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Recommendations based on Uncle Tungstenby Oliver Sacks
* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales
by Oliver Sacks
A collection of case studies, illustrating extraordinary neurological phenomena.
If a man has lost a leg or an eye, he knows he has lost a leg or an eye; but if he has lost a self—himself—he cannot know it, because he is no longer there to know it. Dr. Oliver Sacks recounts the ... (Goodreads)
An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales
by Oliver Sacks
Study of human behavior, exploring the complexities of neurological conditions.
Paradoxical portraits of seven neurological patients, including a surgeon consumed by the compulsive tics of Tourette's syndrome unless he is operating; an artist who loses all sense of color in a ... (Goodreads)
Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain
by Oliver Sacks
Exploration of the power of music and its effects on the human brain.
With the same trademark compassion and erudition he brought to The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, Oliver Sacks explores the place music occupies in the brain and how it affects the human ... (Goodreads)
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers
by Mary Roach
An exploration of the strange and often unknown history of cadavers, and their uses in science and medicine.
Okay, you're thinking: ,"This must be some kind of a joke. A humorous book about cadavers?", Yup — and it works. Mary Roach takes the age-old question, "What happens to us after we die?" quite ... (Goodreads)
Farewell to the East End: The Last Days of the East End Midwives
by Jennifer Worth
Memoir of a midwife in the East End of London, chronicling the lives of her patients.
This final book in Jennifer Worth's memories of her time as a midwife in London's East end brings her story full circle. As always there are heartbreaking stories such as the family devastated by ... (Goodreads)
Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant
by Daniel Tammet
A memoir of an autistic savant who sees numbers as shapes, colors, and textures, and can learn languages in a week.
A journey into one of the most fascinating minds alive today—guided by the owner himself. Bestselling author Daniel Tammet ( Thinking in Numbers ) is virtually unique among people who have severe ... (Barnes & Noble)
Small Wonder
by Barbara Kingsolver
A family's journey of self-discovery as they struggle to redefine their lives and their relationships.
Sometimes grave, occasionally hilarious, and ultimately persuasive, Small Wonder is a hopeful examination of the people we seem to be, and what we might yet make of ourselves. In her new essay ... (Goodreads)
The Tell-Tale Brain: A Neuroscientist's Quest for What Makes Us Human
by V.S. Ramachandran
A journey into the mysteries of the human mind, exploring the complexities of the human brain.
V. S. Ramachandran is at the forefront of his field-so much so that Richard Dawkins dubbed him the "Marco Polo of neuroscience." Now, in a major new work, Ramachandran sets his sights on the mystery ... (Goodreads)
The Pleasure of Finding Things Out: The Best Short Works of Richard P. Feynman
by Jeffrey Robbins
A collection of essays and speeches by physicist Richard Feynman, exploring the beauty and wonder of science and the joy of discovery.
The Pleasure of Finding Things Out is a magnificent treasury of the best short works of Richard P. Feynman,from interviews and speeches to lectures and printed articles. A sweeping, wide-ranging ... (Goodreads)
The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer
by Siddhartha Mukherjee
A comprehensive account of the history and science of cancer, from its origins to modern treatments.
An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found, here, and, here,. The Emperor of All Maladies is a magnificent, profoundly humane “biography” of cancer - from its first documented ... (Goodreads)
The C Programming Language
by Brian W. Kernighan
Classic guide to the C programming language, covering syntax, data types, control flow, and more. A must-read for any aspiring programmer.
This book is meant to help the reader learn how to program in C. It is the definitive reference guide, now in a second edition. Although the first edition was written in 1978, it continues to be a ... (Goodreads)
The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition
by Caroline Alexander
A gripping account of the famous Antarctic exploration, led by Ernest Shackleton.
In August 1914, days before the outbreak of the First World War, the renowned explorer Ernest Shackleton and a crew of twenty-seven set sail for the South Atlantic in pursuit of the last unclaimed ... (Goodreads)
Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic
by David Quammen
An exploration of zoonotic diseases, how animal infections spread and threaten human life.
"[Mr. Quammen] is not just among our best science writers but among our best writers, period." —Dwight Garner,, New York Times, The next big human pandemic—the next disease cataclysm, perhaps on the ... (Barnes & Noble)
Genome: the Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters
by Matt Ridley
A journey through the genetic code of humanity, uncovering our evolutionary history.
Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters, is a 1999 popular science book by the science writer Matt Ridley , published by Fourth Estate. The chapters are numbered for the pairs of human ... (Wikipedia)
NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity
by Steve Silberman
Explores the history, science, and personal stories of autism.
Going back to the earliest days of autism research and chronicling the brave and lonely journey of autistic people and their families through the decades, Silberman provides long-sought solutions to ... (Goodreads)
Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany
by Bill Buford
A culinary journey of personal & professional growth, from apprentice to master.
The book that helped define a genre: Heat is a beloved culinary classic, an adventure in the kitchen and into Italian cuisine, by Bill Buford, author of Dirt . Bill Buford was a highly acclaimed ... (Barnes & Noble)
Your Inner Fish: a Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body
by Neil Shubin
Exploration of human evolution through the lens of anatomy, revealing our connection to our ancient ancestors.
Why do we look the way we do? What does the human hand have in common with the wing of a fly? Are breasts, sweat glands, and scales connected in some way? To better understand the inner workings of ... (Goodreads)
Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune
by Bill Dedman
Uncovering the secrets of an enigmatic heiress and her mysterious family fortune.
When Pulitzer Prize – winning journalist Bill Dedman noticed in 2009 a grand home for sale, unoccupied for nearly sixty years, he stumbled through a surprising portal into American history. Empty ... (Goodreads)
The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
by Michael Pollan
Exploration of the modern food chain, examining the impact of food choices on our health and the environment.
What should we have for dinner? The question has confronted us since man discovered fire, but according to Michael Pollan, the bestselling author of The Botany of Desire , how we answer it today, at ... (Goodreads)
A Short History of Nearly Everything
by Bill Bryson
A captivating overview of the natural sciences, spanning the history of the universe.
In Bryson's biggest book, he confronts his greatest challenge: to understand—and, if possible, answer—the oldest, biggest questions we have posed about the universe and ourselves. Taking as territory ... (Goodreads)
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking
by Susan Cain
An exploration of the power of introversion, examining the implications of modern society's emphasis on extroversion.
The book that started the Quiet Revolution, At least one-third of the people we know are introverts. They are the ones who prefer listening to speaking; who innovate and create but dislike ... (Goodreads)
The Brain that Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science
by Norman Doidge
Exploring the brain's remarkable ability to adapt, heal and change itself.
An astonishing new science called neuroplasticity is overthrowing the centuries-old notion that the human brain is immutable. Psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, Norman Doidge, M.D., traveled the country ... (Goodreads)
Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind
by V.S. Ramachandran
An exploration of the human brain, examining its functions and mysteries.
Neuroscientist V.S. Ramachandran is internationally renowned for uncovering answers to the deep and quirky questions of human nature that few scientists have dared to address. His bold insights about ... (Goodreads)
Marley and Me: Life and Love With the World's Worst Dog
by John Grogan
A heartfelt journey of a family and their beloved, but mischievous, dog.
John and Jenny were just beginning their life together. They were young and in love, with a perfect little house and not a care in the world. Then they brought home Marley, a wiggly yellow furball of ... (Goodreads)
The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History
by John M. Barry
Chronicling the 1918 influenza pandemic, examining the medical, social and governmental responses.
At the height of WWI, history’s most lethal influenza virus erupted in an army camp in Kansas, moved east with American troops, then exploded, killing as many as 100 million people worldwide. It ... (Goodreads)
Fermat's Enigma
by Simon Singh
Uncovering the centuries-old mathematical mystery of Pierre de Fermat's Last Theorem.
xn + yn = zn, where n represents 3, 4, 5, ...no solution "I have discovered a truly marvelous demonstration of this proposition which this margin is too narrow to contain." With these words, the ... (Goodreads)
The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History
by Elizabeth Kolbert
Examination of the current extinction of species caused by human activity and the potential global implications.
Over the last half-billion years, there have been five mass extinctions, when the diversity of life on earth suddenly and dramatically contracted. Scientists around the world are currently monitoring ... (Goodreads)
SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes And Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance
by Steven D. Levitt
An exploration of human behavior and economics, challenging accepted social norms and traditional wisdom.
The New York Times best-selling Freakonomics was a worldwide sensation, selling over four million copies in thirty-five languages and changing the way we look at the world. Now, Steven D. Levitt and ... (Goodreads)
Travels with Charley: In Search of America
by John Steinbeck
A road trip across America, exploring the culture and landscape of the country.
A quest across America, from the northernmost tip of Maine to California’s Monterey Peninsula To hear the speech of the real America, to smell the grass and the trees, to see the colors and the ... (Goodreads)
The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory
by Brian Greene
Exploring the hidden realms of physics, in pursuit of a unified theory of nature.
Brian Greene, one of the world's leading string theorists, peels away the layers of mystery surrounding string theory to reveal a universe that consists of eleven dimensions, where the fabric of ... (Goodreads)
