Biology

One of our great behavioral scientists, the bestselling author of Behave, plumbs the depths of the science and philosophy of decision-making to mount a devastating case against free will, an argument with profound consequences.

In this myth-busting book, Daniel Lieberman, professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University and a pioneering researcher on the evolution of human physical activity, tells the story of how we never evolved to exercise....

The heartrending story of a midcentury American family with 12 children, six of them diagnosed with schizophrenia, that became science's great hope in the quest to understand the disease....

Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells - taken without her knowledge - became one of the most important tools in medicine....

From the celebrated neurobiologist and primatologist, a landmark, genre-defining examination of human behavior, both good and bad, and an answer to the question: Why do we do the things we do? Sapolsky's storytelling concept is delightful but it also has a powerful intrinsic logic....

For centuries, parasites have lived in nightmares, horror stories, and the darkest shadows of science. In Parasite Rex, Carl Zimmer takes listeners on a voyage into the secret universe of these extraordinary life forms that are not only among the most highly evolved on Earth....

Steven R.Gundry, MD offers a definitive guide to the gut biome and its control over its home—us!—revealing the unimaginably complex and intelligent ecosystem controlling our health and teaching us how to heal our guts to prevent and reverse every type of disease....

Ambitious, eye-opening, myth-busting, and groundbreaking, Eve is a landmark book, offering a true paradigm shift in our thinking about what the female body is and why it matters....

Few biologists in the long history of that science have been as productive, as groundbreaking, and as controversial as the Alabama-born Edward Osborne Wilson. At 91 years of age, he may be the most eminent American scientist in any field....

A riveting investigation of the myriad ways that parasites control how other creatures - including humans - think, feel, and act....

Perhaps the most influential science book ever written, On the Origin of Species has continued to fascinate for more than a century after its initial publication....

For over three decades, Ray Kurzweil has been one of the most respected and provocative advocates of the role of technology in our future. In his classic The Age of Spiritual Machines, he argued that computers would soon rival the full range of human intelligence at its best....

An illuminating biography of this extraordinary animal, Coyote America isn't just the story of an animal's survival - it is one of the great epics of our time....

In Mitochondria and the Future of Medicine, naturopathic doctor Lee Know tells the epic story of mitochondria - the widely misunderstood and often-overlooked powerhouses of our cells....

A deep dive into the immune system that will forever change how you think about your body, from the creator of the popular science YouTube channel Kurzgesagt - In a Nutshell....

The Blind Watchmaker is as prescient and timely a book as ever....

A provocative exploration of the tension between our evolutionary history and our modern woes, A Hunter-Gatherer’s Guide to the 21st Century outlines a science-based worldview that will empower you to live a better, wiser life....

For fans of Caitlin Doughty, Mary Roach, and CSI shows, renowned forensic scientist Professor Sue Black presents a deeply humane introduction to the reality of death in our lives, for anyone seeking a clear-eyed guide to a subject that touches us all....

For more than two decades, Sy Montgomery—whose The Soul of an Octopus was a National Book Award finalist—has kept a flock of chickens in her backyard. Each chicken has an individual personality (outgoing or shy, loud or quiet, reckless or cautious) and connects with Sy in her own way.

To explain the mystery of how life evolved on Earth, Nick Lane explores the deep link between energy and genes....

Paul Stamets, the world’s preeminent mushroom and fungi expert, is joined by leading ecologists, doctors, and explorers to show how fungi and mushrooms can restore the planet’s ecosystems, repair our physical health, and renew humanity’s symbiotic relationship with nature.

The knowledge of death is so terrifying that we live most of our lives in denial of it. One of the most difficult moments of childhood must be when each of us first realizes that not only we but all our loved ones will die—and there is nothing we can do about it.

Have you ever wondered what your dogs are thinking? What they're feeling? Now you can finally know! The answers will surprise and delight you....

Susan Casey is our premiere chronicler of the aquatic world. For The Underworld she traversed the globe, joining scientists and explorers on dives to the deepest places on the planet....

A remarkable account of scientific discovery, Honeybee Democracy brings together, for the first time, decades of Seeley's pioneering research to tell the amazing story of house hunting and democratic debate among the honeybees....