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Nature and Science December 2025 |
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The Illuminated Book of Birds
by Robin Crofut-Brittingham
... includes large-scale fine art paintings of the birds in Latin America, Africa, Asia, Oceania, North America, and Europe, along with flightless birds, unusual birds, and extinct birds. It looks at birds together, grouping them by geography and families, and delights in uncovering their habits and cultural and mythological significance.--Provided by publisher.
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Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy
by Mary Roach
Instant New York Times Bestseller One of Literary Hub's Most Anticipated Books of 2025 A Goodreads Readers' Most Anticipated Fall Book From the New York Times best-selling author of Stiff and Fuzz, a rollicking exploration of the quest to re-create the impossible complexities of human anatomy.
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| The Call of the Honeyguide: What Science Tells Us About How to Live Well With the Rest of Life by Rob DunnThe evolution of life is mainly a story of competition. But this has caused scientists to miss the cooperation between organisms happening everywhere in nature. These “mutualisms” (mutually beneficial relationships between species) occur between animals and plants of all types on every continent, and biologist Rob Dunn’s vivid descriptions enable the reader to envision the complex interdependencies in nature’s ecosystems in his “triumph of popular science” (Publishers Weekly). |
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| The Last Extinction: The Real Science Behind the Death of the Dinosaurs by Gerta KellerIn geologist Gerta Keller’s debut book, she shares her groundbreaking theory that the extinction of the dinosaurs did not stem from an asteroid colliding with Earth, but rather from extreme volcanic activity in present-day India. At first facing widespread criticism and now widely accepted as fact, her work is accessibly presented in a book that foregrounds women scientists and the difficulty of overturning entrenched theories. Try this next: Otherlands: A Journey Through Earth’s Extinct Worlds by Thomas Halliday. |
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| The Shape of Wonder: How Scientists Think, Work, and Live by Alan Lightman & Martin ReesPhysicist Alan Lightman and cosmologist Martin Rees mount a persuasive argument for trusting good science. By introducing readers to prominent scientists in various disciplines and showing the impact of the scientific method on everyday life, the authors hope to demonstrate the value of scientific research in policy-making and discourage the current rise in anti-science rhetoric. For fans of: The Premonition: A Pandemic Story by Michael Lewis. |
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| Horses: A 4,000-Year Genetic Journey Across the World by Ludovic OrlandoFor geneticist Ludovic Orlando, what began as an investigation into a famous racehorse that died a century ago turned into a global collaborative study on the 4,000-year history of humans and horses. Including the novel theory that human domestication of horses began independently in several places scattered across Europe and Asia, Orlando’s book is brimming with data but still “a captivating, smooth ride” (Kirkus Reviews). For readers who enjoyed Domesticated: Evolution in a Man-Made World by Richard C. Francis. |
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| The Big One: How We Must Prepare for Future Deadly Pandemics by Michael T. Osterholm, PhD, MPH and Mark OlshakerNot to sound alarmist or anything, but authors Michael T. Osterholm and Mark Olshaker concede that COVID-19 may have been merely a warm-up for the next pandemic. To that end, they construct some chilling real-world scenarios that they hope will urge government leaders to take communicable disease as seriously as any national security issue. For readers fascinated by World War C: Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic and How to Prepare for the Next One by Sanjay Gupta. |
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| The Arrogant Ape: The Myth of Human Exceptionalism and Why It Matters by Christine WebbPrimatologist Christine Webb’s debut calls out humanity for its ego trip regarding its place in the world. The fact that humans have climbed to the top of the world’s food chain is often taken by Western science as evidence that we are the smartest, most capable beings on earth. But as humans continue to make their own survival more tenuous through destruction of the environment, the anthropocentric viewpoint loses traction. A thought-provoking book that “makes a convincing case for humility” (Publishers Weekly). |
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| If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies: Why Superhuman AI Would Kill Us All by Eliezer Yudkowsky & Nate SoaresAI researchers Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares sound a strident alarm over the race to design the ultimate machine intelligence. While corporations and governments everywhere push relentlessly toward the development of “artificial superintelligence” (ASI), the authors warn that current industry safeguards are insufficient to contain a program that is “optimized for efficiency and unconstrained by human ethics” (Booklist). For further predictions of terrifying techno-disasters, check out X-Risk: How Humanity Discovered Its Own Extinction by Thomas Moynihan. |
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