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Recommendations based on The Map That Changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geologyby Simon Winchester
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Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time
by Dava Sobel
Story of a man's determination to solve the complex problem of determining longitude at sea.
Anyone alive in the eighteenth century would have known that "the longitude problem" was the thorniest scientific dilemma of the day—and had been for centuries. Lacking the ability to measure their ... (Goodreads)
Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883
by Simon Winchester
Narrative of the catastrophic volcanic eruption of Krakatoa, its impact and aftermath.
The bestselling author of The Professor and the Madman and The Map That Changed the World examines the enduring and world-changing effects of the catastrophic eruption off the coast of Java of the ... (Goodreads)
The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary
by Simon Winchester
True story of a murderer's contribution to the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary.
The book tells the story of the making of the, Oxford English Dictionary, (OED) and one of its most prolific early contributors, William Chester Minor , a retired United States Army surgeon . Minor ... (Wikipedia)
Salt: A World History
by Mark Kurlansky
Comprehensive overview of the influence of salt on human society, from ancient times to the present.
In his fifth work of nonfiction, Mark Kurlansky turns his attention to a common household item with a long and intriguing history: salt. The only rock we eat, salt has shaped civilization from the ... (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)
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster
by Jon Krakauer
A gripping narrative of the 1996 expedition on Mount Everest that resulted in tragedy.
When Jon Krakauer reached the summit of Mt. Everest in the early afternoon of May 10, 1996, he hadn't slept in fifty-seven hours and was reeling from the brain-altering effects of oxygen depletion. ... (Goodreads)
The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way
by Bill Bryson
Fascinating exploration of the history and evolution of English language.
With dazzling wit and astonishing insight, Bill Bryson—the acclaimed author of The Lost Continent —brilliantly explores the remarkable history, eccentricities, resilience and sheer fun of the English ... (Goodreads)
How the Irish Saved Civilization: The Untold Story of Ireland's Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe
by Thomas Cahill
Recounts the history of how Irish monks preserved civilization during the Middle Ages.
From the fall of Rome to the rise of Charlemagne - the "dark ages" - learning, scholarship, and culture disappeared from the European continent. The great heritage of western civilization - from the ... (Goodreads)
Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World
by Mark Kurlansky
A history of cod, tracing the integral role the fish has played in shaping global culture.
The Cod. Wars have been fought over it, revolutions have been triggered by it, national diets have been based on it, economies and livelihoods have depended on it. To the millions it has sustained, ... (Goodreads)
Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life
by Daniel C. Dennett
An exploration of the implications of Darwin's theory of evolution, and how it has shaped our understanding of life and the universe.
In a book that is both groundbreaking and accessible, Daniel C. Dennett, whom Chet Raymo of The Boston Globe calls "one of the most provocative thinkers on the planet," focuses his unerringly logical ... (Goodreads)
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed
by Jared Diamond
Study of past societies' successes and failures in terms of environmental, economic, and political decisions.
Brilliant, illuminating, and immensely absorbing, Collapse is destined to take its place as one of the essential books of our time, raising the urgent question: How can our world best avoid ... (Goodreads)
The Hot Zone: The Terrifying True Story of the Origins of the Ebola Virus
by Richard Preston
An exploration of the discovery and containment of one of world's deadliest viruses.
A highly infectious, deadly virus from the central African rain forest suddenly appears in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. There is no cure. In a few days 90 percent of its victims are dead. A secret ... (Goodreads)
Thinking, Fast and Slow
by Daniel Kahneman
An exploration of the two systems of the mind, and how they influence decision-making.
In the highly anticipated Thinking, Fast and Slow , Kahneman takes us on a groundbreaking tour of the mind and explains the two systems that drive the way we think. System 1 is fast, intuitive, and ... (Goodreads)
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies
by Jared Diamond
Tracing the origins of human civilizations through the lens of geography, technology, and biology.
"Diamond has written a book of remarkable scope ... one of the most important and readable works on the human past published in recent years." Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and a national bestseller: ... (Goodreads)
His Excellency: George Washington
by Joseph J. Ellis
Biography of the first President of the United States and the key role he played in the founding of the nation.
To this landmark biography of our first president, Joseph J. Ellis brings the exacting scholarship, shrewd analysis, and lyric prose that have made him one of the premier historians of the ... (Goodreads)
Desert Solitaire
by Edward Abbey
A personal account of a season spent as a park ranger in the American wilderness.
First published in 1968, Desert Solitaire is one of Edward Abbey’s most critically acclaimed works and marks his first foray into the world of nonfiction writing. Written while Abbey was working as a ... (Goodreads)
The Right Stuff
by Tom Wolfe
The heroic story of the first American astronauts, and their incredible feats of courage.
Tom Wolfe began The Right Stuff at a time when it was unfashionable to contemplate American heroism. Nixon had left the White House in disgrace, the nation was reeling from the catastrophe of ... (Goodreads)
Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind: How to Be Seen and Heard in the Overcrowded Marketplace
by Al Ries
A guide to using marketing strategies to stand out in today's competitive marketplace.
The first book to deal with the problems of communicating to a skeptical, media-blitzed public, Positioning describes a revolutionary approach to creating a "position" in a prospective customer's ... (Goodreads)
Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
by Art Spiegelman
A graphic novel depicting the traumatic experiences of a Holocaust survivor and his son.
The first installment of the Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel acclaimed as “the most affecting and successful narrative ever done about the Holocaust” (Wall Street Journal) and “the first ... (Goodreads)
The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
by Carl Sagan
A critical look at superstition and pseudoscience, advocating for the power of science and reason.
How can we make intelligent decisions about our increasingly technology-driven lives if we don’t understand the difference between the myths of pseudoscience and the testable hypotheses of science? ... (Goodreads)
Brunelleschi's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture
by Ross King
A look into the remarkable life and legacy of the pioneering artist and architect, Filippo Brunelleschi.
The, New York Times, bestselling, award winning story of the construction of the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence and the Renaissance genius who reinvented architecture to build it. On ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
by Daniel James Brown
An inspiring story of a rowing crew battling against the odds to win gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
This novel is about the University of Washington eight-oared crew that represented the United States in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, and narrowly beat out Italy and Germany to win the gold medal. The ... (Wikipedia)
The Wordy Shipmates
by Sarah Vowell
A humorous and insightful look at the Puritan settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and their impact on American history.
The Wordy Shipmates is an exploration of the Puritans and their journey to America to become the people of John Winthrop's "city upon a hill"—a shining example, a "city that cannot be hid." To this ... (Goodreads)
The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea
by Sebastian Junger
A harrowing account of a fishing boat's journey into the heart of an epic storm.
"Takes readers into the maelstrom and shows nature's splendid and dangerous havoc at its utmost". October 1991. It was "the perfect storm"–a tempest that may happen only once in a century--a ... (Goodreads)
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)
All Creatures Great and Small / All Things Bright and Beautiful
by James Herriot
Humorous tales of a veterinarian in the Yorkshire Dales, caring for animals and their owners.
Twenty-five years ago, a volume of memoirs by an unknown Scottish veterinarian was first published– All Creatures Great and Small. Within a year, the book had become recognized as a masterpiece. It ... (Goodreads)
Seabiscuit: An American Legend
by Laura Hillenbrand
An inspiring story of the rise of champion racehorse Seabiscuit and his unlikely jockey.
There's an alternate cover edition, here, Seabiscuit was one of the most electrifying and popular attractions in sports history and the single biggest newsmaker in the world in 1938, receiving more ... (Goodreads)
1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus
by Charles C. Mann
Re-examination of the pre-Columbian Americas, uncovering new evidence of its history.
In this groundbreaking work of science, history, and archaeology, Charles C. Mann radically alters our understanding of the Americas before the arrival of Columbus in 1492.,Contrary to what so many ... (Goodreads)
Bad Science
by Ben Goldacre
A critical look at the misuse of scientific fact and the implications of bad science.
Full of spleen, this is a hilarious, invigorating and informative journey through the world of Bad Science . When Dr Ben Goldacre saw someone on daytime TV dipping her feet in an 'Aqua Detox' ... (Goodreads)
The Death and Life of Great American Cities
by Jane Jacobs
Exposes the flaws of urban planning, advocating for a more organic approach.
A direct and fundamentally optimistic indictment of the short-sightedness and intellectual arrogance that has characterized much of urban planning in this century, The Death and Life of Great ... (Goodreads)
