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Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World

Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World

Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World by Rachel Ignotofsky

Synopsis: It’s a scientific fact: Women rock!

A charmingly illustrated and educational book, New York Times best seller Women in Science highlights the contributions of fifty notable women to the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) from the ancient to the modern world. Full of…

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Patient H.M.: A Story of Memory, Madness, and Family Secrets

Patient H.M.: A Story of Memory, Madness, and Family Secrets

Patient H.M.: A Story of Memory, Madness, and Family Secrets by Luke Dittrich

Synopsis: In 1953, a twenty-seven-year-old factory worker named Henry Molaison—who suffered from severe epilepsy—received a radical new version of the then-common lobotomy, targeting the most mysterious structures in the brain. The operation failed to eliminate Henry’s seizures, but it did have an unintended effect:…

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Bio-Strike (Tom's Clancy's Powerplays Series)

Bio-Strike (Tom’s Clancy’s Powerplays Series)

Bio-Strike (Tom’s Clancy’s Powerplays Series) by Jerome Preisler

Synopsis: Criminal mastermind Harlan DeVane has genetically engineered a superbug that lies like a dormant time bomb inside its human hosts until detonated by specific biochemical triggers. First, he uses his weapon to destroy Roger Gordian, head of UpLink Technologies. As Roger falls prey to the disease, his medical and…

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The Rudiments of Wisdom: An A-Z of Random, Peculiar and Fascinating Facts

The Rudiments of Wisdom: An A-Z of Random, Peculiar and Fascinating Facts

The Rudiments of Wisdom: An A-Z of Random, Peculiar and Fascinating Facts by Tim Hunkin

Synopsis: How does hypnosis work? What is chocolate made of? What do crocodiles eat for lunch? Think of a question–any question–and you’ll probably find the answer in Tim Hunkin’s Rudiments of Wisdom. Hunkin’s entertaining off-the-wall cartoons from the 1970s and 80s are now in color, together in one…

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When the Air Hits Your Brain: Tales from Neurosurgery

When the Air Hits Your Brain: Tales from Neurosurgery

When the Air Hits Your Brain: Tales from Neurosurgery by Frank T. Vertosick Jr.

Synopsis: The story of one man’s evolution from naive and ambitious young intern to world-class neurosurgeon.

With poignant insight and humor, Frank Vertosick Jr., MD, describes some of the greatest challenges of his career, including a six-week-old infant with a tumor in her brain, a young man struck down in his…

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#flashbackfriday: Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End

#flashbackfriday: Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End

#flashbackfriday: Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End

#flashbackfriday this week was featured on October 27, 2014, Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the Endby Atul Gawande. Often books about medicine are about what we can do to extend and improve human life, but what attention is paid to facing those final moments of life. Gawande writes about the importance of quality of…

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Kaboom!: Explosions of all Kinds

Kaboom!: Explosions of all Kinds

Kaboom!: Explosions of all Kinds by Gillian Richardson

Synopsis: Who knew that some insects can create explosions to get food? Or that fireworks were once used to fight wars? Explosions are all around us, from the Big Bang that created the universe to the “pop” of a seedpod, from solar flares to the explosive gases lurking in a coal mine. Full of fun facts, dramatic images and highlights of…

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Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race

Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race

Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly

Synopsis: The phenomenal true story of the black female mathematicians at NASA whose calculations helped fuel some of America’s greatest achievements in space. Soon to be a major motion picture starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae,…

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The Lagoon: How Aristotle Invented Science

The Lagoon: How Aristotle Invented Science

The Lagoon: How Aristotle Invented Science by Armand Marie Leroi

Synopsis: In the Eastern Aegean lies an island of forested hills and olive groves, with streams, marshes and a lagoon that nearly cuts the land in two. It was here, over two thousand years ago, that Aristotle came to work.

Aristotle was the greatest philosopher of all time. Author of the Poetics, Politics and Metaphysics, his work…

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ADHD Nation: Children, Doctors, Big Pharma, and the Making of an American Epidemic

ADHD Nation: Children, Doctors, Big Pharma, and the Making of an American Epidemic

ADHD Nation: Children, Doctors, Big Pharma, and the Making of an American Epidemic by Alan Schwarz

Synopsis: The groundbreaking and definitive account of the widespread misdiagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder—and how its unchecked growth over half a century has made ADHD one of the most controversial conditions in medicine, with serious effects on children, adults, and society.

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The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution

The Ancestor’s Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution

The Ancestor’s Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution by Richard Dawkins

Synopsis: With unparalleled wit, clarity, and intelligence, Richard Dawkins, one of the world’s most renowned evolutionary biologists, has introduced countless readers to the wonders of science in works such as The Selfish Gene. Now, in The Ancestor’s Tale, Dawkins offers a masterwork: an exhilarating reverse tour…

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Thinking in Numbers: How Maths Illuminates Our Lives

Thinking in Numbers: How Maths Illuminates Our Lives

Thinking in Numbers: How Maths Illuminates Our Lives by Daniel Tammet

Synopsis: This is the book that Daniel Tammet, bestselling author and mathematical savant, was born to write. In Tammet’s world, numbers are beautiful and mathematics illuminates our lives and minds. Using anecdotes and everyday examples, Tammet allows us to share his unique insights and delight in the way numbers, fractions…

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Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health

Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health

Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health by Marion Nestle

Synopsis: An accessible and balanced account, Food Politics laid the groundwork for today’s food revolution and changed the way we respond to food industry marketing practices. Now, a new introduction and concluding chapter bring us up to date on the key events in that movement. This pathbreaking, prize-winning…

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#flashbackfriday: Gifts of the Crow: How Perception, Emotion, and Thought Allow Smart Birds to Behave Like Humans #flashbackfriday: Gifts of the Crow: How Perception, Emotion, and Thought Allow Smart Birds to Behave Like Humans…

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An Edible History of Humanity

An Edible History of Humanity

An Edible History of Humanity by Tom Standage

Synopsis: More than simply sustenance, food historically has been a kind of technology, changing the course of human progress by helping to build empires, promote industrialization, and decide the outcomes of wars. Tom Standage draws on archaeology, anthropology, and economics to reveal how food has helped shape and transform societies around the…

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Lesser Beasts: A Snout-to-Tail History of the Humble Pig

Lesser Beasts: A Snout-to-Tail History of the Humble Pig

Lesser Beasts: A Snout-to-Tail History of the Humble Pig by Mark Essig

Synopsis: Unlike other barnyard animals, which pull plows, give eggs or milk, or grow wool, a pig produces only one thing: meat. Incredibly efficient at converting almost any organic matter into nourishing, delectable protein, swine are nothing short of a gastronomic godsend—yet their flesh is banned in many cultures, and the…

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How We'll Live on Mars (TED Books)

How We’ll Live on Mars (TED Books)

How We’ll Live on Mars by Stephen L Petranek

Synopsis: Award-winning journalist Stephen Petranek says humans will live on Mars by 2027. Now he makes the case that living on Mars is not just plausible, but inevitable.

It sounds like science fiction, but Stephen Petranek considers it fact: Within twenty years, humans will live on Mars. We’ll need to. In this sweeping, provocative book that mixes…

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