Most Anticipated January Reads

Weird Plants by Chris Thorogood

 

In this little book of horrors, Chris Thorogood reveals the weird, the wonky, and the sinister specimens he has encountered during his travels in the wide world of plants. From orchids that duplicitously look, feel and even smell like a female insect to bamboozle sex-crazed male bees to giant pitcher plants that have evolved toilets for tree shrews to carnivorous plants that drug, drown, and consume unsuspecting insect prey, Weird Plants takes us deep inside the worlds of plants whose imaginative and calculating survival methods are startlingly reminiscent of human schemes.

The Edge of Memory: Ancient Stories, Oral Tradition and the Post-Glacial World by Patrick Nunn

 

In The Edge of Memory, Patrick Nunn explores the science in folk history. He looks at ancient tales and traditions that may be rooted in scientifically verifiable fact, and can be explored via geological evidence, such as the Biblical Flood.  Geologists are now starting to corroborate the tales through study of climatic data, sediments and land forms; the evidence was there in the stories, but until recently, nobody was listening. The Edge of Memory is an important book that explores the wider implications for our knowledge of how human society has developed through the millennia.

Seeing Trees: A History of Street Trees in New York City and Berlin by Sonja Dümpelmann

 

Landscape historian Sonja Dümpelmann shows how New York City and Berlin began systematically planting trees to improve the urban climate during the nineteenth century, presenting the history of the practice within its larger social, cultural, and political contexts. This is a fascinating and beautifully illustrated volume that explains what street trees tell us about humanity’s changing relationship with nature and the city.

The Human Brain Book: An Illustrated Guide to its Structure, Function, and Disorders by Rita Carter

 

This award-winning science book uses the latest findings from neuroscience research and brain-imaging technology to take you on a journey into the human brain. Now in its third edition, The Human Brain Book provides an up-to-date guide to one of science’s most exciting frontiers. With its coverage of more than 50 brain-related diseases and disorders–from strokes to brain tumors and schizophrenia–it is also an essential manual for students and healthcare professionals.