77 books like Deadly Doses

By Serita Deborah Stevens, Anne Klarner,

Here are 77 books that Deadly Doses fans have personally recommended if you like Deadly Doses. Shepherd is a community of 11,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of SAS Survival Handbook: The Ultimate Guide to Surviving Anywhere

C.S. Friedman Author Of Nightborn: Coldfire Rising

From my list on books for designing alien worlds.

Why am I passionate about this?

For as far back as I can remember I’ve been creating fantastic stories. My high school notebooks were filled with maps of warring interstellar empires, and my graduate school notes were interspersed with short tales set in distant universes. My first science fiction novel, In Conquest Born, was published in 1985, and since then, I’ve written 14 novels for DAW Books, both in fantasy and science fiction. I love the challenge of creating alien worlds so real that my readers feel immersed in them and using them to explore the darkest recesses of the human psyche. 

C.S.'s book list on books for designing alien worlds

C.S. Friedman Why did C.S. love this book?

Here’s another great resource for the armchair novelist.

This military handbook has all the information a character might need to survive in many different terrains. From shelter to food, wound dressing to vehicle maintenance, it covers a vast array of subjects and even has sections on urban survival and terrorism added to the later editions.

It’s a great reference for designing characters who understand the challenges of survival, as well as ignorant ones who don’t have a clue, and is full of wonderful setting details and story ideas to inspire a writer. 

By John 'Lofty' Wiseman,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked SAS Survival Handbook as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"A classic outdoor manual [that] addresses every conceivable disaster scenario. Don’t leave home without it”--Outside magazine

The ultimate guide to surviving anywhere, now updated with more than 100 pages of additional material, including a new chapter on urban survival

Revised to reflect the latest in survival knowledge and technology, and covering new topics such as urban survival and terrorism, the multimillion-copy worldwide bestseller SAS Survival Handbook by John "Lofty" Wiseman is the definitive resource for all campers, hikers, and outdoor adventurers. From basic campcraft and navigation to fear management and strategies for coping with any type of disaster, this complete…


Book cover of The Zoologist's Guide to the Galaxy: What Animals on Earth Reveal About Aliens--and Ourselves

C.S. Friedman Author Of Nightborn: Coldfire Rising

From my list on books for designing alien worlds.

Why am I passionate about this?

For as far back as I can remember I’ve been creating fantastic stories. My high school notebooks were filled with maps of warring interstellar empires, and my graduate school notes were interspersed with short tales set in distant universes. My first science fiction novel, In Conquest Born, was published in 1985, and since then, I’ve written 14 novels for DAW Books, both in fantasy and science fiction. I love the challenge of creating alien worlds so real that my readers feel immersed in them and using them to explore the darkest recesses of the human psyche. 

C.S.'s book list on books for designing alien worlds

C.S. Friedman Why did C.S. love this book?

Need to design an alien species? If so, you won’t find a better resource than this one.

Kershenbaum does nothing less than attempt to identify universal principles governing all biological organisms and does a damned impressive job of it. Beginning with the question of whether the human concept of “evolution” would even exist on an alien world, he works his way up to detailed and insightful analyses of what types of life forms would likely evolve in different environments and how they might communicate and socialize.

This is pure brain food for any lover of science or science fiction, an intellectual exploration you won’t be able to put down. It’s in my top 10 list for books of any kind.

By Arik Kershenbaum,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Zoologist's Guide to the Galaxy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

* Paperback edition is published on 1 July 2021 *

A Times/Sunday Times Book of the Year

DISCOVER HOW LIFE REALLY WORKS - ON EARTH AND IN SPACE

'I love The Zoologist's Guide to the Galaxy. Although it sets out to be (and is) about alien life, what emerges is a wonderfully insightful sidelong look at Earthly biology' Richard Dawkins, via Twitter

'Crawls with curious facts' The Sunday Times

We are unprepared for the greatest discovery of modern science. Scientists are confident that there is alien life across the universe yet we have not moved beyond our perception of 'aliens'…


Book cover of Violence: A Writer's Guide

C.S. Friedman Author Of Nightborn: Coldfire Rising

From my list on books for designing alien worlds.

Why am I passionate about this?

For as far back as I can remember I’ve been creating fantastic stories. My high school notebooks were filled with maps of warring interstellar empires, and my graduate school notes were interspersed with short tales set in distant universes. My first science fiction novel, In Conquest Born, was published in 1985, and since then, I’ve written 14 novels for DAW Books, both in fantasy and science fiction. I love the challenge of creating alien worlds so real that my readers feel immersed in them and using them to explore the darkest recesses of the human psyche. 

C.S.'s book list on books for designing alien worlds

C.S. Friedman Why did C.S. love this book?

How do you write violent scenes in a compelling way when you have no personal experience in that arena?   

Drawing on a lifetime of experience with violent individuals and institutions, Miller explores the concept of how violence works: not only the act itself but how human beings respond to it. The text covers many different weapons and situations, all with an eye toward providing the kind of information that will help make a writer’s violent scenes ring true.

It’s a dark read, to be sure, but a fascinating one, and its value can’t be overstated, especially to those of us whose most physically stressful experience is struggling to get the lid off a can of coffee creamer.

By Rory Miller,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Violence as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Violence: A Writer's Guide (Second Edition) introduces writers to a world of terror, pain and blood.A world where lives are changed forever in a few desperate seconds.A world where innocent people, heroes, and the most depraved criminals live, thrive, suffer and die in a constant struggle for survival.This is your world. It's the real world.Bad things happen in the real world.This book is for writers who write about assault, fighting, war, and other conflict. For writers who write about violence.


Book cover of Encyclopedia of Demons in World Religions and Cultures

C.S. Friedman Author Of Nightborn: Coldfire Rising

From my list on books for designing alien worlds.

Why am I passionate about this?

For as far back as I can remember I’ve been creating fantastic stories. My high school notebooks were filled with maps of warring interstellar empires, and my graduate school notes were interspersed with short tales set in distant universes. My first science fiction novel, In Conquest Born, was published in 1985, and since then, I’ve written 14 novels for DAW Books, both in fantasy and science fiction. I love the challenge of creating alien worlds so real that my readers feel immersed in them and using them to explore the darkest recesses of the human psyche. 

C.S.'s book list on books for designing alien worlds

C.S. Friedman Why did C.S. love this book?

Need some monsters to inspire you? A bizarre creature from primitive folklore, perhaps, or a quirky gatekeeper from the 13th level of hell?

Though the market abounds with books on the subject, this is my favorite. Bane presents nearly 3,000 descriptions of supernatural creatures from the “real world” (no gaming monsters), drawn from a stunningly diverse array of time periods and cultures as well as biblical tradition. Each entry details the name, appearance, powers, and proclivities of a given entity, as well as instructions for how to deal with it. Source material is noted so you can follow up on your own,  and an index and bibliography are provided.

While there are many books on the market that feature lists of monsters, this is a serious research book with a wealth of well-organized inspiration for writers of fantasy, horror, and supernatural fiction.

By Theresa Bane,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Encyclopedia of Demons in World Religions and Cultures as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This exhaustive volume catalogs nearly three thousand demons in the mythologies and lore of virtually every ancient society and most religions. From Aamon, the demon of life and reproduction with the head of a serpent and the body of a wolf in Christian demonology, to Zu, the half-man, half-bird personification of the southern wind and thunder clouds in Sumero-Akkadian mythology, entries offer descriptions each demon's origins, appearance, and cultural significance. Also included are descriptions of the demonic and diabolical members making up the hierarchy of Hell and the numerous species of demons that, according to various folklores, mythologies, and religions,…


Book cover of Economic Poisoning: Industrial Waste and the Chemicalization of American Agriculture

Julie Guthman Author Of The Problem with Solutions: Why Silicon Valley Can't Hack the Future of Food

From my list on technology in modern food production.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am the daughter of a health food fanatic whose admonitions about what to eat manifested in my early attraction to all food junky. Later in life, I became a bit of a food snob, shopping regularly at the farmers’ market for the freshest and most delicious fruits and vegetables I’ve ever tasted. My love of both good food and sharp analysis came to shape my career as an academic. Food became the object of my analyses, but always with an eye toward contradiction. I’ve written several books and articles exploring how capitalism constrains needed food system transformations, bringing me to my latest fascination with the tech sector.

Julie's book list on technology in modern food production

Julie Guthman Why did Julie love this book?

In my next pick, Romero draws on previously unexplored archives to tell stories of pesticides never told before, most notably how industrial waste was utilized to make chemicals that could kill all that got in agriculture’s way.

I love how he renders ironic the closed-looped systems so championed by environmentalists—or the use of warfare chemicals on fields that grow our foods. It is indeed strange that we use chemicals designed to kill the food that we eat to live.

By Adam M. Romero,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Economic Poisoning as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The toxicity of pesticides to the environment and humans is often framed as an unfortunate effect of their benefits to agricultural production. In Economic Poisoning, Adam M. Romero upends this narrative and provides a fascinating new history of pesticides in American industrial agriculture prior to World War II. Through impeccable archival research, Romero reveals the ways in which late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century American agriculture, especially in California, functioned less as a market for novel pest-killing chemical products and more as a sink for the accumulating toxic wastes of mining, oil production, and chemical manufacturing. Connecting farming ecosystems to technology…


Book cover of On a Farther Shore: The Life and Legacy of Rachel Carson

Liz Heinecke Author Of Radiant: The Dancer, the Scientist, and a Friendship Forged in Light

From my list on meeting fascinating historical figures.

Why am I passionate about this?

I adore non-fiction books that read like novels. After ten years of working in research labs, my master’s degree in biology led me to a new career in science writing. I recently dove into the worlds of narrative non-fiction and history when I wrote Radiant, the Dancer, The Scientist and a Friendship Forged in Light. Immersing myself in Belle Époque Paris to research and intertwine the stories of Marie Curie and the inventor/dancer Loie Fuller helped me discover a passion for telling the stories of important figures forgotten by history. 

Liz's book list on meeting fascinating historical figures

Liz Heinecke Why did Liz love this book?

While I knew that Rachel Carson was involved in starting the environmental movement with her revolutionary book Silent Spring, I had no idea that she was also a best-selling popular science author who wrote lyrical books about the ocean. It was fascinating to learn about her life and the challenges that she faced in while standing up to big chemical companies, whose profits were threatened by her writing. 

By William Souder,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked On a Farther Shore as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Published on the fiftieth anniversary of her seminal book, Silent Spring, here is an indelible new portrait of Rachel Carson, founder of the environmental movement

She loved the ocean and wrote three books about its mysteries, including the international bestseller The Sea Around Us. But it was with her fourth book, Silent Spring, that this unassuming biologist transformed our relationship with the natural world.

Rachel Carson began work on Silent Spring in the late 1950s, when a dizzying array of synthetic pesticides had come into use. Leading this chemical onslaught was the insecticide DDT, whose inventor had won a Nobel…


Book cover of Silent Spring

Debra Hendrickson, M.D. Author Of The Air They Breathe: A Pediatrician on the Frontlines of Climate Change

From my list on environmental health or climate change.

Why am I passionate about this?

I‘m a pediatrician in Reno, the fastest-warming city in the US. I also have a background in environmental science. I’ve seen the impacts of climate change on children first-hand, especially the impact of worsening wildfire smoke from “mega-fires” in California. It is impossible for me to look at babies and children suffering the impacts of worsening smoke, smog, allergies, heat, natural disasters, and infectious diseases and not see that the most powerful industry in history has unloaded the cost of their business onto the least powerful. I am passionate about this topic because I see climate change as a crime against children, who are especially vulnerable to its effects.

Debra's book list on environmental health or climate change

Debra Hendrickson, M.D. Why did Debra love this book?

This book is a classic—the book that launched the modern environmental movement in 1962. Rachel Carson’s 1962 warning about the dystopian future we faced from inappropriate use of chemical pesticides (such as DDT) and herbicides was groundbreaking, as the public had been told these substances were safe.

I love it because it is an intricate and beautifully woven tale about humanity’s relationship with nature and our own hubris. It shattered commonly held views and created a new way of viewing the world and our role in it.

By Rachel Carson,

Why should I read it?

11 authors picked Silent Spring as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

First published by Houghton Mifflin in 1962, Silent Spring alerted a large audience to the environmental and human dangers of indiscriminate use of pesticides, spurring revolutionary changes in the laws affecting our air, land, and water. "Silent Spring became a runaway bestseller, with international reverberations . . . [It is] well crafted, fearless and succinct . . . Even if she had not inspired a generation of activists, Carson would prevail as one of the greatest nature writers in American letters" (Peter Matthiessen, for Time"s 100 Most Influential People of the Century). This fortieth anniversary edition celebrates Rachel Carson"s watershed…


Book cover of What a Book Can Do: The Publication and Reception of Silent Spring

Jonathan Rose Author Of A Companion to the History of the Book

From my list on the history of books.

Why am I passionate about this?

Books—broadly defined as any kind of written or printed document—are the primary means by which civilizations are constructed, memories are preserved, ideas are communicated, wealth is distributed, and power is exercised. To understand any human society, you must read its books. And as Winston Churchill said, “Books last forever.” The physical structures of civilizations eventually crumble into ruins, but the books they leave behind are immortal.

Jonathan's book list on the history of books

Jonathan Rose Why did Jonathan love this book?

Before it launched the modern environmental movement, Silent Spring (1962) had to run a formidable publication gantlet. Rachel Carson challenged the prevailing scientific consensus about pesticides, a subject most magazines wouldn't touch for fear of losing ads. The chemical industry threatened legal action and mounted a PR campaign against Carson. But she had several strong cards to play.

She was already a best-selling author. She was firmly backed by her editor, Paul Brooks of Houghton Mifflin, then an independent family firm with a tradition of publishing nature writers. The book was serialized in the New Yorker, and President Kennedy plugged it at a press conference. On CBS, Eric Sevareid gave Carson equal time with an industry spokesman, though some corporations pulled their commercials. As Brooks predicted, "A future social historian will be writing his Ph.D. thesis on the career of Silent Spring—just you wait!"

Priscilla Coit Murphy builds a gripping…

By Priscilla Coit Murphy,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked What a Book Can Do as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In 1962 the publication of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring sparked widespread public debate on the issue of pesticide abuse and environmental degradation. The discussion permeated the entire print and electronic media system of mid-twentieth-century America. Although Carson's text was serialized in the New Yorker, it made a significant difference that it was also published as a book. With clarity and precision, Priscilla Coit Murphy explores the importance of the book form for the author, her editors and publishers, her detractors, the media, and the public at large. Murphy reviews the publishing history of the Houghton Mifflin edition and the prior…


Book cover of The Climate Conscious Gardener

Pam Peirce Author Of Golden Gate Gardening,  The Complete Guide to Year-Round Food Gardening in the San Francisco Bay Area & Coastal California

From my list on gaining garden know-how.

Why am I passionate about this?

When I was studying plant science in graduate school, I realized that what I really wanted to do was not lab research but to help people understand plants better so they could grow more beautiful and bountiful gardens. To this end, I have written several books, founded the San Francisco League of Urban Gardeners (SLUG), taught horticulture at City College of San Francisco for several decades, and, since 2006, written a column on gardening for the SF Chronicle. My list of books about gardening know-how will painlessly prepare you to grow plants well.

Pam's book list on gaining garden know-how

Pam Peirce Why did Pam love this book?

This little book, part of a series put out by the Garden, will show you the best ways to offset climate change in your gardening and landscaping. It includes tips on materials, energy efficiency, and increasing carbon sequestration. A chapter by Amanda Knaul and Susan K. Pell covers the climate footprint of homegrown food. 

By Janet Marinelli,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Climate Conscious Gardener as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This technique can save the earth—while resulting in a beautiful garden, too!

Climate Conscious Gardener picks up where Brooklyn Botanic Gardening’s groundbreaking Environmental Gardener left off, giving homeowners, landscapers, and public park managers practical strategies for greening the planet through sustainable and organic gardening. In simple terms, an introductory section explains what happens when the balance of carbon and nitrogen in the atmosphere goes awry, and how plants, soil, and synthetic gardening aids (such as fertilizer and pesticides) affect climate change. Most important, readers will learn how to calculate their garden’s carbon footprint—and what they can do to decrease it…


Book cover of Brown Planthopper: Threat to Rice Production in Asia

E.A. Heinrichs Author Of Rice Insect Pests and Their Management

From my list on tropical Asia rice diseases weeds bugs rats.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been fascinated by managing insect pest populations since childhood when I assisted my mother in her vegetable garden by hand removing Colorado potato beetles from potato plants. I have also been interested, since childhood, in seeing the world beyond Nebraska when I laid on my back in the pasture on grandma’s farm, watching planes flying to exotic destinations. These two interests led me to obtain advanced degrees in entomology which provided the opportunity to conduct rice entomology research in those exotic places dreamed of in my grandma’s pasture. I read the five books recommended to develop my rice entomology research program and as reference material for scientific publications. 

E.A.'s book list on tropical Asia rice diseases weeds bugs rats

E.A. Heinrichs Why did E.A. love this book?

I loved this book because it provides the world’s best example of a minor pest that became a major pest because of the change in cultural practices that accompanied the advent of the Green Revolution in rice. It is also the best example of pest resurgence, which occurs when pests previously controlled by pesticides recur but in higher numbers than they did before due to the destruction of the pest’s natural enemies by pesticides.

This book consists of 22 chapters presented by world-renowned authors at a 1979 symposium on the economic impact of the pest, biology and ecology, taxonomy, forecasting, migration, and the development of integrated pest management practices to control the brown planthopper. As such, I found this classic book as a guide for developing a holistic research program for managing the brown planthopper targeted to resource-poor rice farmers in Asia.

By M. D. Pathak,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Brown Planthopper as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in pesticide, extraterrestrial life, and space horror?

Pesticide 11 books
Space Horror 26 books