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Nature and Science October 2025 |
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| The Magic of Code: How Digital Language Created and Connects Our World... by Samuel ArbesmanScientist Samuel Arbesman waxes rhapsodic about the power and possibilities of code, the digital building block of intelligence, communication, and innovation. Arbesman looks back on what has been accomplished in the past several decades to inform his hopeful predictions for the future, concluding that code is a modern-day metaphor for magic and wizardry. Try this next: Coders: The Making of a New Tribe and the Remaking of the World by Clive Thompson. |
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| Submersed: Wonder, Obsession, and Murder in the World of Amateur Submarines by Matthew Gavin FrankFolded into author Matthew Gavin Frank’s thought-provoking survey of humankind’s urge to explore the ocean depths from deep-water submersibles lies a much darker obsession -- the “strong undercurrent of violence and misogyny” (Kirkus Reviews) running through the amateur sub community that arguably led to the 2017 murder of journalist Kim Wall. Readers who want more adventures beneath the waves can try The Underworld: Journeys to the Depths of the Ocean by Susan Casey. |
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| Intraterrestrials: Discovering the Strangest Life on Earth by Karen G. LloydMicrobial biogeochemist Karen G. Lloyd introduces us to a mind-bending branch of science in her debut. It turns out that most life on Earth is composed of microbes living beneath the Earth’s crust or the ocean floors, derives energy from chemicals rather than light, and might have the ability to survive for eons. Science readers will be enthralled by these ideas that “defy assumptions about the laws of nature” (Publishers Weekly). |
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| How To Save the Amazon: A Journalist's Fatal Quest for Answers by Dom Phillips with contributorsIn 2022, before finishing this book, British journalist Dom Phillips was murdered in Brazil’s Javari Valley by people acting on behalf of the illegal fishing industry. His work movingly brings to light the difficulty of reconciling concerns of ecology, economics, social class, and environmental justice. More stories about the dangerous cost of environmental protection can be found in Masters of the Lost Land by Heriberto Araujo and Tree Thieves by Lyndsie Bourgon. |
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| Close to Home: The Wonders of Nature Just Outside Your Door by Thor HansonConservation biologist Thor Hanson empowers readers to observe their environment with new eyes, showing us that poking around literally just outside one’s door (city or country, no matter) reveals a surprising diversity of wildlife waiting to be discovered. Hanson gives clues as to where to look while pushing the idea of “citizen science.” If you like this, try Never Home Alone by Rob Dunn. |
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| Phytopolis: The Living City by Stefano Mancuso; translated by Gregory ContiStefano Mancuso, a neurobiologist specializing in plants, presents an original perspective on civilization, observing that humans have evolved from a generalist species (thriving in any environment) to a specialist one (only able to thrive in urban settings). Mancuso ideally imagines cities evolving along with their denizens to be more plant-based and sustainable in this thought-provoking translation. Try this next: Ashley Dawson’s Extreme Cities: The Peril and Promise of Urban Life in the Age of Climate Change. |
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| Slow Down: The Degrowth Manifesto by Kōhei Saitō; translated by Brian BergstromUniversity of Tokyo philosopher Kōhei Saitō tackles climate change from both scientific and political angles. According to Saitō, any capitalistic model for combatting climate change is inherently flawed, and he calls instead for a halt to urban development, scaling back industrial manufacturing to focus on quality rather than quantity, and an emphasis on local economies to curb greenhouse emissions and allow nature to heal itself. It’s an unusual yet persuasive idea that Saitō supports with a “conversational, gentle, yet urgent tone” (Kirkus Reviews). |
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