Science & Nature
Librarians at Seattle Public Library created this list of recent adult nonfiction books about science and the natural world, written in an engaging and accessible style for the layperson. (July 2022)
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The Plant Hunter
An ethnobotanist describes her ground-breaking research and adventures in pursuit of life-saving medications in the plant world.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Origin
A genetic anthropologist explains contemporary DNA research and how it can shed light on early human migration to the Americas.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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The Treeline
A Welsh educator travels to boreal forests in the northernmost regions of the world, examining how their trees influence faraway creatures and climates.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Life as We Made It
An evolutionary biologist demonstrates how genome editing is just the latest example of human impact on the evolution of our own and other species.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Cosmic Queries
These essays examine many fascinating topics in contemporary physics, ranging from quarks to multiverses. Told in a conversational tone, and illustrated with spectacular color photographs.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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The Genesis Machine
A thoughtful examination of the science and ethics of the controversial field of synthetic biology.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Below the Edge of Darkness
A marine biologist takes the reader on a fascinating deep dive into the way many of the ocean’s creatures – from tiny to huge - use bioluminescence to survive.
Format: Book
Availability: All copies in use
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Homewaters
A naturalist provides an in-depth look at the science and history of the Puget Sound ecosystem, drawing on conversations with biologists and tribal leaders.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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An Immense World
A Pulitzer Prize–winning science journalist illustrates the diverse ways animals and plants sense the world – such as magnetic and electrical fields, pressure pulses, and subsonic sounds – which are imperceptible to humans.
Format: Book
Availability: All copies in use
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Nature Is Never Silent
A behavioral biologist reveals how creatures in the natural world – ranging from bacteria to foxes to trees – communicate with each other in myriad ways.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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