Best List of Gifts for Readers – Engaging Science Books

Years ago, Claire and I attended a lecture by E.O. Wilson.  I have two distinct memories of that evening:  First, I heard a lot of stories about Ted, Claire’s brother, who is a Wilson fan.  Second, I decided to take responsibility for my science ignorance (one can only blame bad teaching for so long), so I vowed to read at least one science book a year.  (I read Charles C. Mann’s 1491 as my science book for 2008.)

Claire and I asked our two favorite science experts to give us suggestions for engaging books that even the likes of me would enjoy reading.  I think I’m set for a decade. 

Bob Kahn spends his summers reading books about science, in fact, his coffee table is heaped with them (I know because I’ve had a hard time finding room for my coffee cup sometimes).  In the fall though, he is our true hero as he opens the exciting world of science for our teenagers as an 8th grade science teacher.  Bob was instrumental in developing a curriculum that asked the kids to think their way through the school year rather than passively absorb stacks of information,and for that, we’re very grateful.

The Double Helix:  A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA by James Watson – A science memoir by the co-discoverer (with Francis Crick) of the structure of DNA (they both won the Nobel Prize) that gives the reader a peek into real life science with all of it’s squabbles, melodrama and humanity.  It’s not a pristine world of spotless lab coats and gleaming beakers. 

The Sacred Depths of Nature by Ursula Goodenough – One scientist’s perspective on the dialogue between science and religion.  Through a series of meditations, the author explains various aspects of biology with a sense of the awe for the mysteries of nature.

The Demon Haunted World:  Science as a Candle in the Dark by Carl Sagan – Mr. Sagan’s last book is a call to use scientific thinking, wisdom and common sense to debunk pseudoscience including alien abduction, the Loch Ness monster, Roswell and area 51.  This approachable book popularizes science by encouraging critical thinking, science literacy, and curiosity about our world.

Madame Curie by Eve Curie (her daughter), translated by Vincent Sheean – Bob has raved about this book for years, he believes everyone should read it because Mme. Curie’s life was so full and enlightening.

The Beak of the Finch by Jonathan Weiner – A great introduction to evolutionary biology that shows how evolution is occurring now.  This Pulitzer prize winning book follows Rosemary and Peter Grant as they study the continuing evolution of the beaks of Darwin’s finches in the Galapagos Islands.

Cry of the Kalahari by Mark James Owens and Cordelia Dykes Owens – Two graduate students spend seven years in the Kalahari Desert studying wildlife.  This book will make you laugh and cry as you learn about drought, fire, lions and hyenas.

The Wild Trees by Richard Preston – This page turner gives the reader a view into a primordial world 350 feet up in the crowns of the world’s tallest trees.  The book explains the ecology of the floor and the canopy while interweaving personal stories of recreational tree climbers (including a wedding in the canopy) and the specialized equipment they use to sky walk.

The Hot Zone by Richard Preston – A non-fiction thriller about the Ebola virus spreading through laboratory monkeys in Virgina.  Mr. Preston gives the history of the Ebola virus and a description of how these filoviruses work.

Claire’s brother Ted is, as she likes to say, the east coast version of Bob Kahn: he, too, teaches 8th grade biology (as well as AP Bio) at the Friends Seminary in New York City.  His heart is in the cloud forest of Costa Rica, though, and he goes back to visit or spend a year whenever he can.  He’s a passionate environmentalist whose carbon footprint is about as small as a modern man’s can be and tends to be about five years ahead of the curve in figuring out what we should be doing to make the world a better place to live. 

Flight of the Iguana by David Quammen – Essays (originally magazine columns) on far-ranging topics.  (Claire’s note: I loved the one on black widow spider babies, which hatch in Quammen’s office.  He gets down to really look at them and says we should never kill anything without studying it and making an effort to connect to it first.)

Anything by Richard Dawkins – Best known in recent years for the splash he made with The God Dilemma, back in the 70′s he published a book that changed the way people looked at and discussed evolution, The Selfish Gene.

Biophilia by EO Wilson – A collection of essays by one of science’s most beautiful and engaging writers.  (Claire adds: a study of ants Ted did with Bert Holldobler back in college ended up referenced as a footnote in Holldobler and Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize winning book The Ants.  Cool, right?)

Beak of the Finchby Jonathan Weiner-  See discussion above, both Ted and Bob loved this book.

Kluge: The Haphazard Construction of the Human Mind by Gary Marcus – Kluge is an engineering term for a clumsily designed solution to a problem and Mr. Marcus argues that our brain is a patchwork design evolved from the experiences of the human past. 

 Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman! (Adventures of a Curious Character) by Richard P. Feynman and Ralph Leighton – a series of humorous stories about Richard Feynman, Nobel prize winner, physicist, and member of the Manhattan Project.  The underlying message is to continue to think critically, learn by understanding rather than rote and never give up on unsolvable problems.  (Kim decides:  This will be my 2009 science book.)