NONFICTION
Released: Nov. 13, 2012
"An eye-opening take on how romantic sentimentalism about nature can have destructive consequences."
Journalist Sterba (
Frankie's Place: A Love Story, 2003, etc.) employs humor and an eye for the absurd to document the sometimes bizarre conflicts that arise as a consequence of America's transformed relationship with nature.
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NONFICTION
Released: Nov. 13, 2012
"An informative and moving book that raises profound issues regarding the nature of love, the value of human life and the future of humanity."
National Book Award–winning journalist Solomon (
The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression, 2001, etc.) uses issues raised by disability to examine the nature of parenthood, the definition of disability and the ability to control reproduction to create designer children.
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NONFICTION
Released: Oct. 15, 2012
"A breathtaking study of "walking as enabling sight and thought rather than encouraging retreat and escape.""
Macfarlane (English/Cambridge Univ.;
The Wild Places, 2008, etc.) returns with another masterful, poetic travel narrative.
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NONFICTION
Released: Oct. 1, 2012
"A wonderful, eye-opening account of humans versus disease that deserves to share the shelf with such classics as Microbe Hunters and Rats, Lice and History."
Nature writer and intrepid traveler Quammen (
The Reluctant Mr. Darwin, 2006, etc.) sums up in one absorbing volume what we know about some of the world's scariest scourges: Ebola, AIDS, pandemic influenza--and what we can do to thwart the "NBO," the Next Big One.
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NONFICTION
Released: Sept. 10, 2012
"Survivors of traumatic events often do not recover without help from others, and Gonzales' excellent book is an education for those wishing to be of use in a stressful, often frightening world."
NONFICTION
Released: July 17, 2012
"In an impressive narrative, the author renders esoteric DNA concepts accessible to lay readers."
Science writer Kean (
The Disappearing Spoon: and Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements, 2010) returns with another wide-ranging, entertaining look at science history, this time focusing on the many mysteries of DNA.
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NONFICTION
Released: June 12, 2012
"Stott masterfully shows how Darwin, by discovering the mechanism of natural selection, made a unique contribution, but he did not stand alone—nor did he claim to."
Stott (English Literature and Creative Writing/Univ. of East Anglia; The Coral Thief, 2009, etc.) conjures up the spirits of Darwin's scientific predecessors in this excellent follow-up to Darwin and the Barnacle (2003).
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NONFICTION
Released: May 1, 2012
"A report of a fascinating new theory on the Earth's origins written in a sparkling style with many personal touches."
Hazen (Earth Science/George Mason Univ.;
Genesis: The Scientific Quest for Life's Origins, 2005, etc.) offers startling evidence that "Earth's living and nonliving spheres" have co-evolved over the past 4 billion years.
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NONFICTION
Released: April 9, 2012
"Wilson succeeds in explaining his complex ideas, so attentive readers will receive a deeply satisfying exposure to a major scientific controversy."
Never shy about tackling big questions, veteran evolutionary biologist Wilson (The Creation: An Appeal to Save Life on Earth, 2006, etc.) delivers his thoughtful if contentious explanation of why humans rule the Earth.
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NONFICTION
Released: March 27, 2012
"Keeping a critical eye on the evidence and a skeptical one on theories, Tattersall confirms his status among world anthropologists by delivering a superior popular explanation of human origins."
A veteran anthropologist writes a superb overview of how our species developed (a long process) and how we grew smart enough to dominate the planet (a short process in which evolution played little part).
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NONFICTION
Released: March 20, 2012
"A candid, inspiring narrative of the author's brutal physical and psychological journey through a wilderness of despair to a renewed sense of self."
Unsentimental memoir of the author's three-month solo hike from California to Washington along the Pacific Crest Trail.
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NONFICTION
Released: March 19, 2012
"Exceptional observations of the biological world worthy of any naturalist's library."
NONFICTION
Released: March 6, 2012
"Meticulously researched and packed with not just technological details, but sociopolitical and cultural details as well--the definitive history of the computer."
That we live in a digital universe is indisputable; how we got there is a mesmerizing tale brilliantly told by science historian Dyson (
Project Orion: The Atomic Spaceship 1957–1965, 2002, etc.).
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THE VIOLINIST'S THUMB: AND OTHER LOST TALES OF LOVE, WAR, AND GENIUS, AS WRITTEN BY OUR GENETIC CODE
