More books for science enthusiasts

If you’ve already finished all of the books on the previous list, here are a few more science-themed summer reads that we’ve been hearing about.

-Intuition by Allegra Goodman
A work of fiction, this novel centers on a postdoctoral research fellow in a cancer lab whose groundbreaking discovery just may be too good to be true. (New Yorker book review; New York Times book review.)

-Microcosm by Carl Zimmer
Delve into the world of the bug that lives in your guts: E. coli. Find out how this humble organism has led to amazing discoveries. (Read a book review in Science or the transcript of an interview with the author in Ars Technica.)

-Next by Michael Crichton
Next, published in 2006, is Michael Crichton’s last book. A work of fiction, this thriller is set in the present and raises bioethical questions about genetic research, transgenic animals, and more. (Read a Wall Street Journal book review written by Matt Ridley – author of one of the books from last month’s blog entry.)

-On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin
A classic.

-Song of the Dodo by David Quammen
David Quammen takes readers into the field of biogeography – the study of where species live and why they do (or do not) live in certain places – in this non-fiction book about the loss of biodiversity. (Read a book review from Smithsonian magazine.)

-The Beak of the Finch by Jonathan Weiner
Pulitzer-prize winning author Jonathan Weiner writes about researchers in the Galapagos Islands who watch evolution unfold.