Science Books to Read for FUN!

1. The Great Influenza by John Barry is a historical account of the development of the medical profession, laboratory science and medical training as a result of the influenza pandemic that occurred in the early 1900s.

2. The Emperor of Scent by Chandler Burr is about Luca Turin, a brilliant scientist who develops a new theory for how smell works. He goes for a Nobel prize but is met with suspicion by scientists less brilliant than he with a lot to lose if he's right. The author shows corruption in scientific peer review process and provides insight into the perfume industry, scientific secrecy and corporate greed.

3. The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester chronicles the writing of the Oxford English Dictionary. Awakenings by Oliver Sacks is the true story of a doctor's discovery that comatose patients in a mental ward could be animated by a newly discovered drug. Robin Williams starred as the doctor, Oliver Sacks, in a movie based on the book.

4. Uncle Tungsten is an autobiography of Oliver Sacks. It has fine detail about the periodic table and the experiments we wish we could do in class but can't because they're too dangerous!

5. No Stone Unturned by Steve Jackson is about forensic science and its use to solve many national and international cases, including determining the identity of the bodies believed to be those of the last Russian czar's family.

6. Five Equations that Changed History by Guillen condenses several centuries of mathematical and scientific discovery to five noteworthy achievements.

7. Napoleon's Buttons: 17 Molecules that Changed History by Le Couteur and Burreson is a novel look at history and the chemicals that made it happen.

8. The Map That Changed the World by Simon Winchester is a rather dry read but presents the interesting story of William Smith, the inventor of the geologic map and the father of the science of geology.

9. The Alienist by Caleb Carr tells us the story of the first use of profiling to capture a serial killer. The term "alienist" is an old fashioned term for what we now call psychiatrists.

10. Bold Endeavors by Stuster is a look at the history of exploration and the lessons learned that apply to a mission to the planet Mars.

11. Isaac's Storm by Erik Larson tells the tale of the hurricane that leveled Galveston, Texas in 1900.

12. Obsessive Genius by Barbara Goldsmith is a biography of Marie Curie, nobel prize winner in chemistry, for her work on radioactivity.

13. The Perfect Storm by Junger is the true story of the convergence of three major storm systems at sea. A movie by the same name starred George Clooney.

14. The Hot Zone by Richard Preston is a true story of an outbreak of the Ebola Virus in Reston, Virginia.

15. The Great Mortality by John Kelly is an intimate history of the black death, the most devasting plague of all time.

16. Lab 257 by Michael Carroll is the disturbing story of the government's secret germ laboratory on Plum Island, off of the coast of Long Island, NY.

17. The Radioactive Boyscout by Ken Silverstein is the frightening, true story of a whiz kid who, as a teenager, built a nuclear reactor in his backyard.

18. The Children's Blizzard by David Laskin is the heartbreaking account of the 1888 blizzard in our nation's prairies.

19. The Great Hurricane of 1938 by Cherie Burns is an account of one of the worst storms of the century. The hurricane hit Long Island and New England.

20. A Crack in the Edge of the World by Simon Winchester is the story of the 1906 earthquake that destroyed most of San Fransisco.

21. The Life of the Skin by Arthur and Loretta Balin, two dermatologists, take the reader on a tour of the heaviest organ, our skin. They tell us what our skin hides, what it reveals, and how it communicates.

22. Animals in Translation by Temple Grandin uses the mysteries of autism to decode animal behavior.

23. Dinosaurs in the Attic - An Excursion Into the American Museum of Natural History by Douglas Preston.

24. Thunderstruck by Erik Larson - Marconi invented wireless communication at the turn from the 19th to the 20th century. His story is inverwoven with another headliner from the time period.

25. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson tells the story of the architecture of the World's Fair of 1893 in Chicago. Another story, that of a serial killer, is interwoven to give the reader a real sense of what life was like at the turn of that century.

26. The Ig Nobel Prizes by Marc Abrahams. There are two of these books. Both are collections of the world's unlikeliest research. The actual prizes are handed out at Harvard University in a ceremony that includes the audience throwing paper airplanes and real Nobel Laureates singing silly songs.

27. The Loved Dog by Tamar Geller and Cesar's Way by Cesar Millan are the two best dog training books I've ever read. Both authors have a deep and meaningful understanding of dogs. Their tips are easy to implement and best of all, they work!

28. Kicked, Bitten, and Scratched by Amy Sutherland is a look inside the gates and behind the scenes of the world's best exotic animal trainer school. Students learn how to care for and train various species of wild animals. The students go on to work on Hollywood sets, in sanctuaries and zoos.

29. Tell Me Where It Hurts by Dr. Nick Trout chronicles memorable clients and their owners. Dr. Trout is a veterinary surgeon - the modern version of James Herriot.

30. The Immortalists by David Friedman tells the fascinating and unknown story of the collaboration between Charles Lindbergh (first person to fly across the Atlantic Ocean and NJ native) and Dr. Alexis Carrel (winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1912). Together they maintained body parts alive outside of the bodies they belonged to in their quests for immortality.

31. The 13th Element by John Emsley is a tale of murder, fire and the quest for phosphorus. Phosphorus is the 13th element on the periodic table of the elements. It is one of nature's deadliest creations.

32. Under a Flaming Sky by Daniel James Brown tells the story of the Great Hinkley Firestorm of 1894. The fire ravaged northern Minnesota, growing so large that it created its own weather. As a result of the loss of life and property, the federal government created the agencies that monitor and fight wildfires.

33. Close to Shore by Michael Capuzzo tells of the events of the summer of 1916 along the New Jersey shore when a rogue white shark attacked swimmers.

34. The Demon in the Freezer by Richard Preston is the story of the eradication of smallpox and the fight to protect us against biological weapons by finding a cure for this disease.

35. The Riddle of the Compass by Amir Aczel is about the invention that changed the world by making the Italians the rulers of the seas in the 12th century.

36. Diamond: The History of a Cold-Blooded Love Affair by Matthew Hart follows the diamond trail. This book reveals the truth behind the movie.

37. Krakatoa by Simon Winchester is a story of the horrors of the eruption of this volcano in 1883 and the tsunami that followed. The eruption helped trigger the anti-Western militancy we struggle with today.

38. A Buffalo in the House by R.D. Rosen tells the story of a couple who raise an orphaned buffalo and by doing so highlight their tragic history and make a case for their protection.

39. The Man Who Loved China by Simon Winchester is a biography of Joseph Needham, an eccentric Cambridge scientist who proved that the Chinese were responsible for the invention of hundreds of familiar innovations. Needham's encyclopedia of China grew to 17 volumes and remains the best source of informatin about China.

40. That's the Way the Cookie Crumbles by Dr. Joe Schwarcz is a collection of essays commenting on the chemistry of everyday life. The author is quite witty and able to explain complex concepts in lay terms, making the book both funny and easy to understand. Yes, he does explain why cookies crumble!

41. The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson is the story of London's most terrifying cholera epidemic. In 1854, two million people lived in London. Reverend Whitehead and Dr. Snow defy convention and look for the path of transmission. The book is as much about scientific understanding as it is a horror story of urban terror.

42. An Alchemy of Mind by Diane Ackerman seeks to explain how the human brain functions. Using many anecdotes the author reports on discoveries in neuroscience.

43. Salt by Mark Kurlansky tells the world history of the only rock we eat. The contributions made by this mineral to history of civilization are surprising. The author blends economics, science, politics, religion and cooking into a spicy story.

44. A Lion Called Christian by Anthony Bourke and John Rendall is the true story of the remarkable bond between two friends and a lion. Purchased at Harrods in 1970s London, the cub quickly grew. Plans made to reintroduce him to the wild in Africa resulted in the establishment of rehabilitation programs for lions and new national parks for that continents wildlife.

45. Mountains Beyond Mountains by Trace Kidder is the story of Dr. Paul Farmer's quest to bring decent medical care to the poor. In particular, Dr. Farmer has been responsible for the establishment of worldwide protocols for the treatment of tuberculosis and AIDS in order to stop the spread of these two diseases.

46. Animals Make Us Human by Temple Grandin explains how any animals core emotions - Seeking, Fear, Rage and Panic - relate to its behavior. By creating environments that encourage seeking while reducing the others, humans can provide better living conditions, emotional health, and more satisfying relationships for wild, farm and pet animals.