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Nature and Science April 2018
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| Close Encounters with Humankind: A Paleoanthropologist Investigates Our... by Sang-Hee Lee with Shin-Young YoonWhat it's about: Korean paleoanthropologist Sang-Hee Lee discusses a variety of topics pertaining to human evolution in this eye-opening book.
Topics of note: cannibalism, fatherhood, lactose intolerance, and more.
You might also like: For another accessible introduction to paleoanthropology, try Lydia Pyne's Seven Skeletons, which examines human evolution through seven sets of ancient remains. |
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| The Earth Gazers: On Seeing Ourselves by Christopher PotterWhat it's about: Discover how human flight has transformed our perceptions of planet Earth in this history of aviation from World War I to the Space Age.
What's inside: Profiles of aviator Charles Lindbergh, inventor Robert Goddard, and engineer Wernher von Braun, plus the experiences of the Apollo astronauts who first saw the Earth from space.
Read this next: Robert Poole's Earthrise, which documents the creation of the iconic "Earthrise" photograph. |
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| The Food Explorer: The True Adventures of the Globe-Trotting Botanist Who Transformed... by Daniel StoneWhat it is: A biography of 19th-century botanist David Fairchild, who traveled the world in search of unusual plants with commercial potential.
For fans of: the Hass avocado, Egyptian cotton, pistachios, quinoa, or any of the hundreds of plants that Fairchild introduced to the U.S.
You might also like: Jane S. Smith's The Garden of Invention: Luther Burbank and the Business of Breeding Plants, about another agricultural pioneer whose work changed the way America eats. |
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Trooper : the bobcat who came in from the wild
by F. B Johnson
Whenever middle-aged desert tour guide Forrest Bryant Johnson went out on his daily walks into the Mojave, all was usually peaceful and serene. But one beautiful summer day in 1987, Forrest heard a cry of distress. Following the cries, he came upon a small bobcat kitten, injured, orphaned, and desperately in need of help. So Forrest took his new feline friend home for a night. But when the little “trooper” clearly needed some more time to recoup, that night turned into two nights, a week, and eventually nineteen years. And so Trooper became a part of the Johnson family.
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The wisdom of wolves : lessons from the Sawtooth pack
by Jim Dutcher
The authors of The Hidden Life of Wolves, who lived alongside a three-generation wolf pack, reflect on the virtues they observed in wolf society and behavior, providing a thought-provoking meditation on the values shared between the human and the animal world.
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Birdnote : Chirps, Quirks, and Stories of 100 Birds from the Popular Public Radio Show
by Birdnote
Here are the best stories about our avian friends from the public radio show BirdNote, each brief essay illuminating the life, habits, or songs of a particular bird. Why do geese fly in a V-formation? Why are worms so good for you--if you're a robin? Which bird calls, "Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you-all?" From wrens that nest in cactuses to gulls that have a strange red dot on their bills--these digestible and fascinating bird stories are a delightful window to the winged world.
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| Leonardo da Vinci by Walter IsaacsonWhat it is: An engaging biography of Renaissance man Leonardo da Vinci, which examines his extraordinary ability to think across disciplines.
About the author: As with his biographies of Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein, and Steve Jobs, journalist Walter Isaacson conducts copious research to tell the story of "history's most creative genius."
You might also like: Mike Lankford's Becoming Leonardo, another biography that celebrates da Vinci's intellectual curiosity. |
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| How We Got to Now: Six Innovations that Made the Modern World by Steven JohnsonWhat it's about: This thought-provoking book explores six simple concepts -- glass, refrigeration, sound recordings, sanitation, clocks, and artificial light -- that paved the way for modern life.
About the author: Steven Johnson, author of The Invention of Air and Where Good Ideas Come From, is known for his accessible style and anecdote-rich approach to fascinating, yet overlooked, topics.
You might also like: James Burke's Connections and The Day the Universe Changed, as well as Henry Petroski's technology-focused microhistories. |
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| The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons: The History of the Human Brain... by Sam KeanWhat it is: A collection of historical case studies that attempts to answer the question, "Where does the brain stop and the mind start?"
Chapters include: "Cells, Senses, Circuits" (about neurotransmitters and biochemistry); "Beliefs and Delusions" (about brain disorders)
Why you might like it: This witty book by the author of The Disappearing Spoon and The Violinist's Thumb provides a lively and accessible introduction to a complex subject. |
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| Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women... by Margot Lee ShetterlyWhat it is: An inspiring group biography of NASA's African American female mathematicians, whose work in the 1950s and '60s played a pivotal role in launching American astronauts into orbit.
For fans of: Nathalia Holt's Rise of the Rocket Girls, which also spotlights unseen heroines of the space race.
Media buzz: The 2016 film adaptation of Hidden Figures was a big hit with both audiences and critics. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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