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Nature and Science
April 2025
Recent Releases
When the Earth Was Green: Plants, Animals, and Evolution's Greatest Romance
by Riley Black

Science writer Riley Black stuns with a panoramic natural history that acquaints readers with the interactive nature of life among Earth’s plants, animals, and habitats through the eons. Black’s accessible writing “illuminat[es] natural history into sparkling descriptions of what the Earth was like millions of years ago” (Publishers Weekly). Read-alike: A Brief History of Earth by Andrew H. Knoll.
Superbloom: How Technologies of Connection Tear Us Apart
by Nicholas Carr

Journalist Nicholas Carr argues convincingly that social media has taken over our society and brains so rapidly that we haven’t been able to formulate a response, much less calculate the damage it’s wreaking. Carr points to research citing epidemic levels of stress, anxiety, and depression among users, especially teenagers. Other revealing reads on this topic include Alone Together by Sherry Turkle and The End of Absence by Michael Harris.
Out of Your Mind: The Biggest Mysteries of the Human Brain
by Jorge Cham & Dwayne Godwin

Want a book about the complexities of the human brain that isn’t quite so…well, brainy? Author and cartoonist Jorge Cham teams with neuroscientist Dwayne Godwin to tackle the subject and answer some difficult questions in an amusing, upbeat, and accessible style, complete with illustrations. Other entertaining books about brain function include The Brain by David Eagleman and Nineteen Ways of Looking at Consciousness by Patrick House.
Raising Hare
by Chloe Dalton

Debut memoirist Chloe Dalton, a political consultant, spent much of the COVID-19 pandemic raising a baby hare she rescued near her country home. This fascinating, endearing, and rarely domesticated creature became Dalton’s companion for a time, awakening her senses to the natural world around her. For more moving encounters with wildlife, try The Puma Years by Laura Coleman or Alfie & Me by Carl Safina.
Beyond the sea : the hidden life in lakes, streams, and wetlands
by David Lowell Strayer

This work brings to life the wonders of our inland waters and the vibrant species that live there.
How To Feed the World: The History and Future of Food
by Vaclav Smil

Geography professor Vaclav Smil’s book about the world’s food supply, while sounding some alarms, takes an optimistic view provided we start implementing sustainable agricultural practices and changing food policy immediately, and provides abundant data to back up his arguments. For other practical discussions about world food issues, try The End of Plenty by Joel K. Bourne Jr. or How the World Eats by Julian Baggini.
Air-Borne: The Hidden History of the Life We Breathe
by Carl Zimmer

Science writer Carl Zimmer puts airborne pathogens under the microscope, taking readers on a tour spanning from the 14th century to COVID-19 that exposes how much we have yet to learn about communicable diseases in the Earth’s atmosphere. Other accessible reads about microbes and disease include The Secret Body by Daniel M. Davis and Immune by Catherine Carver.
Contact your librarian for more great books!

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