Nature and Science
December 2025

Recent Releases
The Story of CO₂ Is the Story of Everything: How Carbon Dioxide Made Our World
by Peter Brannen

Science journalist Peter Brannen elucidates the role of carbon dioxide on Earth, explaining the paradox that this substance is both an essential part of the carbon life cycle and the reason that our climate is in trouble. Brannen’s book is both alarming and fascinating and makes clear that it is only in the last couple of centuries that human activity has pushed the CO₂ equation out of balance. Read-alike: Elemental: How Five Elements Changed Earth’s Past and Will Shape Our Future by Stephen Porder.
The Call of the Honeyguide: What Science Tells Us About How to Live Well With the Rest of Life
by Rob Dunn

The 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).
The Last Extinction: The Real Science Behind the Death of the Dinosaurs
by Gerta Keller

In 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.
The Big One: How We Must Prepare for Future Deadly Pandemics
by Michael T. Osterholm, PhD, MPH and Mark Olshaker

Not 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.
Contact your librarian for more great books!