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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
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
Can’t Remember What I Forgot – The Good News From the Front Lines of Memory Research
Halpern spent years in the company of neuroscientists, pharmacologists, psychologist, nutritionists and inventors to gather the most current scientific and medical research about memory, Alzheimer’s d…
author: Sue Halpern
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
Caterpillars in the Field and Garden – A Field Guide to the Butterfly Caterpillars of North America
A field guide of butterfly caterpillars with color photographs. Begins with information on finding and identifying caterpillars, butterfly biology, gardening for butterflies, and raising butterfly ca…
author: Thomas J. Allen, Jim P. Brock, Jeffrey Glassberg

Nominated to be a Cornerstone by 100+ List
Chance & Necessity
Considered profoundly radical at the time of its publication in 1971, this book by Nobel laureate Jacques Monod argues that objective scientific knowledge is the only knowledge we can rely on. He den…
author: Jacques Monod
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by National Bk. Award 1987, LA Times 1988
Chaos: Making a New Science
A collection of essays that trace the birth and development of the chaos theory. Includes color and black & white photos and illustrations. Essay Titles: The Butterfly Effect; revolution; Life’s Ups a…
author: James Gleick
Charles and Emma – The Darwins’ Leap of Faith
A biography of Darwin which focuses on how his wife’s religious convictions affected his own thinking and made him rethink how the world would receive his ideas. An intriguing look at the marriage of …
author: Deborah Heiligman
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by National Bk. Circle Critics Awards, Biography 2002
Charles Darwin: The Power of Place, Volume 2
Volume 2 of the 2-volume biography of Charles Darwin: Charles Darwin: Voyaging describes his youth, apprenticeship, the Beagle voyage, his marriage and children, and the birth of his ideas about evolu…
author: Janet Browne
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by Lee Grodzins
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 Lee Grodzins
Civilized Man’s Eight Deadly Sins
Through nine essays Lorenz explores the dehumanization of society through the contributing factors of overpopulation, environmental degredation, genetic decay, increasing vulnerability to indoctrinati…
author: Konrad Lorenz
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by Lee Grodzins
Climbing Mount Improbable
A guide through the natural world, a world of spiders , elephants, and beetles, and of wings and eyes, that leads the reader to an understanding of evolutionary biology.
author: Richard Dawkins
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by National Bk. Award, Science 1967
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
Coastal Companion – A Year in the Gulf of Maine, From Cape Cod to Canada
Catherine Schmitt chronicles a year spent in the Gulf of Maine and its watershed, noting the change of seasons both above and within the sea. Poems by twelve contemporary poets open each chapter, and …
author: Catherine Schmitt
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by LA Times Science nominee 1999
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

Coincidenses, Chaos, and All That Math Jazz: Making Light of Weighty Ideas
Written in a style that combines his wit as a stand-up comic with his knowledge as Professor of Mathematics at Williams College, this book will appeal to puzzle and math lovers as well as probability …
author: Edward B. Burger & Michael Starbird
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by Lee Grodzins
Comet
The quintessential book on comets by Pulitzer Prize -winning author and scientist, Carl Sagan and novelist, TV writer and producer, Ann Druyan.
author: Carl Sagan & Ann Druyan
Confessions of an Eco-Sinner: Tracking Down the Sources of My Stuff
Pearce traveled over 100,000 miles in 20 countries to try and trace the origins of his own worldly goods – from fair trade coffee to computers, cell phones, chocolate, and even the gold in his wedding…
author: Fred Pearce
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by LA Times, Science 1992
Consciousness Explained
In this important and controversial book, Dennett takes on one of science’s Big Questions and revises our traditional view of consciousness, replacing it with a new model based on facts and theories f…
author: Daniel C. Dennett
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by National Book Award; Barry Logan
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

Nominated to be a Cornerstone by American Book Award 1979, Hugo 1981
Cosmos
The story of cosmic evolution, the growth of science and civilization, and our search to discover the origins of the universe and if we on Earth are unique and alone.
author: Carl Sagan
Cradle of Life: The discovery of the Earth’s Earliest Fossils
Firsthand account of J. William Schopf’s discovery of the fossilized remains of microgranisms that lived on Earth 3.5 billion years ago, and the story of the earliest evolution of life.
author: J. William Schopf
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by Philip Morrison
Creepy Crawlies: Ladybugs, Lobsters & Other Amazing Arthropods
Discusses the evolution of arthropods, their characteristics, their adaptability to many habitats and environments, and their relationship to humans.
author: British Museum (Natural History)
Critical Mass: How One Thing Leads to Another
Asks the question ?Why is society the way it is?? and looks for the possible answer in the study of physics. Concepts from physics are applied to social, political and economic sciences not to presc…
author: Philip Ball
Nominated to be a Cornerstone by Morrison Review
Crystal & Gem
Describes the seven basic shapes of crystals and how they form in nature, how crystals are studied and identified, how crystals are grown artificially and used in industry, and other aspects of crysta…
author: Dr. R. F. Symes, Dr. R. R. Harding

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
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