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If you are one of the many who had an aversion to science classes in school because you felt it was too hard, intimidating, or confusing and you have avoided the subject ever since, it’s never too late to catch up a little. There are actually some science books on subjects such as biology, anthropology, astronomy, chemistry, or physics that are written in fun, easy and comprehensible language for those of us who were bored or scared stiff. Here are some recently published titles.
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Angier, Natalie The Canon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science Canon: the body of principles, rules and standards that are universally accepted by a field of study. Angier tackles them all and proves that science is fun. Weighty topics such as; statisitcs, molecular biology, chemistry, physics, geology and astronomy are discussed with ease, humor and relevance for our time. If you missed your science lessons in school, this is your second chance. 2007 Appears on the following book lists:  Science and Nature | ||||||||
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Arntz, William What the Bleep Do We Know!?: Discovering the Endless Possibilities for Altering Your Everyday Reality With the help of more than a dozen research and theoretical scientists, authors look into quantum physics and into a universe that is more bizarre and alive than ever imagined. Also discusses the outer-inner edges of our scientific knowledge of consciousness, perception, body chemistry and brain structure. What is a thought made of? What is reality made of? And most importantly, how does a thought change the nature of reality? Book annotation. 2005 | ||||||||
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Bakalar, Nick Where the Germs Are: A Scientific Safari Icky! Dirty! Don't Touch! Every parents warning! This lively fascinating and amusing book is about our everyday surroundings and the most common microbes and unavoidable germs that are in or around us. Knowing which are dreadful invaders looking for their next victims, which can be avoided, which are essential to our very existence can turn our fear and carelessness into cleanliness or let us delight in the delicious tastes of cheeses, breads and fermented grapes. Find out why your kitchen is probably more contaminated than your bathroom. Learn what you can do to discourage germs from setting up house inside you. Learn about vaccines, antibiotics, antiseptic products, pest control, and protecting our food supply. Discover how microbes are being used to clean up the environment or improve our public health. 2003 | ||||||||
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Benedict, Jeff No Bone Unturned: The Adventures of a Top Smithsonian Forensic Scientist and the Legal Battle for America's Oldest Skeletons Whether investigating a crime scene, mass disaster or ancient bones, Dr. Doug Owsley knows more than anyone else in America. He has been called on as a forensic scientist to unlock information regarding; 9/11, Waco, mass graves in Croatia, Civil War remains, missing persons, and prehistoric discoveries including the 9600 year old “Kennewick Man” found in Washington. His artistry in rebuilding skeletons, determining age, sex, race, cause of death, and identifying individuals by dental records or DNA is compellingly portrayed in this fascinating book. Owsley fought a courtroom and political battle with the U.S. Government for custody rights for over six years which makes this read like a fast paged thriller. 2003 | ||||||||
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Brizendine, Louann The Female Brain Discusses new research on the female brain and how it works. Provides some answers to how the supply, surplus or scarcity, of estrogen and other hormones in her body can rule or alter the structure and function of a woman's brain from birth to old age. 2006 | ||||||||
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Bryson, Bill A Short History of Nearly Everything This popular witty writer says he is reading lots science books lately, like a crash course for all he missed in school. In this book he has taken on the challenge of explaining and making comprehensible, “well, EVERYTHING!” As he puts it, “How we went from being nothing at all to there being something, and then how a little of that something turned into us, and also what happened in between and since.” 2003 Appears on the following book lists: History Science and Nature
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Burr, Chandler The Emperor of Scent: A Story of Perfume, Obsession, and the Last Mystery of the Senses This true story profiles a scientific genius with eerie powers of smell who uses his gifts to solve one of the body's last secrets: how the nose works. You will be amazed at what you think is "taste". 2002 | ||||||||
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Canton, James The Extreme Future: The Top Trends That Will Reshape the World for the Next 5, 10, and 20 Years Get ready for dramatic new changes in our world. Canton, a well-known futurist discusses some of the major trends that lie ahead. Book covers subjects of: climate, energy, population, innovation, medicine, welath and poverty, new global powers and terrorism. He suggests the "probable outcomes" of these trends and offers suggestions for surviving and even thriving in the near future. 2006 | ||||||||
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Gladwell, Malcolm Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking First impressions, snap decisions, "gut level" instincts, about a person, place or thing can be very useful to us more often than not. Gladwell calls this conscious or unconscious process "Thin-slicing" and scientifically proves that we all do it. He explores situations in which "Thin-slicing" has been tremendoulsy helpful and cases in which it has gone horribly wrong. Very ingrossing. 2005 Appears on the following book lists:
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Holmes, Hannah The Secret Life of Dust: From the Cosmos to the Kitchen Counter the Big Consequences of Little Things My mother was not a "clean house freak" to say the least. She had a healthy respect for dust--in the corners, under the beds, on the table tops and didn't believe in removing it too often. She would admonish me to dust very carefully "because you never know who that might have been." Here is a book about the secrets hidden in the dust. Dust, the author says, built our planet-- star dust, desert sands, decaying plants, soot, fungus, kings and dinosaurs. It can be harmful or helpful. Learn how thousands of dust motes move in and out of your body, what they do on earth and how we can exist in relationship to the "unavoidable swirls" that surround us. 2001 | ||||||||
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Levitt, Steven D. Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything Unconventional economists take an unconventional approach to looking at and explaining how economics actually do work. The authors explore the data collected about today's real world issues, then look for patterns that were incidently "left behind" by the experts. They decided to examine the data more closely, follow the "freakish curiousities" and hidden sides to turn the accepted conclusions inside out and upside down. 2006 | ||||||||
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Sims, Michael Adam's Navel: A Natural and Cultural History of the Human Form This is a clever and entertaining book of pop science. Sims offers us a reintroduction to the human body as anatomy and culture, mixing science and storytelling to help shape our understanding of all the parts and how they function physically, culturally and socially. From head to toe, including face, skin, arms, legs, hands, opposable thumbs and fingerprints he draws from folklore, classical mythology, literature, physiology and philosophy to explain and celebrate our attitudes, symbols emotions and images of ourselves. 2003 | ||||||||
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Sulston, John The Common Thread: A Story of Science, Politics, Ethics, and the Human Genome John Sulston was a winner of the 2002 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine. Cracking the genetic code of human life in the Human Gene Project became a huge competition between scientists in the public domain and the corporate world beginning in the 1980s. Deciphering the DNA Sequence was to be a collective enterprise in which the discoveries were to be freely shared until commercial and financial gain threatened to obtain ownership and control the research. Here is an insider's view of the race to study and reveal the "Secret of Life" including the patterns of inheritance, causes of some diseases, molecular biology that makes life possible and the fundamental information about humankind. 2002 | ||||||||
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Tankersley, Kenneth B. In Search of Ice Age Americans We don't know where the human being that first came to America came from or why, but this book is a reconstruction of the daily lives of the earliest Americans. Tankersley, an anthropologist, discusses the latest scientific evidence and artifact finds to explain how people survived the Ice Age. 2002 | ||||||||
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Weisman, Alan The World Without Us Journalist Weisman offers an original approach to questions of humanity's impact on the planet. Drawing on the expertise of engineers, atmospheric scientists, art conservators, zoologists, oil refiners, marine biologists, astrophysicists, religious leaders, and paleontologists, he illustrates what the planet might be like today if humans disappeared.--from publisher description. 2007 Appears on the following book lists: Science and Nature
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| Updated: Apr. 2009 © Hennepin County Library We welcome your comments and suggestions. |
