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Nature and Science June 2026 |
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The Story of Birds: A New History from Their Dinosaur Origins to the Present
by Steve Brusatte
From the renowned paleontologist and bestselling author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs, a sweeping evolutionary history of birds, from their dinosaur origins to the 10,000+ extraordinary species alive today. Tens of billions of birds share the planet with us, an astonishingly diverse array of species that are present nearly everywhere humans call home--and many places we do not. With their flamboyant plumage, joyous dawn serenades, extraordinary aerial feats, they have captivated human imagination for millennia. Undeniably delicate creatures with hollow bones and thin skin protected by downy feathers, how did such a seemingly fragile species break the bounds of Earth and begin to fly, how have they survived millennia, and how does their legacy shape our world?
Hailed as one of the stars of modern paleontology (National Geographic), Steve Brusatte now tells the extraordinary story of the dinosaurs' living legacy: birds. He begins by exploring how dinosaurs gradually developed the trademark features of birds one-by-one--feathers, wings, beaks, big brains, keen senses, and warm-blooded metabolisms. He investigates why birds were the only dinosaurs to survive the cataclysmic asteroid impact 66 million years ago and chronicles how these survivors rapidly proliferated to produce the diversity of avian species we know today.
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| Beyond Inheritance: Our Ever-Mutating Cells and a New Understanding of Health by Roxanne KhamsiScience journalist Roxanne Khamsi’s well-researched debut offers a peek at cutting-edge genetics and the idea that our DNA is not static, as previously thought, but constantly mutating, in as many as trillions of occurrences daily. Geneticists hope that better understanding these naturally occurring mutations will give us a window into the cause of genetic diseases like cancer and, more importantly, how best to treat them. For a similar read, try From One Cell: A Journey into Life’s Origins and the Future of Medicine by Ben Stanger. |
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Cells: The Illustrated Story of Life
by Christian Sardet
For fans of The Song of the Cell--a profusely, creatively illustrated journey through the origins and evolution of the building blocks of life, from an award-winning biologist and illustrator
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Arachnomania: Spiders and the Cultural Work They Do for Us
by Maria Tatar
In praise of spiders in all their inspirational glory Spiders are often found lurking in dusty corners, where we can observe them with interest or brush them away with disgust--or make a run for it, as the agitated Miss Muffet does. They are just as prevalent in our cultural landscapes, starring in horror films, inspiring works by famous artists and writers, and featured in myths and folktales. In Arachnomania, Maria Tatar explores how these creatures became our totem animals, our significant others, and our curved mirrors. Spiders model engineering genius in the construction of webs that have become powerful metaphors for drawing us out of our social isolation and connecting us in a fragile ecosystem. But these arachnids are also solitary in their habits and savage in their survival tactics. Spiders combine horror and beauty, and that may explain why we endow them with symbolic cultural weight. Tatar invites us to acknowledge our collective arachnophobia yet also embrace arachnophilia and celebrate spiders for their cultural benefits and real-world merits. Spiders have been portrayed as the kindred spirits of femmes fatales and spinster sleuths. They have operated as proxies for our fear of nuclear annihilation but appear also in the form of benevolent gods and, in E. B. White's Charlotte's Web, as a heroic barnyard savior. Spiders, Tatar reminds us, enable us to sustain our way of life on earth even as they continue to scare the living daylights out of us. With Arachnomania, Tatar offers up an anthem to the humble creatures that haunt our imaginations, reminding us of just how much we are the kindred spirits of the arachnids we should think of as some spiders.
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| Heart of the Hive: Inside the Mind of the Honey Bee and the Incredible Life Force of the Colony by Hilary Kearney; photography by Eric TourneretMaster beekeeper and honey bee enthusiast Hilary Kearney has teamed up with bee photographer Eric Tourneret to deliver a revealing glimpse into honey bee behavior. Heart of the Hive shows how a beehive and its denizens function as a superorganism in arrestingly detailed images. Bee fans will be buzzing! If you like this, check out Endless Forms: The Secret World of Wasps by Seirian Sumner. |
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| Insectopolis: A Natural History by Peter KuperEisner Award-winning graphic novelist Peter Kuper’s illustrated ode to insect life incorporates multiple timelines, talking bugs, and a human de-populated world where the insects happily visit museum exhibits devoted to them! Kuper provides a wealth of science information alongside his stunning illustrations in inventively arranged panels that will draw in readers who like graphic nonfiction. For something similar, try The Hidden Life of Trees, Fred Bernard’s and Benjamin Flao's graphic adaptation of the book by Peter Wohlleben. |
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| Alien Worlds: How Insects Conquered the Earth and Why Their Fate Will Determine Our Future by Steve NichollsFor 400 million years, insects have been the most numerous members of the animal kingdom and have spent that time developing incredible ways to crawl, jump, burrow, fly, hunt and reproduce in ways that perfectly suit virtually every environment on Earth. Yet, as documentary filmmaker and entomologist Steve Nicholls reminds us in his richly illustrated book, it is humans that are proving most problematic to insect survival. For another book on this last point, try Silent Earth: Averting the Insect Apocalypse by Dave Goulson. |
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| Tales from the Ant World by Edward O. WilsonAnts are not only fascinating but an easy insect to observe -- take it from the foremost ant expert, Pulitzer Prize winner Edward O. Wilson, whose obsession with ants began as a child in his backyard and never stopped. Readers will be captivated by Wilson’s explanation of ants’ complex social behavior, and how thousands of individuals can communicate and act cooperatively in service to the colony -- a trait all species of ant have in common. For fans of: The Jewel Box: How Moths Illuminate Nature’s Hidden Rules by Tim Blackburn. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Michigan City Public Library
100 E. 4th Street
Michigan City, Indiana 46360
219-873-3044mclib.org/ |
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