Books about Biology
The Human Brain: Its Capacities and Functions / by Isaac Asimov
(1994) Renowned science writer Isaac Asimov tells just how the human brain organizes and controls the total functioning of the individual.
The Life of Mammals / by David Attenborough
(2002) The richly illustrated companion to the ten-part series on the Discovery Channel explores the amazing diversity of mammals around the world, taking a close-up look at unusual and evolutionarily successful creatures in their various habitats and explaining how evolution has shaped mammalian behavior.
The Essential Difference: The Truth About the Male and Female Brain / by Simon Baron-Cohen
(2003) Draws on the author’s experience in clinical practice to identify a basic, biological difference in male and female psychology, and presents evidence on gender-based brain types.
The Secret Family: Twenty-Four Hours Inside the Mysterious World of Our Minds and Bodies / by David Bodanis
(1997) State-of-the-art photography details the remarkable descriptions of physiological changes that occur during everyday events such as a diet, an argument, and a kiss, as it explores the effects of the outside world on our insides.
Out of Eden: An Odyssey of Ecological Invasion / by Alan Burdick
(2005) In this search for both scientific answers and ecological authenticity, the author tours the front lines of ecological invasion in the company of world-class scientists to explore the disparity between what is nature and what is natural.
Genes, Peoples, and Languages / by Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza
(2000) A distinguished expert in genetics offers an explanation and exploration of his lifelong research into humankind’s genetic heritage, discussing where humans evolved, how societies spread through the world, how languages develop, the nature of race, and much more.
The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal / by Jared Diamond
(1992) A renowned scientist examines the less than two percent of human genes that distinguish us from chimpanzees and that link human behaviors—such as genocide, drug addiction, and the extermination of other species—to our animal predecessors.
Blueprints: Solving the Mystery of Evolution / by Maitland A. Edey & Donald C. Johanson
(1989) Explores both the development of the science of evolution and the potentials of new technologies to change future evolution, as well as examining the implications of these developments.
Invisible Allies: Microbes That Shape Our Lives / by Jeanette Farrell
(2005) Relates the historical significance of using “friendly” microbes to preserve foods, our long-standing ambivalence about the microbes that live on and in us, and our growing understanding of their importance.
Invisible Enemies: Stories of Infectious Disease / by Jeanette Farrell
(2005) First published in 1998, here are the surprisingly fascinating stories of seven diseases that changed the course of human history—updated to reflect new medical and social developments on AIDS, malaria, and smallpox.
Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science / by John Fleischman
(2002) A fascinating exploration into how the brain works, this book details the strange case of Phineas Gage, who, in 1848, was injured at work when a thirteen-pound iron rod was shot through his brain, baffling scientists and doctors alike when he miraculously recovered but suffered a severe personality change.
Gorillas in the Mist / by Dian Fossey
(1983) Gorillas in the Mist is the riveting account of Dian Fossey’s thirteen years in a remote African rain forest with the greatest of the great apes. Fossey’s extraordinary efforts to ensure the future of the rain forest and its remaining mountain gorillas are captured in her own words and in candid photographs of this fascinating endangered species.
Animal Talk: Breaking the Codes of Animal Language / by Tim Friend
(2004) An authoritative study of the mysteries of animal communication draws on the latest scientific research and real-life animal stories to explain the diverse ways in which wild animals of various species communicate with one another.
Reflections of Eden: My Years With the Orangutans of Borneo / by Biruté M. F. Galdikas
(1995) An anthropologist chronicles more than two decades of fieldwork in the endangered rainforest habitats of the orangutans, presenting strong arguments for conservationism and noting the striking similarities between animal and human social behavior.
The Grail Bird: Hot on the Trail of the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker / by Tim Gallagher
(2005) An award-winning writer and photographer chases after the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, the “ghost bird” of the swamp, in this birder’s adventure story, reconstructing his search for a bird that was once declared extinct.
The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance / by Laurie Garrett
(1994) Based on research and interviews with experts in virology, molecular biology, disease ecology, and medicine, an exploration of our battles with microbes examines the current outbreak of infectious diseases and outlines what can be done to prevent the coming plague.
In the Shadow of Man / by Jane Goodall
(1971) A personal account of the author’s life among wild chimpanzees in Africa offers insight into animal behavior and draws parallels between chimpanzee and human relationships.
Through a Window: My Thirty Years With the Chimpanzees of Gombe / by Jane Goodall
(1990) In the sequel to In the Shadow of Man, Jane Goodall recounts the thirty years she spent in the company of chimpanzees and describes the dynamics of a chimpanzee family.
Animal Architects: Building and the Evolution of Intelligence / by James R. Gould & Carol Gould
(2007) Looks at why animals build, explores the building processes of a variety of species, and discusses how a study of animal building behavior can provide an understanding of the human mind.
The Book of Life: An Illustrated History of the Evolution of Life on Earth / by Stephen J. Gould, ed.
(2001) An updated new edition of the acclaimed illustrated natural history of the earth and its denizens combines paintings, drawings, and computer-generated images with a sweeping yet accessible chronicle of the world’s variegated organisms and species and of the complex story of survival and extinction that has marked the planet.
Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and Nature of History / by Stephen J. Gould
(1989) A story of the discovery of the Burgess shale fossils, some of the oldest known life forms on earth, and the surprise that these fossils show an increase in the diversity of arthropods, rather than the simpler fewer forms that one would expect.
From Lucy to Language / by Donald Johanson & Blake Edgar
(1996) Photographs of significant hominid fossils and artifacts illustrate an assessment of the visual proof of human evolution and the meaning of clues left by the forebears of the human race.
Lucy, the Beginnings of Humankind / by Donald Johanson
(1981) Johanson, the discoverer, in 1974, of “Lucy”—the oldest skeleton of an erect-walking human yet found—reports the story of his internationally acclaimed find and speculates on its meaning for the understanding of our origin.
Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus That Caused It / by Gina Bari Kolata
(1999) An acclaimed science reporter for The New York Times describes the great flu epidemic of 1918, an outbreak that killed some forty million people worldwide, and discusses the efforts of scientists and public health officials to understand and prevent another lethal pandemic.
The Origin of Humankind / by Richard Leakey
(1994) Discussing personal views on the evolution of the human species, the author of People of the Lake relates the distinctions that set humans apart from apes and explains how and why we developed social and cultural organizations.
The Sixth Extinction: Patterns of Life and the Future of Humankind / by Richard Leakey
(1995) Cites five previous mass extinctions on planet Earth while explaining that the human race may be the first to trigger its own destruction, as well as the destruction of nonhuman species, through irresponsible practices.
Symbiotic Planet: A New Look at Evolution / by Lynn Margulis
(1998) A visionary scientist proposes her theory that cooperation in nature has been as influential as competition in the evolution of life, presenting a case for the importance of symbiosis in the development of sex, movement, minds, and life on land.
What Is Life? / by Lynn Margulis & Dorion Sagan
(1995) A biologist and science writer span disciplines from astronomy to the history of science and encompasses germs and geometry as well as birds and bees.
What It Means To Be 98% Chimpanzee: Apes, People, and Their Genes / by Jonathan Marks
(2002) Focusing on the remarkable similarity between chimp and human DNA, the author explores the role of molecular genetics, anthropology, biology, and psychology in the human-ape relationship.
Reflections of Our Past: How Human History is Revealed In Our Genes / by John H. Relethford
(2003) An accessible examination of what the genes of people living today can tell us about the history of the human race demonstrates how anthropologists use genetic information to answer fundamental questions, from the links between humans and neanderthals to the way historical events have shaped us genetically.
The Brain / by Richard M. Restak
(1984) This lavishly illustrated companion to the PBS series examines the structure, functions, and mysteries of the human brain, addressing such specifics as consciousness, perception, the subconscious, learning, memory, and brain disorders.
Mozart’s Brain and the Fighter Pilot: Unleashing Your Brain’s Potential / by Richard M. Restak
(2001) Integrating the latest research into brain science and psychology, the noted neurologist introduces a practical program for enhancing one’s cognitive abilities, organizing thoughts and ideas, strengthening sensory capacities, and developing emotional memory.
The Mind at Night: The New Science of How and Why We Dream / by Andrea Rock
(2004) The history of the scientific knowledge about dreaming is traced from the beginning of dream research in the 1950s to the modern labs as intellectual breakthroughs are interpreted to reveal how dreams can play a crucial role in understanding consciousness.
Sleep and Dreaming / by Marvin Rosen
(2006) Describes the complex brain activity that causes dream formation during the physical state of sleep, and discusses topics including psychoanalytic theories, gender differences in dreams, and sleep disorders such as narcolepsy.
The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat and Other Clinical Tales / by Oliver Sacks
(1985) Presents a series of stories about men and women who, representing both medical and literary oddities, raise fundamental questions about the nature of reality.
The Demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark / by Carl Sagan
(1995) Explores the role of science in destroying prejudice and hysteria and in uncovering the truth about the world in which we live, refuting the argument that science destroys spirituality and explaining how scientific thinking safeguards democratic institutions.
Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors: A Search for Who We Are / by Carl Sagan & Ann Druyan
(1992) The best-selling authors of Cosmos investigate the origins of human life on Earth, reconstructing the links in the evolutionary chain from the primordial soup to early hominid ancestors.
Voyage of the Turtle: In Pursuit of the Earth’s Last Dinosaur / by Carl Safina
(2006) An award-winning naturalist offers a compelling study of the leatherback turtle and the impact of human influence on their survival, detailing the distressing decline of sea turtles in the Pacific, as well as their remarkable recovery in the Atlantic to illuminate how human intervention can both harm and preserve the natural world.
The Last Human: A Guide to Twenty-Two Species of Extinct Humans / by Esteban E. Sarmiento
(2007) Creates three-dimensional scientific reconstructions for twenty-two species of extinct humans, providing information for each one on its emergence, chronology, geographic range, classification, physiology, environment, habitat, cultural achievements, coexisting species, and possible reasons for extinction.
Your Inner Fish: A Journey Into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body / by Neil Shubin
(2008) Neil Shubin, a leading paleontologist and professor of anatomy who discovered Tiktaalik—the “missing link” that made headlines around the world in April 2006—tells the story of evolution by tracing the organs of the human body back millions of years, long before the first creatures walked the earth. By examining fossils and DNA, Shubin shows us that our hands actually resemble fish fins, our head is organized like that of a long-extinct jawless fish, and major parts of our genome look and function like those of worms and bacteria.
The Earth Moved: On the Remarkable Achievements of Earthworms / by Amy Stewart
(2005) The author of From the Ground Up introduces the earthworm, looking at its impact on the ecosystem and its amazing abilities to plough soil, fight plant diseases, and absorb dangerous pollutants.
The Monkey in the Mirror: Essays on the Science of What Makes Us Human / by Ian Tattersall
(2002) Filled with entertaining stories and scientific insight, a humorous and revelatory collection of essays takes readers around the world and transports them back in time, revealing what the science of human evolution is up against.
Six Modern Plagues And How We Are Causing Them / by Mark Jerome Walters
(2003) Discusses six new epidemics, exploring the connection between human changes to the natural environment and the appearance of West Nile virus, mad cow disease, HIV/AIDS, hantavirus, Lyme disease, a new strain of salmonella, and SARS.
The World Without Us / by Alan Weisman
(2007) A thought-provoking study of what would happen to Earth if the human presence was removed from the equation examines our short-term and long-term legacy for the planet, from the objects of today’s world that would vanish without human intervention to those that would become long-lasting remnants of humankind.
Darwin: A Life in Science / by Michael White & John Gribbin
(1995) Organized in alternating biographical and scientific chapters, a clear and highly readable account explains the influences that shaped Charles Darwin’s life and examines his legacy to science and culture.
The Diversity of Life / by Edward O. Wilson
(1999) The Pulitzer Prize-winning scientist and author reveals the diversity of life on the planet and the threat humankind poses to Earth’s rich variety of ecosystems and their inhabitants.
The Future of Life / by Edward O. Wilson
(2002) Presents an impassioned call for urgent action to save the Earth’s biological heritage, identifying essential species that are threatened with extinction while identifying ways they can be saved and exploring the importance of conservation.
Journey to the Ants: A Story of Scientific Exploration / by Edward O. Wilson & Bert Hölldobler
(1994) Combining autobiographical accounts with scientific lore, an in-depth study of the world of ants picks up where its Pulitzer Prize-winning precedent, The Ants, left off, describing the myrmecological society and its relevance to human existence.
Soul Made Flesh: The Discovery of the Brain—And How It Changed the World / by Carl Zimmer
(2004) A study of a momentous scientific breakthrough describes British physician Thomas Willis’s first examination of an intact human brain in 1663; the revolutionary discovery that the brain was the central organ that governed the human body, memory, reasoning, and emotion; and the influence of that discovery on modern science.