Books introducing emerging areas of science, as well as new looks at familiar fields, were among the Science News staff’s favorite science reads this year. Did we overlook your favorite? Let us know at [email protected].
Blight
Emily Monosson
W.W. Norton & Co., $28.95
HBO’s The Last of Us introduced many people to the dangers of fungi. But while a fungus-induced zombie apocalypse is pure fiction, this book warns that a fungal pathogen could spawn the next pandemic (SN: 8/12/23, p. 28).
Fires in the Dark
Kay Redfield Jamison
Knopf, $30
A psychiatrist examines what it takes to be a great healer of mental suffering by exploring the relationship between British poet Siegfried Sassoon, who suffered emotional wounds from combat during World War I, and his physician, W.H.R. Rivers (SN: 7/1/23, p. 28).
We Are Electric
Sally Adee
Hachette Books, $30
This trip through a slice of biology history shows how researchers have tended to ignore the electricity that flows through the body and brain. But that’s changing, and studies of the “electrome” could spark medical breakthroughs (SN: 2/25/23, p. 28).
Period
Kate Clancy
Princeton Univ., $27.95
Menstruation is such a taboo topic that even the people who experience it once a month or so hold many misconceptions about it. This book draws on history and science to clear up the confusion and destigmatize periods (SN: 4/8/23, p. 29).
Crossings
Ben Goldfarb
W.W. Norton & Co., $30
Millions, perhaps even billions, of animals become roadkill every year. This book highlights the work of a passionate group of scientists, known as road ecologists, who study how interventions like wildlife crossings can reduce the toll (SN: 8/26/23, p. 30).
Eight Bears
Gloria Dickie
W.W. Norton & Co., $30
A reporter travels across three continents to meet the world’s eight remaining species of bears, sharing tales of science, folklore and conservation along the…
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