Reviews
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Ecosystems
‘Crossings’ explores the science of road ecology
Ben Goldfarb talks about his new book, which looks at the science that’s helping to prevent animals from becoming roadkill.
By Amanda Heidt -
Health & Medicine
‘Blight’ warns that a future pandemic could start with a fungus
‘The Last of Us’ is fiction, but the health dangers posed by fungi are real, a new book explains.
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Earth
‘The Next Supercontinent’ predicts a future collision of North America and Asia
In his new book, Ross Mitchell traces the dance of the continents through time to predict what Amasia, the next supercontinent, might look like.
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Animals
Explore the past, present and future of ‘Eight Bears’
The book invites readers to meet the eight species of bears left on Earth and looks at how humans are shaping their future, for better or for worse.
By Jake Buehler -
Psychology
‘Fires in the Dark’ illuminates how great healers ease mental suffering
Kay Redfield Jamison’s new book examines approaches used throughout history to restore troubled minds and broken spirits.
By Bruce Bower -
Astronomy
‘Under Alien Skies’ imagines what the sky looks like on other planets
Astronomer Philip Plait’s new book takes readers on a thrilling ride to Mars, Pluto and even a black hole.
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Health & Medicine
‘In the Blood’ traces how a lifesaving product almost didn’t make it
There’s plenty of drama in Charles Barber’s new book, which explores why a blood-clotting invention was initially dismissed.
By Meghan Rosen -
Math
‘Once Upon a Prime’ finds the hidden math in literature
In her new book, mathematician Sarah Hart explains how math shapes all sorts of literary works, from nursery rhymes to Moby-Dick.
By Anna Demming -
Humans
‘Period’ wants to change how you think about menstruation
Kate Clancy offers fascinating science and history about the uterus and menstruation in her book, Period: The Real Story of Menstruation.
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Science & Society
The Smithsonian’s ‘Lights Out’ inspires visitors to save the fading night sky
The exhibition examines how light pollution harms astronomy, ecosystems and human cultures. But it also offers hope.
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Space
‘Off-Earth’ asks how to build a better future in space
As humans prepare to live in space someday, ethics should be as much of guide as science and technology, an astrophysicist argues in a new book.
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Particle Physics
‘Ghost Particle’ chronicles the neutrino’s discovery and what’s left to learn
Author James Riordon discusses his new book, why neutrinos are so important and how physicists are on the verge of making big discoveries about them.
By Erin Wayman