkable imagery, and insights from a range of scientific and medical disciplines, the human brain remains largely unexplored. Consciousness-the awareness of our own and others' existence-has eluded explanation. Nineteen Ways of Looking at Consciousness offers a brilliant overview of the state of modern consciousness research in twenty brief, revealing chapters. Neuroscientist and author Patrick House describes complex concepts in accessible terms, weaving brain science, technology, gaming, analogy, and philosophy into a tapestry that illuminates how the brain works and what enables consciousness. This remarkable book fosters a sense of mystery and wonder about the strangeness of the relationship between our inner selves and our environment"-- Provided by publisher.
How the Mind Changed
A Human History of Our Evolving Brain
Published in 2022
This definitive account of how the human brain has evolved explores the development of memory, language, consciousness, intelligence, neurodiversity, and emotions and examines what the future may hold for our brains.
Transformer
The Deep Chemistry of Life and Death
Published in 2022
"A renowned biochemist's illuminating inquiry into the Krebs cycle and the origins of life. What brings the Earth to life, and our own lives to an end? For decades, biology has been dominated by the study of genetic information. Information is important, but it is only part of what makes us alive. Our inheritance also includes our living metabolic network, a flame passed from generation to generation, right back to the origin of life. In Transformer, biochemist Nick Lane reveals a scientific renaissance that is hiding in plain sight -- how the same simple chemistry gives rise to life and causes our demise. Lane is among the vanguard of researchers asking why the Krebs cycle, the "perfect circle" at the heart of metabolism, remains so elusive more than eighty years after its discovery. Transformer is Lane's voyage, as a biochemist, to find the inner meaning of the Krebs cycle -- and its reverse -- why it is still spinning at the heart of life and death today. Lane reveals the beautiful, violent world within our cells, where hydrogen atoms are stripped from the carbon skeletons of food and fed to the ravenous beast of oxygen. Yet this same cycle, spinning in reverse, also created the chemical building blocks that enabled the emergence of life on our planet. Now it does both. How can the same pathway create and destroy? What might our study of the Krebs cycle teach us about the mysteries of aging and the hardest problem of all, consciousness? Transformer unites the story of our planet with the story of our cells -- what makes us the way we are, and how it connects us to the origin of life. Enlivened by Lane's talent for distilling and humanizing complex research, Transformer offers an essential read for anyone fascinated by biology's great mysteries. Life is at root a chemical phenomenon: this is its deep logic."-- Provided by publisher
The Alpha Female Wolf
The Fierce Legacy of Yellowstone's 06
Published in 2022
"Book Four in the Award-Winning Alpha Wolves of Yellowstone Series Following five generations of female wolves--including the famous 06--this gripping family saga set in Yellowstone National Park reveals the pivotal role that female wolves play in pack life. "Rick's writing is so vivid, so powerful, that I feel I have been right there with him among the wolves of Yellowstone. And I urge you, the reader, to come with us and discover the magic of wolf society."--DR. JANE GOODALL, DBE, Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute & UN Messenger of Peace Yellowstone's 06 female was called 'the most famous wolf in the world.' Her strength, beauty, and intelligence were unmatched, and her ability to hunt, protect her young cubs, and choose the right mates made her pack successful. In his latest book, award-winning author and renowned wolf researcher Rick McIntyre turns his spotting scope on 06 and more remarkable female wolves, telling the dramatic true story of five generations of female leaders in Yellowstone National Park. As Rick shows us, female wolves, not their male counterparts, play the most pivotal roles in pack life. They choose who may mate with them and where their pack will hunt and raise pups. They negotiate treaties and fiercely defend their families. The only opponent they cannot defeat is a human with a gun. In The Alpha Female Wolf, McIntyre profiles 06's rise to power. He also celebrates the lives of other female wolves who deserve our recognition. Throughout, McIntyre weaves wolf biology and storytelling into a page-turning narrative that, once again, gives readers a rare window into life in a wolf pack--this time from a female point of view."-- Provided by publisher.
Before the Big Bang
The Origin of the Universe and What Lies Beyond
Published in 2022
One of the world's leading experts on the multiverse and the origins of the universe presents a revolutionary new account of the events leading up to the Big Bang.
Chip War
The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology
Published in 2022
"An epic account of the decades-long battle to control what has emerged as the world's most critical resource--microchip technology--with the United States and China increasingly in conflict. You may be surprised to learn that microchips are the new oil--the scarce resource on which the modern world depends. Today, military, economic, and geopolitical power are built on a foundation of computer chips. Virtually everything--from missiles to microwaves, smartphones to the stock market--runs on chips. Until recently, America designed and built the fastest chips and maintained its lead as the #1 superpower. Now, America's edge is slipping, undermined by competitors in Taiwan, Korea, Europe, and, above all, China. Today, as Chip War reveals, China, which spends more money each year importing chips than it spends importing oil, is pouring billions into a chip-building initiative to catch up to the US. At stake is America's military superiority and economic prosperity. Economic historian Chris Miller explains how the semiconductor came to play a critical role in modern life and how the U.S. become dominant in chip design and manufacturing and applied this technology to military systems. America's victory in the Cold War and its global military dominance stems from its ability to harness computing power more effectively than any other power. But here, too, China is catching up, with its chip-building ambitions and military modernization going hand in hand. America has let key components of the chip-building process slip out of its grasp, contributing not only to a worldwide chip shortage but also a new Cold War with a superpower adversary that is desperate to bridge the gap. Illuminating, timely, and fascinating, Chip War shows that, to make sense of the current state of politics, economics, and technology, we must first understand the vital role played by chips"--Amazon.
Our Plastic Problem and How to Solve It
Published in 2022
Plastic pollution is a global problem that defies a singular solution. Our Plastic Problem and How to Solve It considers plastic's harm to the environment, from its production to its disposal, and offers a spectrum of solutions that require action by local and federal governments, businesses and non-profits, and individuals. Using specific examples and case studies, the book describes the history and chemistry of plastic, illustrates its harms, and points toward specific legislation and policies to offer concrete solutions. Plastic pollution is ubiquitous and has impacts on soil, food, air, and water. To solve our plastic problem, collaboration across disciplines will be critical; innovations in science, law, and design will be essential. The book demonstrates the need to approach environmental problems from an interdisciplinary lens, and will benefit anyone interested in learning more about the harms and solutions associated with plastic pollution.
The Song of the Cell
An Exploration of Medicine and the New Human
Published in 2022
Presenting revelatory and exhilarating stories of scientists, doctors, and the patients whose lives may be saved by their work, the author draws on his own experience as a researcher, doctor, and prolific reader to explore how the discovery of cells created a new kind of medicine based on the therapeutic manipulation of cells.
What If? 2
Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
Published in 2022
"The #1 New York Times-bestselling author of What If? and How To provides his best answers yet to the weirdest questions you never thought to ask The millions of people around the world who read and loved What If? still have questions, and those questions are getting stranger. Thank goodness xkcd creator Randall Munroe is here to help. Planning to ride a fire pole from the moon back to Earth? The hardest part is sticking the landing. Hoping to cool the atmosphere by opening everyone's freezer door at the same time? Maybe it's time for a brief introduction to thermodynamics. Want to know what would happen if you rode a helicopter blade, built a billion-story building, made a lava lamp out of lava, or jumped on a geyser as it erupted? Okay, if you insist. Before you go on a cosmic road trip, feed the residents of New York City to a T. rex, or fill every church with bananas, be sure to consult this practical guide for impractical ideas. Unfazed by absurdity, Randall consults the latest research on everything from swing-set physics to airplane-catapult design to clearly and concisely answer his readers' questions. As he consistently demonstrates, you can learn a lot from examining how the world might work in very specific extreme circumstances. Filled with bonkers science, boundless curiosity, and Randall's signature stick-figure comics, What If? 2 is sure to be another instant classic adored by inquisitive readers of all ages"--Provided by publisher.
How to Speak Whale
A Voyage into the Future of Animal Communication
Published in 2022
"What if animals and humans could speak to one another? Tom Mustill-the nature documentarian who went viral when a thirty ton humpback whale breached onto his kayak-asks this question in his thrilling investigation into whale science and animal communication. "When a whale is in the water, it is like an iceberg: you only see a fraction of it and have no conception of its size." On September 12, 2015, Tom Mustill was paddling in a two-person kayak with a friend, just off the coast of California. It was cold, but idyllic-until a humpback whale breached, landing on top of them, releasing the energy equivalent of forty hand grenades. He was certain he was about to die, but both he and his friend survived miraculously unscathed. In the interviews that followed the incident, Mustill was left with one question: What could this astonishing encounter teach us? Drawing from his experience as a naturalist and wildlife filmmaker, Mustill started investigating human-whale interactions around the world. When he met two tech entrepreneurs, who told him they wanted to use artificial intelligence (AI) to decode animal communication, Mustill embarked on a journey where big data meets big beasts, using animal eavesdropping technologies to train AI-originally designed to translate human languages-to discover patterns in the conversations of animals. There is a revolution taking place in biology, as the technologies we've developed to explore our own languages are turned to nature. From seventeenth-century Dutch inventors, to the whaling industry of the nineteenth century, to the cutting edge of Silicon Valley, How to Speak Whale looks at how scientists and start-ups around the world are decoding animal languages. Whales, with their giant mammalian brains, offer one of the most realistic opportunities for this to happen. But what would the consequences of such human-animal interaction be? We're about to find out"-- Provided by publisher.
Flush
The Remarkable Science of an Unlikely Treasure
Published in 2022
"The future is sh*t: the literal kind. For most of human history we've been, well, disinclined to take a closer look at our body's natural product-the complex antihero of this story-save for gleaning some prophecy of our own health. But if we were to take more than a passing look at our poop, we would spy a veritable cornucopia of possibilities. We would see potent medicine, sustainable power, and natural fertilizer to restore the world's depleted lands. We would spy a time capsule of evidence for understanding past lives and murderous ends. We would glimpse effective ways of measuring and improving human health from the cradle to the grave, early warnings of community outbreaks like Covid-19, and new means of identifying environmental harm-and then reversing it. Flush is both an urgent exploration of the world's single most squandered natural resource, and a cri de coeur (or cri de colon?) for the vast, hidden value in our "waste." Award-winning journalist and microbiologist Bryn Nelson, PhD, leads readers through the colon and beyond with infectious enthusiasm, helping to usher in a necessary mental shift that could restore our balance with the rest of the planet and save us from ourselves. Unlocking poop's enormous potential will require us to overcome our shame and disgust and embrace our role as the producers and architects of a more circular economy in which lowly byproducts become our species' salvation. Locked within you is a medicine cabinet, a biogas pipeline, a glass of drinking water, a mound of fuel briquettes; it's time to open the doors (carefully!). A dose of medicine, a glass of water, a gallon of rocket fuel, an acre of soil: sometimes hope arrives in surprising packages"-- Provided by publisher.
The Skeptics' Guide to the Future
What Yesterday's Science and Science Fiction Tell Us About the World of Tomorrow
Published in 2022
"Our predictions of the future are a wild fantasy, inextricably linked to our present hopes and fears, biases and ignorance. Whether they be the outlandish leaps predicted in the 1920s, like multi-purpose utility belts with climate control capabilities and planes the size of luxury cruise ships, or the forecasts of the '60s, which didn't anticipate the sexual revolution or women's liberation, the path to the present is littered with failed predictions and incorrect estimations. The best we can do is try to absorb the lessons from futurism's checkered past, perhaps learning to do a little better. In THE SKEPTICS' GUIDE TO THE FUTURE, Steven Novella and his co-authors build upon the work of futurists of the past by examining what they got right, what they got wrong, and how they came to those conclusions. By exploring the pitfalls of each era, they give their own speculations about the distant future, transformed by unbelievable technology ranging from genetic manipulation to artificial intelligence and quantum computing. Applying their trademark skepticism, they carefully extrapolate upon each scientific development, leaving no stone unturned as they lay out a vision for the future"-- Provided by publisher.
Beaverland
How One Weird Rodent Made America
Published in 2022
"In the rich naturalist tradition of H Is for Hawk and The Soul of an Octopus, BEAVERLAND tells the tumultuous, eye-opening story of how beavers and the beaver fur trade shaped America's history, culture, and environment. Before the American empires of steel and coal and oil, before the railroads, there was the empire of fur. Beginning with the early trans-Atlantic trade in North America, Leila Philip traces the beaver's profound influence on our nation's early economy and feverish western expansion, itsfirst corporations and multi-millionaires. As Leila's passion for this weird and wonderful rodent widens from her careful observation of its dams in her local pond, she chronicles the many characters she meets in her pursuit of the beaver: fur trappers and fur traders, biologists and fur auctioneers, wildlife managers, PETA activists, Native American environmental vigilantes, scientists, engineers and beaver enthusiasts. What emerges is a startling portrait of the secretive, largely hidden world of the contemporary fur trade and an immersive ecological and historical investigation of these animals that, once trapped to the point of extinction, have rebounded to become one of the greatest conservation stories of the 20th century. Now, beavers offer surprising solutions to some of the most urgent problems caused by climate change. Beautifully written and filled with the many colorful characters-fur trappers and fur traders and fur auctioneers, wildlife managers and biologists, Native American environmentalvigilantes. She meets a Harvard scientist from the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana, using drones to create 3-dimensional images of beaver dams. She meets an environmental restoration consultant in the Chesapeake whose nickname is the beaver whisperer. BEAVERLAND transports readers into scenes of beavers in their ponds and the scientists and fur trappers in pursuit of them, widening arcs of information to reveal the profound ways in which beavers and the beaver trade shaped history, culture, and our environment"-- Provided by publisher.
The Neuroscience of You
The Surprising Truth About How Every Brain is Different and How to Understand Yours
Published in 2022
"From University of Washington professor Chantel Prat comes The Neuroscience of You, a rollicking adventure into the human brain that reveals the surprising truth about neuroscience, shifting our focus from what's average to an understanding of how every brain is different, exactly why our quirks are important, and what this means for each of us. With style and wit, Chantel Prat takes us on a tour of the meaningful ways that our brains are dissimilar from one another. Using real-world examples, along with take-them-yourself tests and quizzes, she shows you how to identify the strengths and weakness of your own brain, while learning what might be going on in the brains of those who are unlike you. With sections like "Focus," "Navigate," and "Connect," The Neuroscience of You helps us see how brains that are engineered differently ultimately take diverse paths when it comes time to prioritize information, use what they've learned from experience, relate to other people, and so much more. While other scientists focus on how "the" brain works "on average," Prat argues that our obsession with commonalities has slowed our progress toward understanding the very things that make each of us unique and interesting. Her field-leading research, employing cutting-edge technology, reveals the truth: Complicated as it may be, no two brains are alike. And individual differences in brain functioning are as pervasive as they are fundamental to defining what "normal" looks like. Adages such as, "I'm not wired that way" intuitively point to the fact that the brains we're piloting, educating, and parenting are wonderfully distinct, explaining a whole host of phenomena, from how easily a person might learn a second language in adulthood to whether someone feels curious or threatened when faced with new information. This book invites the reader to understand themselves and others by zooming in so close that we all look gray and squishy"-- Provided by publisher.
Fen, Bog & Swamp
A Short History of Peatland Destruction and Its Role in the Climate Crisis
Published in 2022
From Pulitzer Prize winner Annie Proulx - whose novels are infused with her knowledge and deep concern for the earth - comes an urgent and riveting history of wetlands, their ecological role and how the loss of them threatens the planet. Fens, bogs, swamps and marine estuaries are the earth's most desirable and dependable resources, and in four illuminating parts Proulx documents the emergence of their systemic destruction in the pursuit of profit and the consequent release of their stored carbon. Wide-ranging and idiosyncratic, Proulx's explanation of wetlands takes readers to the fens of sixteenth-century England, Canada's Hudson Bay Lowlands, Russia's Great Vasyugan Mire and America's Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and introduces the nineteenth-century explorers who launched the ravaging of the Amazon rainforest. Proulx was born in the 1930s, a time, as she says, when 'in the ever-continuing name of progress, Western countries busily raped their own and other countries of minerals, timber, fish and wildlife.' Fen, Bog & Swamp is both a revelatory history and an urgent plea for wetland reclamation from a writer whose passionate devotion to observing and preserving the environment is on glorious display.
Breathless
The Scientific Race to Defeat a Deadly Virus
Published in 2022
"The story of the worldwide scientific quest to decipher the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, trace its source, and make possible the vaccines to fight the Covid-19 pandemic"-- Provided by publisher.
The Monster's Bones
The Discovery of T. Rex and How It Shook Our World
Published in 2022
From prehistory to present day, from remote Patagonia to the unforgiving badlands of the American West to the penthouses of Manhattan, this riveting narrative follows a fearless paleontologist who, after unearthing the first T-Rex fossils, saved NY's struggling American Museum of Natural History.
The Age of Resilience
Reimagining Existence on a Rewilding Earth
Published in 2022
"Age of Resilience is a wide-ranging look at the political, economic and cultural effects of the global shift from an economy based on efficiency to one based on resilience, from New York Times bestselling author Jeremy Rifkin..."-- Provided by publisher.
The Matter of Everything
How Curiosity, Physics, and Improbable Experiments Changed the World
Published in 2023
"An accelerator physicist's fascinating journey through the experiments that uncovered the nature of matter and made the modern world. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, many scientists believed that the project of physics was nearly complete, that there was little left to explore. But as the new century dawned, scientists with the drive to deepen their understanding began looking ever more closely at the atom, and as a result of their remarkable discoveries, physics-and the world around us-wouldnever again be the same. When the cathode ray tube revealed the secret of X-rays, physics immediately proved itself to be a source of enormous technological innovation, enabling life-saving medical equipment, safer building construction, and stronger security measures. And with every discovery since, our expanded knowledge of the infinitesimal has also brought a corresponding change in technology. These experiments ushered us into the modern world, helping us to create detectors that map the insides of volcanoes and predict eruptions as well as photovoltaic cells that power remote controls, accelerate our Internet speeds, and harness the sun's energy. From the smallest of instruments to machines so large they straddle international borders, Suzie Sheehy takes readers on a captivating journey through twelve crucial experiments that shaped our understanding of the cosmos and how we live within it. Along the way, Sheehy pulls back the curtain to reveal how physics is really done-not by theorists with blackboards, but by experimentalists with brilliant designs. Celebrating human ingenuity, creativity, and above all curiosity, The Matter of Everything is an inspiring story about the scientists who make real discoveries, and a powerful reminder that progress isa function of our desire to know"-- Provided by publisher.
A Poison Like No Other
How Microplastics Corrupted Our Planet and Our Bodies
Published in 2022
"Informed, utterly blindsiding account." - Booklist, starred review It's falling from the sky and is in the air we breathe. It's in our food, our clothes, and our homes. It's microplastic and it's everywhere--including our own bodies. Scientists are just beginning to discover how these tiny particles threaten health, but the studies are alarming. A Poison Like No Other is the first book to fully explore this new dimension of the plastic crisis. Matt Simon follows the intrepid scientists who travel to the ends of the earth and the bottom of the ocean to understand the consequences of our dependence on plastic. Unlike other pollutants that are single elements or simple chemical compounds, microplastics represent a cocktail of toxicity linked to diseases ranging from diabetes to cancer. There is no easy fix, Simon warns. But we will never curb our plastic addiction until we begin to recognize the invisible particles all around us.
National Geographic Birding Basics
Tips, Tools, and Techniques for Great Bird-watching.
Published in 2022
Endless Forms
The Secret World of Wasps
Published in 2022
In this eye-opening and entertaining work of popular science in the spirit of The Mosquito, Entangled Life, and The Book of Eels, a leading behavioral ecologist transforms our understanding of wasps, exploring these much-maligned insects' secret world, their incredible diversity and complex social lives, and revealing how they hold our fragile ecosystem in balance.
Beyond Measure
The Hidden History of Measurement from Cubits to Quantum Constants
Published in 2023
"A vibrant account of how measurement has invisibly shaped our world, from ancient civilizations to the modern day. From the cubit to the kilogram, the humble inch to the speed of light, measurement is a powerful tool that humans invented to make sense of the world. In this revelatory work of science and social history, James Vincent dives into its hidden world, taking readers from ancient Egypt, where measuring the annual depth of the Nile was an essential task, to the intellectual origins of the metric system in the French Revolution, and from the surprisingly animated rivalry between metric and imperial, to our current age of the "quantified self." At every turn, Vincent is keenly attuned to the political consequences of measurement, exploring how it has also been used as a tool for oppression and control. Beyond Measure reveals how measurement is not only deeply entwined with our experience of the world, but also how its history encompasses and shapes the human quest for knowledge"-- Provided by publisher.
Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test
How Behavior Evolves and Why It Matters
Published in 2022
"A lively exploration of animal behavior in all its glorious complexity, from tiny wasps to lumbering elephants-and humans. It's time to leave behind the tired nature-versus-nurture debate. In Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test, Marlene Zuk asks a more fascinating question: How does behavior evolve, and how is that process similar-and different-in people and animals? Drawing from a wealth of research, including her own on insects, she explores how genes and the environment work together to produce cockatoos that dance to rock music and ants that heal their injured companions. She follows the different paths cats and dogs took to living with humans, and asks whether bees are domestic animals. In exploring intelligence, mating behavior, and fighting disease, Zuk turns to smart spiders, silent crickets, and crafty crows. She shows how neither our behavior nor that of other animals is dictated solely by genes, and that animal behavior can be remarkably similar to human behavior and wonderfully complicated in its own right"-- Provided by publisher.