NONFICTION
Released: April 4, 2013
"An intriguing ride through "all the wondrous quirks and oddities in human nature.""
In this often heady blend of science, philosophy and sociology, Simons (Univ. of California Graduate School of Journalism;
Darwin Slept Here: Discovery, Adventure, and Swimming Iguanas in Charles Darwin's South America, 2009) tries to get at the root of fandom, that sometimes appalling display of irrational behavior, which appears to be "a species-level design flaw."
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NONFICTION
Released: April 2, 2013
"A valuable glimpse of a mecca of innovation."
NONFICTION
Released: April 2, 2013
"Personal warmth and enthusiasm increase the charm of this celebration of the "beauty, mystery, and complexity" of the plant world."
A wonderful introductory guide to the plant kingdom from one of the world's leading naturalists.
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NONFICTION
Released: April 1, 2013
"Long superseded by other widely denounced emblems of American exceptionalism (drones, cluster bombs, torture), napalm receives an overdue but thoroughly satisfying history."
The book begins with the story of the iconic 1972 photograph of a 9-year-old Vietnamese girl running naked down a road after being severely burned in a napalm attack. Readers expecting a polemic may be pleasantly surprised at this lucid account of the technical, political and ethical features of a notorious symbol of American inhumanity in war.
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NONFICTION
Released: April 1, 2013
"A touchy topic illuminated with wit and rigor, packed with all the stinky details."
Throughout her sojourn down the gastrointestinal tract, science writer Roach (
Packing for Mars:
The Curious Science of Life in the Void, 2011
, etc.) enlists her abundant assets of intelligence and humor while dissecting this messy and astounding part of the human body.
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NONFICTION
Released: March 25, 2013
"A well-composed argument for the biological foundations of human morality."
Is morality a learned aspect of human nature, or is it innate? Are thinking and acting morally behaviors exclusive to humans?
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NONFICTION
Released: March 21, 2013
"Sure to be loved by readers who enjoy telling kids to get off their damn lawn, but unlikely to gain traction with a wider audience."
Media theorist Rushkoff (
Program or Be Programmed: Ten Commands for a Digital Age, 2011, etc.) returns with a dire prognosis of society's ills.
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NONFICTION
Released: March 19, 2013
"For knowledgeable perfume lovers, serious novices and those who love an entertaining expert introduction to an arcane subculture."
A memoir and ambitious tour of the perfume world by a Quebec-raised Parisian fragrance writer.
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NONFICTION
Released: March 19, 2013
"A gripping environmental thriller."
An award-winning science journalist exposes how corporate interests and corrupt politicians almost turned a quiet, suburban New Jersey beach community into a toxic wasteland.
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NONFICTION
Released: March 19, 2013
"Will be intriguing for readers interested in the borderlands where memoir, fiction and science overlap but is likely to frustrate readers unfamiliar with the byways of British life."
Fernyhough (
A Thousand Days of Wonder: A Scientist's Chronicle of His Daughter's Developing Mind, 2010, etc.) takes a multidisciplinary approach to explaining memory.
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NONFICTION
Released: March 18, 2013
"Nothing beats good hard data to debunk myths, and Zuk offers plenty."
Zuk (Univ. of California, Riverside; Sex on Six Legs: Lessons on Life, Love, and Language from the Insect World, 2011, etc.) takes on those who say we are ill-suited to modern life because we are trapped in our Stone Age bodies.
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NONFICTION
Released: March 12, 2013
"Learned, entertaining and illuminating."
