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Nature and Science August 2025 |
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Submersed : wonder, obsession, and murder in the world of amateur submarines
by Matthew Gavin Frank
"An exquisite, lyrical foray into the world of deep-sea divers, the obsession and madness that oceans inspire in us, and the story of submarine inventor Peter Madsen's murder of journalist Kim Wall-a captivating blend of literary prose, science writing, and true crime Submersed begins with an investigation into the beguiling subculture of DIY submersible obsessives: men and women-but mostly men-who are so compelled to sink into the deep sea that they become amateur backyard submarine-builders. Should they succeed in fashioning a craft in their garage or driveway and set sail, they do so at great personal risk-as the 2023 fatal implosion of Stockton Rush's much more highly funded submarine, Titan, proved to the world. Matthew Gavin Frank explores the origins of the human compulsion to sink to depth, from the diving bells of Aristotle and Alexander the Great to the Confederate H. L. Hunley, which became the first submersible to sink an enemy warship before itself being sunk during the Civil War. The deeperhe plunges, however, the more the obsession seems to dovetail with more threatening traits. Following the grisly murder of journalist Kim Wall at the hands of eccentric entrepreneur Peter Madsen aboard his DIY midget submarine, Frank finds himself reckoning with obsession's darkest extremes. Weaving together elements of true crime, the strange history of the submarine, the mythology of the deep sea, and the physical and mental side effects of sinking to great depth, Frank attempts to get to the bottom ofthis niche compulsion to chase the extreme in our planet's bodies of water and in our own bodies. What he comes to discover, and interrogate, are the odd and unexpected overlaps between the unquenchable human desire to descend into deep water, and a penchant for unspeakable violence"
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The Ocean's Menagerie: How Earth's Strangest Creatures Reshape the Rules of Life
by Drew Harvell
Marine biologist Drew Harvell amazes with a rich and descriptive catalog of ocean invertebrates, a group that outnumbers backboned species 30 to one and includes octopuses, jellies, crustaceans, and sea stars. Harvell details these creatures' superpowers, hardly an exaggeration given their potential benefits to the environment and human life. Those curious about exotic marine life should also check out The World Beneath by Richard Smith.
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Close to home : the wonders of nature just outside your door
by Thor Hanson
An award-winning natural-history writer uncovers hidden wonders in everyday environments, revealing how backyards, park and local landscapes host fascinating wildlife, scientific potential and opportunities to connect with and contribute to the health of our planet. 25,000 first printing.
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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.
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| Slither: How Nature's Most Maligned Creatures Illuminate Our World by Stephen S. HallScience writer Stephen S. Hall has been fascinated by snakes since childhood, and his enthusiasm comes through in this sweeping overview of all things herpetological. Hall covers topics including people’s fear of snakes, snake venom, locomotion, evolutionary history, religious symbolism, and the ease with which snakes adapt to their surroundings. An enticing choice for snake lovers (and haters!). |
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The AI con : how to fight big tech's hype and create the future we want
by Emily M. Bender
"Is artificial intelligence going to take over the world? Have big tech scientists created an artificial lifeform that can think on its own? Is it going to put authors, artists, and others out of business? Are we about to enter an age where computers arebetter than humans at everything? The answer to these questions, linguist Emily M. Bender and sociologist Alex Hanna make clear, is "no," "they wish," "LOL," and "definitely not." This kind of thinking is a symptom of a phenomenon known as "AI hype." Hype looks and smells fishy: It twists words and helps the rich get richer by justifying data theft, motivating surveillance capitalism, and devaluing human creativity in order to replace meaningful work with jobs that treat people like machines. In The AI Con, Bender and Hanna offer a sharp, witty, and wide-ranging take-down of AI hype across its many forms. Bender and Hanna show you how to spot AI hype, how to deconstruct it, and how to expose the power grabs it aims to hide. Armed with these tools, you will be prepared to push back against AI hype at work, as a consumer in the marketplace, as a skeptical newsreader, and as a citizen holding policymakers to account. Together, Bender and Hanna expose AI hype for what it is: a mask for Big Tech's drive for profit, with little concern for who it affects"
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Nexus : a brief history of information networks from the Stone Age to AI
by Yuval N. Harari
From the Stone Age through the canonization of the Bible, Stalinism, Nazism and the resurgence of populism today, a historian and philosopher explores human history to consider how the flow of information has shaped us, and our world, addressing the urgent choices we face as nonhuman intelligence threatens our very existence. Illustrations.
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Good soil : the education of an accidental farmhand
by Jeff Chu
A reflective journey exploring nature, belonging and spirituality, weaving lessons from farm life, relationships and personal heritage into a meditation on growth, connection and the transformative power of listening to the earth and each other.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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