The most recommended biology books

This book is a collection of essays, letters, and lectures about the intrinsic value, importance, and beauty of science by one of its most talented and passionate communicators. Dawkins’s clear and often witty treatment of complex scientific issues is a breath of fresh air in this time of misinformation and ‘fake news.’ He writes primarily about biology, his own specialty, but ranges widely from ecology to evolution to genetics and even life beyond planet earth. Throughout, his incisive prose conveys the thrill and wonder of scientific discovery.

I remember watching my first transplant in medical school and wondering, who was brave enough to be the first for something like this? Hearing the stories of the medical firsts and the people behind them is remarkable.

What I found even more captivating were the costs incurred by the patients involved. In that way, this book widened my perspective on the patient experience as we continue to push the boundaries of medicine.

As a kid, I would have carried It’s Catching with me everywhere, reading facts about our microbial world out loud to anyone who would listen.

Starting with an introduction to a disease detective—who just happens to be the author,  a real-life (female!) science researcher—the book gives a perfectly concise intro to the teeny world of microbiology before branching out into specific players like viruses and bacteria.

My favorite section dives into “Great Germs”—the most common illnesses our bodies face on a global scale. It’s filled with super-interesting anecdotes covering things like the history of the disease, how it was named, how it spreads, or how to prevent it. Each pathogen even gets rated 1-10 on the “Danger-Meter!”  

It is hard to believe that Matt Ridley’s grand tour of the human genome was published back in 1999. Yet even today, more than two decades later, Ridley’s engaging, chromosome by chromosome investigation of our genetic make-up remains a marvel that has never been equaled. From the genes that enable the most basic chemical processes in our cells to those that determine our height and eye color, the mysterious “junk DNA” that lives between our genes, and speculation about the ways that genes affect personality, behavior, and society, Ridley brings science to life in this engaging and timeless book.

Already when I was writing the first edition of Rome. An Empire’s Story it was clear that the subject was being transformed by scientific discoveries. Over the last decade, science-led projects have changed our notions of ancient Roman nutrition and health, of Romans’ impact on the environment, on the animals and plants they farmed, and also of their own vulnerability to plague and climate change. Scheidel, who is a world leader in this field, has gathered together historians using everything from human DNA and skeletal material to the remains of ancient seeds and animals to explain how the life sciences can unlock whole new areas of ancient history. This is a fast-moving field, and this short book gives a crash course on what has been done to date, and what might come next.

This very engaging, well-written (and weighty!) book shares Harry Green’s personal experiences with snakes, along with an overview of the history, biology, and wide range of snakes—from their unique lifestyles and diet to their behavior and amazing adaptations to living in so many different environments on land, under the earth, in the seas and water, and even gliding through the air.

The text is complemented by color images of many different snake species by internationally-known nature photographers Michael and Patricia Fogden. Overall, an excellent resource for all things Snake!  

One of the best broad-based textbooks covering a wide gamut of topics, and in-depth coverage of dynamic models. I like this book for a particularly engaging introduction to the practice of mathematical modelling, excellent catchy illustrations, and nice exercise problems/reading material at the end of each chapter. The book chooses to organise the methods by the type of network (gene systems, protein systems, metabolic systems, and so on). Voit is a very accomplished researcher in the area of dynamic systems modelling and is particularly known for his contributions to Biochemical Systems Theory.

Each spread in this memorable book offers beautiful illustrations and a feast of information for curious kids. Featured animals include prairie dogs, trapdoor spiders, satin bower birds, coral, and others. The text focuses on these species as builders—of cozy homes, traps for prey, special spots to attract mates, and more. Starting with the book title on the cover (the reader can see how it was “built” with cross-hatch lines guiding letter placement!), I was totally engaged. So much information, so well shared! I fell in love with the teeny, tiny harvest mouse.

Up-and-coming science writer Ed Yong explains how animals sense the world. We all know about the five senses (seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching). An Immense World examines these plus other fascinating examples, such as sensing electric and magnetic fields.

I love how Yong considers all sorts of quirky, oddball animals. Evolution creates so much diversity, and Yong seems to know how to find just the right organism to illustrate his point.

Whether interested in animals that can hear ultrasonic frequencies or see ultraviolet light, this is the book for you. It is wonderfully written, accessible to all, and a delight to read. I hope Ed Yong is busy on his next one. I can’t wait.

Lulu Miller is a woman looking to the past, and specifically to an early 20th century taxonomist, for inspiration in the face of disappointment in her own life. As someone who also looks to historical figures for inspiration, this premise always gets me.

Miller, however, gets more than she bargained for in learning about the life of this taxonomist and spends the rest of her book grappling with the good and evil that can reside within the same person, alongside her exploration of the science of time.

This book was so unique and entrancing that I couldn’t put it down. A must-read for those with an interest in science history.