Science & Nature

Texts in this collection explore topics like climate change, energy, and humanity's place in the environment through a variety of genres, whether the science fiction of Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake or the scientific journalism of Dan Egan's The Death and Life of the Great Lakes.

Empire of Pain

by Patrick Radden Keefe

Publication year 2021

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Loyalty & Betrayal, Social Class, Siblings, Art, Trust & Doubt, Economics, Justice, Power & Greed

Tags Health, Politics & Government, US History, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Business & Economics, Crime & Law, Finance, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Science & Nature, World History, Biography

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Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage

by Alfred Lansing

Publication year 1959

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Tags Action & Adventure, World History, Science & Nature, Travel Literature, Biography

Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage is a 1959 work of historical nonfiction by journalist and writer Alfred Lansing. The book describes explorer Ernest Shackleton’s 1914 overland expedition across Antarctica; the mission failed when his ship, the Endurance, became trapped in ice, but Shackleton and all of his crew were able to survive and escape against long odds. Lansing researched the book extensively, drawing on diaries kept by crewmembers as well as interviews with survivors. The work... Read Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage Summary

Enlightenment Now

by Steven Pinker

Publication year 2018

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Economics, Social Class, Education, Globalization, Nation, Politics & Government, Nostalgia, Equality, Justice, Science & Technology, Religion & Spirituality, Truth & Lies, Community

Tags Philosophy, Science & Nature, Psychology, Sociology, Politics & Government, Health, Agriculture, Business & Economics, Social Class, Climate Change, Social Justice, World History, Psychology, Philosophy

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Eve

by Cat Bohannon

Publication year 2023

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Femininity, Gender Identity, Masculinity, The Past, Nature Versus Nurture, Family

Tags Science & Nature, Gender & Feminism, Women`s Studies, Health, Anthropology, Anthropology, World History

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Every Soul a Star

by Wendy Mass

Publication year 2008

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Teamwork

Tags Realistic Fiction, Children`s Literature, Science & Nature, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance

Every Soul a Star is a young adult novel by Wendy Mass that takes three clichés of adolescence—the Brainiac, the Pretty Girl, and the Antisocial Misfit—and develops them into psychologically nuanced characters who are at once sympathetic and believable. The novel was published in 2008, well after Mass had established her reputation as a foremost young adult fiction writer of the new millennium. Her prolific output—nearly 30 titles in just under 15 years—has secured a... Read Every Soul a Star Summary

Factfulness

by Hans Rosling, Ola Rosling, Anna Rosling Rönnlund

Publication year 2018

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Globalization, Trust & Doubt

Tags Sociology, Science & Nature, Business & Economics, World History, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Self-Improvement, Politics & Government

Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World—And Why Things Are Better Than You Think, written by Hans Rosling, Ola Rosling, and Anna Rosling Rönnlund, was published by Flatiron Books in 2018. This book examines how people across cultures view the world through a negative lens, which leads them to believe conditions everywhere are declining. Doctor and global health expert Hans Rosling offers research and anecdotes from his medical experience and his lectures to unpack... Read Factfulness Summary

Farmer Boy

by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Publication year 1933

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Coming of Age, Perseverance, Family, Good & Evil, Self Discovery, Childhood & Youth, Animals, Community

Tags Classic Fiction, Children`s Literature, Historical Fiction, Agriculture, Animals, US History, Parenting, Religion & Spirituality, Science & Nature, Coming of Age, World History

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Fast Food Nation

by Eric Schlosser

Publication year 2001

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Food, Economics, Power & Greed, Science & Technology

Tags Food, Sociology, Education, Education, Science & Nature, Arts & Culture, World History, Health, Agriculture, Business & Economics, Journalism, Politics & Government, Social Justice

IntroductionFast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal is a 2001 nonfiction book by Eric Schlosser that investigates the business practices of the American fast food industry and the associated agricultural industries that supply it. Following the precedent of Upton Sinclair’s famous 1906 work The Jungle, Schlosser provides readers with a glimpse into the questionable ethics of these large food corporations. Schlosser likewise provides brief historical accounts of fast food’s origins and traces... Read Fast Food Nation Summary

Fellowship Point

by Alice Elliott Dark

Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Friendship, Death, Aging, Love, Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Community, Beauty, Animals, Plants, Place, Literature, Perseverance

Tags Historical Fiction, Depression & Suicide, Health, Love & Sexuality, Mental Illness, Parenting, Social Justice, Science & Nature, Modern Classic Fiction

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Field Notes from a Catastrophe

by Elizabeth Kolbert

Publication year 2006

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Environment

Tags Science & Nature, Climate Change, World History, Politics & Government

In 2006, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, New York Times journalist Elizabeth Kolbert published Field Notes from a Catastrophe, an urgent review of climate change. The book began as a tripartite publication in the New Yorker, for which the political journalist received a National Magazine Award.Kolbert’s investigation begins on Greenland’s west coast, where natives have noticed the shrinking of icebergs for years. In another northerly location, the Alaskan island of Shishmaref is disappearing underwater... Read Field Notes from a Catastrophe Summary

Fire Weather

by John Vaillant

Publication year 2023

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Environment, Climate, Plants, Economics, Globalization, Politics & Government, Safety & Danger, Science & Technology, Truth & Lies

Tags Science & Nature, Climate Change, Natural Disaster, Politics & Government, World History

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Five Days at Memorial

by Sheri Fink

Publication year 2013

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Death

Tags Crime & Law, Science & Nature, Journalism, World History, Health

Published in 2013, Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital is a work of nonfiction by American journalist Sheri Fink. The book, which takes place in August 2005, describes the struggle of staff and patients to survive when trapped in New Orleans’ Memorial Medical Center during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Lacking critical resources, the doctors make a drastic decision that will cause many patients to die via euthanasia. Five Days... Read Five Days at Memorial Summary