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Nature and Science August 2026 |
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The Book of Birds: A Field Guide to Wonder and Loss
by Robert MacFarlane
In this dazzling celebration of endangered birds, Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris together conjure the unique spirit of nearly fifty once-common species: from avocet to yellowhammer, kestrel to kingfisher, skylark to nightingale. The Book of Birds is a love letter to the great variety and wild mysteries of birdlife, and a clarion call to halt their rapid depletion from our skies.
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Noticing: Intimate Encounters with the Natural World
by Richard Louv
Long beloved for his insightful, inspiring nature writing, Richard Louv returns with his most personal book yet. Noticing is about discovering who you are by exploring the natural world. Louv shows how, by tapping into the thirty or more human senses we have, readers can develop skills--sensory, scientific, artistic, and spiritual--to see and experience the otherworlds of nature. Through personal essays, rich with descriptions of the California wilderness around his home in the most biodiverse county in the nation, Louv draws on wisdom from influences as far-reaching as neuroscience, nature photography, Indigenous traditions, and mindfulness to foster what he calls bioenchantment.
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The Beasts of the East: The Fall and Rise of America's Eastern Wilderness
by Andrew Moore
Before industrialization, elk, bison, wolves, and cougars thrived across the eastern United States. Decades of hunting and development drove many of these native species to near extinction, but today they are making a surprising comeback. In The Beasts of the East, environmental writer Andrew Moore explores efforts to restore wildlife to eastern ecosystems, meeting conservationists, hunters, biologists, and others as they tackle difficult questions about rewilding, coexistence, and the future of wilderness in a human-shaped landscape.
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| In Defense of Sunlight: The Surprising Science of Sun Exposure by Rowan JacobsenThe inherited wisdom concerning sunlight on skin these days is the less the better. Not so, according to science writer Rowan Jacobsen. He argues that while sun exposure has been linked to some skin cancers, the most recent studies indicate that UV rays are less harmful to skin than we thought and, furthermore, moderate daily sun exposure is good for you, triggering production of vitamin D, increasing alertness, and improving mood. The big takeaway: just try not to burn! |
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| A Pox on Fools: The True Believers, Grifters, and Cynics Who Convinced Us to Reject Vaccines by Thomas LevensonEven a glance at the data on vaccines -- increasing life expectancy by 30 years since 1900; an estimated 150+ million lives saved in the last 50 years -- would seem to negate any argument against their use. And yet… Science writer and MIT professor Thomas Levenson’s diatribe against modern-day antivaxxers reveals that the playbook hasn’t changed much since vaccines were introduced, except that today’s influencers often cynically accept payouts from powerful interests. Read-alike: Virus: Vaccinations, The CDC, and the Hijacking of America’s Response to the Pandemic by Nina Burleigh. |
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| The Infinity Machine: Demis Hassabis, Deepmind, and the Quest for Superintelligence by Sebastian MallabyJournalist and author Sebastian Mallaby’s latest is both a rich examination of the innovations in artificial intelligence being created at Google’s DeepMind project and the story of its enigmatic genius co-founder, Demis Hassabis. Mallaby takes readers inside AI laboratories, filled with relentlessly ambitious researchers and investors chasing the exciting (and for some, terrifying) achievement of artificial general intelligence, or machine “superintelligence.” For fans of: Supremacy: AI, ChatGPT, and the Race That Will Change the World by Parmy Olson. |
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Our Wild Familiars: How Animals Are Adapting to Cities and Reshaping the Natural World
by Dan Werb
A dazzling journey into the hidden lives of synanthropes, the wild animals who've found ingenious ways to survive and thrive in human communities. Through vivid storytelling, Our Wild Familiars brings to spectacular life the world's most successful synanthropes, from bats, raccoons, and crows, to some of its weirdest, including the Giant Pacific Octopus. Acting as a guide to the curious, Werb reveals how the cracks in our millennia-long efforts to shield ourselves against the outside world might just lead us to a new and necessary balance with nature--or to an ever more savage future.
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Chain Reaction: How Chemistry Shapes Us and Our World
by Ijeoma Uchegbu
Renowned chemist Ijeoma Uchegbu reveals how chemistry shapes every aspect of our lives, from DNA and food to medicine and modern materials. Blending fascinating science with personal stories, she explores the chemical bonds behind everyday phenomena and shows how understanding them can bring greater wonder to the world around us. Accessible and engaging, this is a celebration of the chemistry that connects us all.
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Speed: How It Explains the World
by Vaclav Smil
A data-driven, scientific account of our need for speed--exploring a wide range of topics including evolution, transportation, and technology In a world obsessed with efficiency, perhaps nothing is valued as highly as being fast. Renowned scientist Vaclav Smil explores humanity’s obsession with being faster, from natural phenomena and evolution to transportation, technology, and industrial progress. Drawing on extensive scientific data, he examines how speed has shaped our world, its limits, and what our drive to push those limits reveals about nature, innovation, and human achievement.
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| In Deep Water: A True Story of Sharks, Survival, and Courage by Michael J. TougiasNonfiction author Michael J. Tougias (Fatal Forecast) tells a terrifying cautionary tale of survival on the open ocean. In 2022, three friends in coastal Louisiana embark on a fishing trip on the Gulf of Mexico in a recently purchased boat that suddenly proves un-seaworthy. The vessel sinks so quickly that the fishermen barely have time to don life vests and cling to a cooler for dear life. They spend the next 28 hours facing down stinging jellyfish, circling sharks, and their own exhaustion before being rescued. For fans of: harrowing ocean rescue stories like A Speck in the Sea by John Aldridge. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Longwood Public Library800 Middle Country RoadMiddle Island, New York 11953
(631) 924-6400
longwoodlibrary.org |
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