Science
S;;;;;;
ABRAMS
Biophilia by Christopher Marley (Apr. 7,
hardcover, $50, ISBN 978-1-4197-1561-
7). Marley’s art expresses his passionate
engagement with beautiful forms in
nature, using his skills as a designer, conservator, taxidermist, and environmentally
responsible collector to make images and
mosaics that produce strong, positive emotional responses in viewers.
ATRIA
The Soul of an Octopus: A Joyful
Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness by Sy Montgomery (May 12,
hardcover, $26, ISBN 978-1-4516-9771-
1) explores the emotional and physical
world of the octopus—a surprisingly complex, intelligent, and spirited creature—
and the remarkable connections it makes
with humans.
BASIC
Einstein’s Dice and Schrödinger’s
Cat: How Two Great Minds Battled
Quantum Randomness to Create a Unified Theory of Physics by Paul Halpern
(Apr. 14, hardcover, $27.99, ISBN 978-0-
465-07571-3). Physicist Halpern relates
how Einstein and Schrödinger searched,
first as collaborators and then as competitors, for a grand unified theory that would
eliminate quantum weirdness and make
the universe seem sensible again.
How to Bake Pi: An Edible Exploration of the Mathematics of Mathematics
by Eugenia Cheng (May 5, hardcover,
$27.99, ISBN 978-0-465-05171-7). Math
professor Cheng combines her theory work
with her enthusiasm for cooking to shed
new light on the fundamentals of mathematics and to give readers a tour of a vast
territory no popular book on math has
explored before.
Life’s Greatest Secret: The Race to
Crack the Genetic Code by Matthew
Cobb (July 7, hardcover, $27.99, ISBN
978-0-465-06267-6). Science historian
and zoologist Cobb delivers a story of ideas
and of experimentation, of ingenuity,
insight, and dead-ends, in the hunt to
make the greatest discovery of 20th-
century biology.
BLOOMSBURY
Atoms Under the Floorboards: The
Surprising Science Hidden in Your
Home by Chris Woodford (May 12, hardcover, $27, ISBN 978-1-4729-1222-0)
presents the fascinating and surprising
scientific explanations behind a variety
of common (and often entertainingly
mundane) household phenomena, from
gurgling drains and squeaky floorboards to
rubbery custard and shiny shoes.
Cuckoo: Cheating by Nature by Nick
Davies (Apr. 7, hardcover, $27, ISBN 978-
1-62040-952-7). Naturalist Davies
attempts to solve an enduring puzzle: how
does the cuckoo get away with laying its
eggs in the nests of other birds and tricking
them into raising young cuckoos rather
than their own offspring?
BLOOMSBURY PRESS
A New History of Life: The Radical
New Discoveries about the Origins and
Evolution of Life on Earth by Joe Kirschvink and Peter Ward (Feb. 24, hardcover,
$30, ISBN 978-1-60819-907-5). Drawing
on years of experience in paleontology,
biology, chemistry, and astrobiology, Ward
and Kirschvink show that many of our
most cherished beliefs about the evolution
of life are wrong.
BROADWAY
Headstrong: 52 Women Who
Changed Science—and the World by
Rachel Swaby (Apr. 7, paper, $16, ISBN
978-0-553-44679-1). Science journalist
Swaby highlights the lives and accomplishments of some of the most brilliant women
in history, while examining the cultural
paradigms that are keeping today’s women
from entering these technical fields.
; A Beautiful Question: Finding Nature’s Deep Design
Frank Wilczek. Penguin Press, July 14
; Birth of a Theorem: A Mathematical Adventure
Cédric Villani. FSG/Faber and Faber, Apr. 14
; Einstein’s Dice and Schrödinger’s Cat: How Two Great Minds Battled Quantum
Randomness to Create a Unified Theory of Physics
Paul Halpern. Basic, Apr. 14
; How to Bake Pi: An Edible Exploration of the Mathematics of Mathematics
Eugenia Cheng. Basic, May 5
; Invisible: The Dangerous Allure of the Unseen
Philip Ball. Univ. of Chicago, Apr. 6
; The Man Who Touched His Own Heart: True Tales of Science, Surgery, and Mystery
Rob Dunn. Little, Brown, Feb. 3
; The Math Myth: And Other STEM Delusions
Andrew Hacker. New Press, June 23
; Rain: A Natural and Cultural History
Cynthia Barnett. Crown, Apr. 21
; The Strange Case of the Rickety Cossack and Other Cautionary Tales from Human
Evolution
Ian Tattersall. Palgrave Macmillan, June 9
; To Explain the World: The Discovery of Modern Science
Steven Weinberg. Harper, Feb. 10
PW’S TOP 10: SCIENCE
