Taking Wing: Archaeopteryx and the Evolution of Bird Flight
A story of scientific discovery, debate, and drama. Explores the evolution of bird flight from the finding of First Bird in 1861 through to modern scientific theories and debate. Includes black & whit…
author: Pat Shipman
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by American Book Award
Tangled Wing: Biological Constaints on the Human Spirit
Discussion of the biological basis of human behavior and emotions, and a call for further work to understand the “raw materials of life” and how they impact human behavior so that society may shape i…
author: Melvin Konner

Technology Matters: Questions to Live With
David E. Nye explores the cultural and social impacts of technology and our relationship to it by asking ten central questions, each with a devoted chapter. Notes, bibliography, index.
author: David E. Nye
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by Lee Grodzins
Tenth Dimension – An Informal History of High Energy Physics
Written so that those with no specialized scientific knowledge can understand it, this book describes in outline both the history and science of the fields of elementary particle physics and cosmology…
author: Jeremy Bernstein
Terra – Our 100-Million-Year-Old Ecosystem and the Threats That Now Put it at Risk
Novacek combines evolutionary biology, paleontology and modern environmental science to show how all three can help us understand and prevent what he and others are calling today?s “mass extinction ev…
author: Michael Novacek
Thanking the Monkey – Rethinking the Way We Treat Animals
A well-researched overview of all the major issues in animal rights, past and present. Pets, fur, fashion, food, animal testing, activism and more are covered. Text includes photos, quotes and cartoon…
author: Karen Dawn
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by American Book Award, Science 1981
The Abyss of Time: Changing Conceptions of the Earth’s Antiquity after the Sixteenth Century
Beginning in the mid 1600’s, the author traces the successive changes in the perception of the earth’s age. He concentrates on the events foreshadowing or signaling changes, and on the prominent peopl…
author: Claude C. Albritton, Jr.

The Advent of the Algorithm: The Idea That Rules the World
The story of the search for and discovery of the algorithm… the language that drives computers.
author: David Berlinski
The Airplane: How Ideas Gave Us Wings
A former curator of the National Air and Space Museum, Spenser has written a wide-ranging history of aviation, expanding his scope beyond the Wright Brothers to include France, Germany and beyond. Ins…
author: Jay Spenser
The Amateur Naturalist
Inspired by Gerald and Lee Durrell’s 1982 classic, this new edition makes nature accessible to everyone. Bishop begins with the fundamentals of nature study: basic skills, equipment, and rules of co…
author: Nick Baker
The Ancestor’s Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution
A novel presentation of a comprehensive look at evolution. The reader is invited to journey back through time, four billion years, with forty stops along the way at which the reader meets a common anc…
author: Richard Dawkins
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction
The Ants
Discusses the importance of ants, their classification and origins, colony life cycle, behavior, and communication. Includes both black & white and color photographs.
author: Bert Hölldobler and Edward O. Wilson

Nominated to be a Cornerstone by American Scientist 100+ List, 1999
The Autobiography of Charles Darwin: 1809 – 1882
The complete and unexpurgated autobiography edited by Darwin’s granddaughter provides a look into Darwin’s mind, character, a personal account of his education, explorations of the natural world, his …
author: Charles Darwin, edited by Nora Barlow
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by 100+ List; Pulitzer Prize 1995
The Beak of the Finch
Weiner introduces us to the work of Peter and Rosemary Grant, evolutionary biologists who have spent the last 20 years on an island in the Galapagos studying the finches there. Because the islands ar…
author: Jonathan Weiner
The Beast in the Garden: A Modern Parable of Man and Nature
Explores the inceasing interactions between mountain lions and people along the urban interface in Boulder, Colorado.
author: David Baron
The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2006
The 2006 edition of this annual series. Series editor Tim Folger and editor Brian Greene bring together 25 diverse and fascinating articles by leading scientists and writers. Topics of interest to an…
author: Brian Greene, editor
The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2007
Contains 28 essays from 20 different periodicals. Articles range in topic from the farthest reaches of space to the everyday world around us to the secrets hidden in our own bodies. The mix of hard…
author: Richard Preston, editor

The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2008
The 2008 edition of this annual series. Series editor Tim Folger and editor Jerome Groopman, M.D. bring together 24 diverse and fascinating articles by leading scientists.
author: Jerome Groopman, M.D., editor
The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2009
Twenty-one articles from a wide assortment of scientific fields, chosen by editor Elizabeth Kolbert and series editor Tim Folger.
author: Elizabeth Kolbert, editor
The Best American Science and Nature Writing, 2004
The 2004 edition of an annual collection of essays by American science and nature writers. Topics include neuroscience, cloning, genetics, bird food myths and bird watching, and the qualities of intr…
author: Steven Pinker, editor Tim Folger series editor
The Best American Science and Nature Writing, 2005
The 2005 edition of the annual series. Includes essays on NASA and space expoloration, psychology, global warming, medicine and medical research, and a computer hacker.
author: Jonathan Weiner, editor & Tim Folger series editor
The Best American Science and Nature Writing, 2010
A collection of twenty-eight articles arranged under six headings: Visions of Space, Neurology Displacing Molecular Biology, Natural Beauty, The Environment: Gloom and Doom, The Environment: Small Ble…
author: Freeman Dyson, editor & Tim Folger, series ed.

The Best American Science Writing 2004
The 2004 edition, edited by Dava Sobel, of this annual compliation of essays by the best of American science writers. Topics include space flight, physics, medicine and organ transplants, dark matter,…
author: Dava Sobel, editor & Jesse Cohen series editor
The Best American Science Writing 2006
The 2006 edition of this annual series. Series editor Jesse Cohen and editor Atul Gawande bring together 21 diverse and fascinating articles by leading scientists. Topics of interest to and accessib…
author: Atul Gawande, editor
The Best American Science Writing 2007
Twenty essays from notable authors selected as the best picks of 2007 by Gina Kolata, award winning science and medicine reporter for the New York Times and author of “Flu: The Story of the Great Infl…
author: Gina Kolata, editor
The Best American Science Writing 2008
The 2008 edition of this annual series. Nineteen articles on diverse scientific topics, chosen by edicot Sylvia Nasar and series editor Jesse Cohen.
author: Sylvia Nasar, editor; Jesse Cohen, series editor
The Best American Science Writing 2009
This year’s edition contains 24 essays on contemporary science issues, written by new as well as established authors. Topics include animal language and intelligence, evolutionary biology, computer sc…
author: Jesse Cohen, series editor

The Best American Science Writing, 2005
Twenty-six essays from notable authors selected by Alan Lightman, author, physicist, and MIT professor of humanities, as his best picks of 2005. Authors include Diane Ackerman, Natalie Angier, K.C. Co…
author: Alan Lightman, editor
The Best American Science Writing, 2010
A collection of twenty-two articles spanning topic areas of astronomy, botany, environmental health, evolution, health & wellness, and psychology. Contributing authors include Pam Belluck, Cornelia De…
author: Jerome Groopman, editor / Jesse Cohen, series ed.
The Big Book of Brain Games – 1000 PlayThinks of Art, Mathematics & Science
A revised and updated version of Moscovich’s earlier compilation of challenges, puzzles, riddles, and illusions. Full-color illustration for each entry. Twelve basic categories include Geometry, Patte…
author: Ivan Moscovich
The Big Splat; or, How Our Moon Came to Be
An historical and scientific account about how the Moon came to be. Includes black & white phots and illustrations.
author: Dana Mackenzie
The Biotech Century: Harnessing the Gene and Remaking the World
An illumination of the real and potential benefits and dangers of the products of biotechnology and a discussion of the ethical questions that will have to be answered.
author: Jeremy Rifkin

The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe Without Design
Considered by scientists and non-scientists as a classic read about evolution, it is very accessible, intriguing, and written in clear language. Illustrations and diagrams in black & white.
author: Richard Dawkins
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by National Book Award - Science 1972
The Blue Whale
An historical account of the ignorance and indifference that led to the slaughter and almost extinction of the Blue Whale. A classic case study of the exploitation of natural resources.
author: George L. Small
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by National Book Award - Science 1971
The Body Has a Head
An owners manual to the human body – a thorough discussion of the organ systems and how they work and what happens when things go wrong. Also an historical account of the study of the human body.
author: Gustav Eckstein
The Book of Nothing: Vacuums, Voids, and the Latest Ideas About the Origins of the Universe
Barrow explores the latest theories about the origin of the universe. (year. published, 2000)
author: John D. Barrow
The Botany of Desire – A Plant’s-Eye View of the World [DVD]
This PBS documentary, narrated by Frances McDormand and featuring author Michael Pollan, is based on the best-selling book of the same title. It explores the human relationship with the plant world, f…
author: PBS

The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye View of the World
Pollan explores the relationship between humans and four different plants: apples, tulips, marijuana, and potatoes. The cultural significance of each is explored, in addition to the history of manipul…
author: Michael Pollan
The Bumper Book of Nature – A User’s Guide to the Great Outdoors
Concerned about the lack of connection to the natural world for many of today’s children, Moss has written a fun, user-friendly guide to enjoying the out-of-doors. Divided into sections for each of th…
author: Stephen Moss
The Calculus Gallery: Masterpieces from Newton to Lebesgue
An historical account following three centuries of change in mathematics through thirteen mathematicians whose ideas evolved to become what we know today as calculus, the gateway to higher mathematics…
author: William Dunham
The Canon – A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science
The first three chapters (on scientific thinking, probability, and measurement) give the reader a good foundation for understanding the later chapters, which tackle the realms of physics, chemistry, e…
author: Natalie Angier
The Cartoon Guide to Chemistry
Using clear, funny illustrations/cartoons and text, the history and basics of such topics as chemistry, atomic theory, combustion, solubility, the mole, entropy, and more are explained. Gonick has al…
author: Larry Gonick, Craig Criddle

Nominated to be a Cornerstone by Lee Grodzins
The Chemical History of a Candle: Six Lectures by Michael Faraday
Six lectures by Michael Faraday – 1. A Candle: The Flame, its sources, structure, mobility, brightness – 2. A Candle: Brightness of the flame, air necessary for combustion, production of water – 3. Pr…
author: Michael Faraday, in Harvard Classics series # 30
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by National Bk. Award, Science 1967
The Closing Circle: Nature, Man & Technology
Case studies of the pollution of our air, water, soil, and even our genes, and a call to change the way we use technologies and manage economies.
author: Barry Commoner
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by LA Times Science nominee 1999
The Code Book: The Evolution of Secrecy from Mary Queen of Scots to Quantum Cryptography
The vivd telling of the history of codes from the ancient Greeks to modern computer science, and the story of treasures, treasure hunters, and the power of codes, or their breaking, to alter history.
author: Simon Singh
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by National Book Award; Barry Logan
The Control of Nature
A book about places in the world where people have been engaged in all-out battles with nature in order to preserve and protect a way of life or an area of terrain. Controlling the flow of the Mississ…
author: John McPhee
The Curious Life of Robert Hooke – The Man Who Measured London
Engaging biography of Robert Hooke, a 17th century engineer, surveyor, architect and inventor who was appointed London?s Chief Surveyor after the Great Fire of 1666. Although Hooke and his works are l…
author: Lisa Jardine

The Curve of Binding Energy: A Journey into the Awesome and Alarming World of Theodore B. Taylor
Biography of theoretical physicist, Theodore B. Taylor, his work with the development of the atomic bomb, nuclear energy, and nuclear security.
author: John McPhee
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by American Book Award, Science 1980
The Dancing Wu Li Masters – An Overview of the New Physics
A book for those curious about the new discoveries in advanced physics but who have no scientific background. Written in clear language with no mathematical equations, it explores quantum mechanics, …
author: Gary Zukav
The Deep – The Extraordinary Creatures of the Abyss
Over 200 color photos of deep-sea creatures give this book a stunning realism. Text by some of the most respected researchers examines the biology of deep-sea organisms, the ecology of deep-sea habit…
author: Claire Nouvian, editor
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by LA Times - Science 1997, Barry Logan
The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
Through personal account and tales of discovery Carl Sagan shows how scientific thinking is necessary to debunk pseudoscience, and safeguard democratic institutions and technical civilizations.
author: Carl Sagan
The Discoveries: Great Breakthroughs in 20th Century Science, Including the Original Papers
The 20th century saw breakthroughs in every field of science that profoundly changed the way we understand the world and our place in it. Lightman chooses 22 of these discoveries and profiles the sci…
author: Alan Lightman

The Discovery of Global Warming
A history of the scientific and political obstacles, the conflicts and mistakes, that led up to the discovery of global warming and its impact on the Earth’s future.
author: Spencer R. Weart
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by NBCC, Non-fiction 1992; LA Times, Science 1993
The Diversity of Life
Pulitzer Prize-winning author E.O. Wilson?s account of how the living world became diverse and how humans are destroying that diversity. Wilson recounts the five enormous natural blows to the planet …
author: Edward O. Wilson
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by National Book Award, Science 1969; Lee Grodzins
The Double Helix – A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA
James Watson’s account of the events leading to the solution of the structure of DNA in the early 1950’s. More than just a recounting of the scientific discoveries involved, it is a story of human in…
author: James D. Watson
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by Pulitzer: nonfiction 1978, NBCC 1978
The Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence
An overview of the evolution of human intelligence from prehistoric to the present with an explanation how the brain developed and functions. Also discusses the future evolution of the human brain and…
author: Carl Sagan
The Dying of Enoch Wallace: Life, Death, and the Changing Brain
A fascinating history of modern neuroscience with accounts of discovery. Delves into the mysteries of the brain, how it is shaped by both genetics and experience; ever-changing and complex.
author: Ira B. Black, MD

Nominated to be a Cornerstone by LA Times 1997
The Dying of the Trees: The Pandemic in America’s Forests
Through exploration of America’s forests and discussions with scientists, foresters, citizens, and government officials, Little recounts the history of the demise of America’s forests and the efforts …
author: Charles E. Little
The Echidna – Australia’s Enigma
A wealth of information about the echidna, a creature native to Australia and New Guinea that has a combination of mammalian and reptilian traits and about which much is still being discovered. Over …
author: Dr. Peggy Rismiller
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by Lee Grodzins
The Edge of the Sea
Considered a classic, Rachel Carson’s look at the life within the intertidal zone, one of the most harsh ocean environments, the rocky shores, sandy beaches and tide pools. Black and white illustratio…
author: Rachel Carson
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by Aventis Prize 2000, Phi Beta Kappa Award 1999
The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory
An inviting explanation for the lay reader of string theory, the first theory that successfully unites general relativity and quantum mechanics.
author: Brian Greene
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by Aventis Prize; Phi Beta Kappa Award
The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory (DVD)
An inviting explanation for the lay person interested in string theory, the first theory that successfully unites general relativity and quantum mechanics.
author: NOVA

The Elements – A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe
A color photo of every element in the universe, along with the story of its discovery, applications, and essential scientific data including atomic weight, atomic radius, a crystal structure diagram, …
author: Theodore Gray
The Emperor of Scent: A Story of Perfume, Obsession, and the Last Mystery of the Senses
The engrossing and entertaining story of Luca Turin’s quest to solve the mystery of how sense of smell works.
author: Chandler Burr
The Empty Ocean: Plundering the World’s Marine Life
An historical account of the lives, demise , and in some cases the conservation and re-population, of the fishes, turtles, pelagic birds, marine mammals and coral reefs of the oceans. A natural histor…
author: Richard Ellis
The Eternal Darkness: A Personal History of Deep Sea Exploration
Ballard’s own account of his exploration of the ocean depths and discovery of ancient treasures. Includes color and black & white photographs.
author: Robert D. Ballard with Will Hively
The Eternal Frontier: An Ecological History of North America and its Peoples
An insightful and compelling mix of the history and science of North America, from its birth as a continent to today. Includes the natural history of elephants, giant pigs and other amazing animals th…
author: Tim Flannery

The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality
An accessible tour of the universe with a focus on time and its relationship to space. Greene explores many questions including, Can we travel to the past? Why does time have a direction? Does time fl…
author: Brian Greene
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by American Book Award 1983
The Fate of the Earth
Schell defines the predicament of nuclear warfare and describes what a full-scale nuclear holocaust would do to Earth, including the extinction of humans.
author: Jonathan Schell
The Feeling of What Happens: Body and Emotion in the Making of Consciousness
A look into the mystery of consciousness, exploring both neurological and emotional elements. Damasio shows how ?consciousness is the key to a life examined, our beginner?s permit to the experiences t…
author: Antonio R. Damasio
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by Lee Grodzins
The Feynman Lectures on Physics: Volumes I – III
Three volumes based upon a course of introductory physics taught by Richard Feynman at Caltech in the early 1960’s. Volume I focuses on mechanics, radiation and heat; Volume II on electromagnetism and…
author: Richard P. Feynman, Robert B. Leighton, Matthew Sa
The Films of Charles and Ray Eames (DVD)
Volume 1 – Powers of Ten: An adventure in magnitudes, from without and within. Journey from a picnic in Chicago to the outer edges of the universe and back again. Also included is the original 1968 …
author: Charles Eames, Ray Eames

The First Scientific American – Benjamin Franklin and the Pursuit of Genius
A biography of Benjamin Franklin that focuses on his scientific achievements and contributions, and how his success in the physical sciences led to his role as politician and statesman. Black and whit…
author: Joyce E. Chaplin
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by Lee Grodzins
The First Three Minutes – A Modern View of the Origin of the Universe
First published in 1977, Weinberg?s book was ?written for one who is willing to puzzle through some detailed arguments, but who is not at home in either mathematics or physics.? Written a decade aft…
author: Steven Weinberg
The Fly in the Cathedral: How a Group of Cambridge Scientists Won the International Race to Split the Atom
Written for the non-scientist by London author, former reporter and self-acclaimed non-scientist Brian Cathcart, “The Fly in the Cathedral” is an accessible account of the lives and work of the scient…
author: Brian Cathcart
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by Staff, LA Times, Science 1997
The Forgotten Pollinators
A beautiful story of the relationship between plants and their pollinators and a reminder of the interconnectedness of all life.
author: Stephen L. Buchmann & Gary Paul Nabhan
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by Lee Grodzins
The Fragile Species
A collection of essays about medicine, microbes, language, and humans among others, that all point to the conclusion that cooperation and communication are key to our survival.
author: Lewis Thomas

Nominated to be a Cornerstone by Walter Rosen
The Future of Life
From the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author comes a book that is both a loving description of our biosphere and all its diversity, and a call for quick, decisive action to save it. With our plane…
author: Edward O. Wilson
The Great Brain Book – An Inside Look At the Inside of Your Head
Explores the history of brain science and how it has grown and changed. The different parts of the brain and their functions are explained, as well as how you learn and remember, how you can train yo…
author: HP Newquist
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by The National Academies Communication Awards
The Great Influenza – The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History
History of the 1918 influenza epidemic, the scientists who worked to find a cure, and how the practice of medicine was revolutionized. Also the story of how the war against the epidemic was imposed u…
author: John M. Barry
The Great Warming: Climate Change and the Rise and Fall of Civilizations
From the Inuit to the Norse, the Polynesians to the Western Europeans, the Mayans and people of Chaco Canyon, they have all felt the impacts of climate change – here illuminated by anthropologist and …
author: Brian Fagan
The Heat is On: The Climate Crisis, the Cover-up, the Prescription (The High Stakes Battle Over Earth’s Threatened Climate)
A passionate and candid account of the science and politics of the global warming debate.
author: Ross Gelbspan

Nominated to be a Cornerstone by 100+ List
The Hot Zone – A Terrifying True Story
Describes the Ebola virus outbreak in a suburban Washington, D.C. laboratory in 1989 and the dangerous, unprecedented attempts to contain it. Also explores how the destruction of tropical wildernesse…
author: Richard Preston
The Hunt for the Dawn Monkey: Unearthing the Origins of Monkeys, Apes, and Humans
A journey back 45 million years into our evolutionary roots and a reconstruction of humans’ extended family tree.
author: Chris Beard
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by Lee Grodzins
The Illustrated Longitude
This illustrated version contains the entire original narrative of Longitude, accompanied by 178 images, from portraits of key figures, to maps, diagrams and photographs of scientific instruments invo…
author: Dava Sobel and William J.H. Andrewes
The Incredible Journey of the Butterflies (DVD)
NOVA flies along with the monarchs on their incredible 2000-mile journey across North America, documenting the dangers they face along the way. Interviews with scientists studying this amazing feat of…
author: NOVA
The Insect Societies
Covers the classification, evolution, anatomy, physiology, and behavior of the higher social insects ? ants, social wasps and bees, and termites. As Wilson writes in the introduction, ?Why do we stud…
author: Edward O. Wilson

The Invention of Clouds: How an Amateur Meteorologist Forged the Language of the Skies
The story of Luke Howard, an amateur English meteorologist who named the clouds in 1802 (cumulus, cirrus, stratus) and gained international fame. Combines the history of science with an entertaining …
author: Richard Hamblyn
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by Lee Grodzins
The Invention that Changed the World
How a small group of British and American radar pioneers won the second world war and launched a technological revolution.
author: Robert Buderi
The Joy of Science (DVD)
Professor Robert M. Hazen, an advocate of science education for non-scientists, gives 60 engaging thirty-minute lectures that explore the fundamental discoveries and principles of all the physical and…
author: The Teaching Company
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by 100+ List; Pulitzer 1997: LA Times, Science 1998
The Language Instinct – How the Mind Creates Language
One of the world?s leading scientists of language and the mind, Pinker has written a book that explains many of our questions about language: how it works, how children learn it, how it changes, how …
author: Steven Pinker
The Last Human – A Guide to Twenty-Two Species of Extinct Humans
The first opportunity to meet our extinct human ancestors face-to-face, through life-size reconstructions and detailed descriptions. Beginning in Africa six to seven-million years ago, this book tells…
author: G.J. Sawyer, Esteban Sarmiento, Richard Milner

The Least of These: Wild Baby Bird Rescue Stories
Each chapter is an inspiring short story about someone who took action to help a young bird. Accompanied by stunning illustrations by the author and natural history information. Includes: Sharp-shinne…
author: Joan Harris
The Life and Death of Planet Earth – How the New Science of Astrobiology Charts the Ultimate Fate of Our World
The authors bring together findings from different scientific fields to predict what the earth’s climate, and thus the earth, will look like in a few thousand years. They draw an analogy between the p…
author: Peter D. Ward, Donald Brownlee
The Life of Birds (DVD)
Originally released in 1998 as a television series of ten episodes. David Attenborough journeys across seven continents filming thousands of species of birds, revealing their patterns of behavior.
author: David Attenborough
The Life of Mammals (DVD)
Introduces us to the most diverse group of animals ever to live on this planet. From the smallest to the largest, from the slowest to the fastest, from the least attractive to the most irresistible. L…
author: David Attenborough
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by Walter Rosen
The Limits to Growth
In 1970, an international team of researchers at MIT began a study of the implications of continued worldwide growth, looking at five basic factors: population increase, agricultural production, non-r…
author: Donella Meadows, Dennis Meadows, J. Randers

The Limits to Growth: The 30-Year Update
In 1972 the original Limits to Growth was published, to worldwide notice and acclaim. Using a computer model, the authors looked toward the future and sounded an alarm about the consequences of unche…
author: Donella Meadows, Jorgen Randers, Dennis Meadows
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by 100 plus list, National Book Award 1975
The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher
This collection of essays won the National Book Award in 1975 and continues to find meaning today. Includes discussion of computers, probability and possibility, the technology of medicine, the Earth…
author: Lewis Thomas
The Lunar Men: Five Friends Whose Curiosity Changed the World
A look inside the world of the scientists, artists and inventors who ushered in the Industrial Revolution.
author: Jenny Uglow
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by 100+ List, Pulitzer Prize 1988, Nationl Bk Aw 1997
The Making of the Atomic Bomb
Tells the story of how the bomb was developed, from the discovery of the energy inside an atom, to the first bombs dropped on Japan. A thorough treatment, looked at from the human, political, and sci…
author: Richard Rhodes
The Making of the Fittest: DNA and the Ultimate Forensic Record of Evolution
Describes how scientists are using DNA as a living record of evolution and their surprising findings.
author: Sean B. Carroll

The Man Who Changed How Boys and Toys Were Made
Chronicles the life of A.C. Gilbert, a man who never lost his boy-at-heart, and was the inventor of the Erector Sets, as well as an Olympic pole-vaulter, magician, doctor, marketing genius, and radio …
author: Bruce Watson
The Man Who Loved Only Numbers: The Story of Paul Erdös and the Search for Mathematical Truth
An engaging biography of the eccentric , homeless, and brilliant mathematician Paul Erdös, who travelled the world in pursuit of his love of numbers.
author: Paul Hoffman
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by American Bk. Award Science 1983
The Mathematical Experience
The language of mathematics is the language of the universe, and here it is described – its purpose, nature, meaning, and its impact on the sciences and other fields. Includes a glossary and bibliogra…
author: Philip J. Davis & Reuben Hersh
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by Pulitzer 1980, American Book Award 1981
The Medusa and the Snail: More Notes of a Biology Watcher
Pultizer Prize winning collection of essays which includes thoughts about committees, natural death, the health-care system, premedical curriculum, and embryology.
author: Lewis Thomas
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by National Book Critics Circle Award 1982
The Mismeasure of Man
A history of man’s urge to classify and determine the intelligence of his fellow man, from craniometry to IQ tests, and the consequences of such pigeonholing. Includes black & white illustrations.
author: Stephen Jay Gould

The Monkey in the Mirror – Essays on the Science of What Makes us Human
Eight essays on evolutionary theory in which the author attempts to answer the most controversial questions on human origin – what makes us different from all other species, and how did we get this wa…
author: Ian Tattersall
The Nesting Season: Cuckoos, Cuckolds, and the Invention of Monogamy
An exploration of the complex courtship, mating rituals, and parenting behavior of wild birds. Includes species accounts from around the world and Heinrich’s New England home. Through the description …
author: Bernd Heinrich
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by Morrison Review
The New Way Things Work
A thorough and engaging book which introduces and explains the scientific principles and workings of hundreds of machines. This updated and expanded edition describes 12 new machines and includes mor…
author: David Macaulay
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by Lee Grodzins
The Origin of Species
The landmark work that set forth Darwin’s theory of evolution and natural selection. Based largely on the observations from his five year voyage on the HMS Beagle, the book challenged the beliefs of …
author: Charles Darwin
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by Lee Grodzins
The Panda’s Thumb: More Reflections in Natural History
A collection of essays on natural history. Topics include: The Panda’s Thumb; Darwin and Natural Selection; Human Evolution; Science and Politics of Human Differences; The Pace of Change; Early Life; …
author: Stephen Jay Gould

Nominated to be a Cornerstone by Morrison 100-plus list, LA Times
The Periodic Table
An unusual story that interweaves the life experience of Italian chemist Primo Levy with twenty-one elements of the periodic table.
author: Primo Levi
The Planets
In a series of short essay-style chapters, Sobel intertwines her long-standing interest (from the age of eight) and love of the planets with science, geology, mineralogy, history, mythology, astrology…
author: Dava Sobel
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by Lee Grodzins
The Pleasure of Finding Things Out: The Best Short Works of Richard P. Feynman
A collection of essays: The pleasure of finding things out — Computing machines in the future — Los Alamos from below — What is and what should be the role of scientific culture in modern society -…
author: Richard P. Feynman with forward by Freeman Dyson
The Privilege of Being a Physicist
A collection of essays by the elder statesman of physics, Victor Weisskopf. Includes his thoughts on teaching science, art and science, science and society, science and culture, the frontiers and limi…
author: Victor F. Weisskopf
The Race to Save the Lord God Bird
A story sweeping 200 years of history including artists, specimen collectors, lumber barons, plume hunters, pioneering biologists, and the parts they all played in the Ivory-billed Woodpecker’s presum…
author: Phillip Hoose

The Riddle of the Dinosaur
Updated theories about dinosaurs based on new evidence. Also a history of paleontologists search to unearth the natural history of the dinosaurs.Includes 34 black & white illustrations and 7 full-colo…
author: John Noble Wilford
The Riemann Hypothesis: The Greatest Unsolved Problem in Mathematics
The story of the search for the proof of the Riemann Hypothesis, for which the Clay Institute put up a $1 million prize in 2001, and of the mathematicians who have worked to solve it. Also a rare inti…
author: Karl Sabbagh
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by LA Times science nominee 2000
The River: A Journey to the Source of HIV and AIDS
An engaging scientific detective story into the origin of the AIDS epidemic.
author: Edward Hooper
The Scent of Desire – Discovering Our Enigmatic Sense of Smell
An interesting and informative look at our sense of smell and how it affects our physical and emotional well-being. Herz, a leading expert on the psychology of smell, explains how smell functions, wha…
author: Rachel Herz
The Science Explorer Out and About – Fantastic Science Experiments Your Family Can Do Anywhere!
Full of awesome science experiments for young people and their parents from the Exploratorium, San Francisco’s hands-on science museum. Grow crystals, write in code, create pictures and plays with sh…
author: Pat Murphy, Ellen Klages, Linda Shore

Nominated to be a Cornerstone by Lee Grodzins
The Sea Around Us
A naturalist’s account of the beginnings of the sea and its life zones, to the tides, and the scientific undersea exploration of the oceans that was first ignited by WWII. Includes black & white pho…
author: Rachel L. Carson
The Secret Family: Twenty-four Hours Inside the Mysterious World of Our Minds and Bodies
Amazing photos and illuminating text describe the inner workings and micro-visitors of a family on a typical day.
author: David Bodanis
The Selfish Gene
A beautifully written account of genetics. Clear, concise, rewarding to both the scientist and non-scientist.
author: Richard Dawkins
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by Lee Grodzins
The Sense of Wonder
A beautiful combination of text and photographs that was inspired by Carson?s grandnephew, whom she raised from an infant. Originally published in a magazine under the title ?Help Your Child to Wonde…
author: Rachel Carson
The Sibley Guide to Birds
Beautifully illustrated guide to the birds of North America. A National Audubon Society book.
author: David Allen Sibley

The Silent Landscape: The Scientific Voyage of the HMS Challenger
A captivating account of the 1872 voyage of the HMS Challenger to map the ocean floor. Filled with adventure, mishap, and pioneering discoveries.
author: Richard Corfield
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by 100+ List
The Society of Mind
Minsky,co-founder of the Artificial Intelligence Lab at MIT, sees the mind as a ?society? of tiny components that are themselves mindless. This book of 270 one-page essays builds on itself, each page…
author: Marvin Minsky
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by Pulitzer Prize 1982, American Book Award 1981
The Soul of a New Machine
Pulitzer Prize winning investigative story of the inner workings of Data General Corporation’s research team of young computer wizards who were slated with the task of creating the fastest computer in…
author: Tracy Kidder
The Story of Science – Einstein Adds a New Dimension
Though it sometimes seems like scientific knowledge just comes fully formed, Hakim?s book explores that hard-won knowledge ? how anyone ever figured it out, and even why anyone was wondering about it …
author: Joy Hakim
The Story of Writing: Alphabets, Hieroglyphs & Pictograms
Examines the major writing systems of the world and the interconnection between sound, symbol and script. Includes over 350 illustrations, 50 in color.
author: Andrew Robinson

Nominated to be a Cornerstone by Lee Grodzins
The Strangest Man – The Hidden Life of Paul Dirac, Mystic of the Atom
Paul Dirac was among the great scientific geniuses of the modern age. One of the discoverers of quantum mechanics, one of Einstein’s most admired colleagues, Dirac was in 1933 the youngest theoreticia…
author: Graham Farmelo
The Strongest Boy in the World – How Genetic Information is Reshaping Our Lives
Reilly, a physician, geneticist and lawyer, presents twenty fascinating stories in his book that explore the possible impacts of genetics on the longevity and fitness of humans, the treatment of disea…
author: Philip R. Reilly
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
An historical and philosphical look at the emergence of new scientific theories and discoveries. Written as an essay, the author’s objective is to “urge a change in the perception and evaluation of fa…
author: Thomas S. Kuhn
The Surprising Archaea: Discovering Another Domain of Life
A fascinating account of the discovery of the bacteria-evolved extemophiles, archaea.
author: John L. Howland
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by American Book Award
The Tangled Wing: Biological Constaints on the Human Spirit
Discussion of the biological basis of human behavior and emotions, and a call for further work to understand the “raw materials of life” and how they impact human behavior so that society may shape i…
author: Melvin Konner

Nominated to be a Cornerstone by Lee Grodzins
The Tenth Dimension – An Informal History of High Energy Physics
Written so that those with no specialized scientific knowledge can understand it, this book describes in outline both the history and science of the fields of elementary particle physics and cosmology…
author: Jeremy Bernstein
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by American Book Award 1980
The Thin Edge: Coast and Man in Crisis
Explores coastal ecosystems and the costs tof their degradation to both the environment and humans.
author: Anne W. Simon
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by Morrison 100-plus list
The Two Cultures: and A Second Look
An exploration of the lack of communication and polarization of attitudes that exists between scientists and non-scientists.
author: C.P. Snow
The Two-Mile Time Machine: Ice Cores, Abrupt Climate Change, and Our Future
The history of ice cores and what they tell about the climate and environment.
author: Richard B. Alley
The Universe in a Nutshell
An accessible, thought -provoking, and wonderfully illustrated sequel to A Brief History of Time. A continuation of that journey, with Hawking’s as guide, to unlock the secrets of the universe. Inclu…
author: Stephen Hawking

The Variety of Life: A Survey and a Celebration of All the Creatures That Have Ever Lived
An illustrated introduction to the classification of organisms.
author: Colin Tudge
The View from Lazy Point
From the author’s website: In this intertwined story , Carl Safina shows us that nature and human dignity require each other. The View from Lazy Point follows the arc of the seasons from Carl Safina?s…
author: Carl Safina
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by Lee Grodzins
The Visual Display of Quantitative Information
A guide to creating accurate and excellent graphics in support of quantitative information.
author: Edward R. Tufte
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by Lee Grodzins
The Voyage of the Beagle
The day-to-day record of a young Charles Darwin, his observations and thoughts, while aboard the Beagle during its scientific exploration of South America.
author: Charles Darwin
The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks, and Giants of the Ocean
A gripping account of the largest ocean waves ever documented and the scientists and extreme surfers who chase them. An SOS by a British research vessel trapped in the North Atlantic by gigantic waves…
author: Susan Casey

The Well-Dressed Ape: A Natural History of Myself
Engaging and informative, Holmes’ book compares and contrasts the biology and behavior of humans with that of other creatures. With chapter headings including “Blind as a Bat (Perception)”, “Loose as …
author: Hannah Holmes
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by LA Times Book Prize for Science & Technology 2004
The Whale and the Supercomputer – On the Northern Front of Climate Change
Climate change has altered the way of life for Native people of the Arctic who live off the land and sea. It has also lured scientists north to study and try and understand the process of global warm…
author: Charles Wohlforth
The White Death – A History of Tuberculosis
An engrossing account of the complex social, artistic, and natural history of turberculosis, as well as a chronicle of the medical profession as it struggled to deal with this ever-present killer. Inc…
author: Thomas Dormandy
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by American Scientist 100+ List 1999
The Whole Shebang: A State of the Universe(s) Report
Tells the story of the creation and evolution of the universe and the state of modern cosmology.
author: Timothy Ferris
The Wisdom of the Bones: In Search of Human Origins
A firsthand account of Walker’s discovery of the best specimen of Homo erectus, the evolutionary link between primates and humans, an his investigation of the nature of the species.
author: Alan Walker & Pat Shipman

The Work of Nature: How the Diversity of Life Sustains Us
An exploration of the importance of biological diversity to the survival of all life.
author: Yvonne Baskin
The World Through Maps: A History of Cartography
A history of maps and mapmakers from around the world and through time; includes cultural attitudes, scientific development, and colonization. Includes hundreds of stunning color illustrations & repro…
author: John Rennie Short
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by Lee Grodzins
The Youngest Science: Notes of a Medicine-Watcher
A collection of essays about the nature of the field of medicine and our future.
author: Lewis Thomas
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by American Book Award 1980
Thin Edge: Coast and Man in Crisis
Explores coastal ecosystems and the costs tof their degradation to both the environment and humans.
author: Anne W. Simon
This is Your Brain on Music – The Science of a Human Obsession
After explaining the elements of music – pitch, rhythm, tempo, timbre, harmony and melody -Levitin explores the perception of music in the human brain. How do humans experience music and why does it p…
author: Daniel Levitin

Nominated to be a Cornerstone by Lee Grodzins
Three Degrees Above Zero: Bell Labs in the Information Age
An account of the great scientific achievements of the Bell Labs, and the people that produced them, prior to the government-ordered divestiture. Includes: computers and computation, solid-state phys…
author: Jeremy Bernstein
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by National Book Critics Circle Award
Time, Love, Memory – A Great Biologist and His Quest for the Origins of Behavior
Profiles biologist Seymour Benzer, whose early work on the gene helped transform biological research. Breeding mutant fruit flies to study the link between genes and behavior, Benzer has shown that …
author: Jonathan Weiner
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by NBCC Nonfiction 1982
Time’s Arrow, Time’s Cycle: Myth and Metaphor in the Discovery of Geologic Time
Gould shows how metaphor influenced the discovery of deep time more than the empirical observation of rocks in the field.
author: Stephen Jay Gould
Tinkering with Eden: A Natural History of Exotics in America
Decribes the introduction and impact of non-native species in the United States. Includes, among others, the fascinating stories of the honeybee, starling, ladybug, sea lamprey and reindeer.
author: Kim Todd
Touch the Sun – A NASA Braille Book
Companion to Grice’s Touch the Universe, this book once again pairs color photographs with tactile renderings of the images. Text in Braille and print. “Visually impaired astronomers ? whether exper…
author: Noreen Grice

Touch the Universe – A NASA Braille Book of Astronomy
Combines Braille and large-print captions with 14 pages of photos from the Hubble Space Telescope (photos are raised/embossed). Photos begin with Earth and proceed through the solar system, ending wi…
author: Noreen Grice
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by Morrison 100-plus list
Two Cultures: and A Second Look
An exploration of the lack of communication and polarization of attitudes that exists between scientists and non-scientists.
author: C.P. Snow
Two-Mile Time Machine: Ice Cores, Abrupt Climate Change, and Our Future
The history of ice cores and what they tell about the climate and environment.
author: Richard B. Alley
Tycho & Kepler: The Unlikely Partnership that Forever Changed Our Understanding of the Heavens
The story of 16th century astronomer Tycho Brahe and his assistant Johannes Kepler. Though Tycho?s system of the universe maintained that the earth stood still, and Kepler believed Copernicus?s revo…
author: Kitty Ferguson