The writing in 'The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2009' demonstrates what sets the best apart from the rest. On topics ranging from psychology and biology to carbon footprints and electronic waste, these writers exude passion for their subjects. And the essays they write will wow readers into a rapt state of reverence for all of the awe and wonder in the natural world.
Colin Ellard questions why modern humans, with our big brains and technological advances, seem to be inept at navigating our world, especially when compared to our animal brethren.
In 'Born to Be Good,' Dacher Keltner marries Eastern notions of kindness and reverence with evolutionary science in order to get at the answer to three salient questions: How can we be happy? What are the origins of kindness? How can we be good?
Innovative reportage that spans the subjects of biotechnology, linguistics, zoology, and cosmology, among others.
Why is nasal congestion is like an erection inside your nose? What are the nonsexual health benefits of orgasm? And why, pray tell, are the rats in Dr. Ahmed Shafik's laboratory all wearing polyester pants? The answers to these questions and many more.
David Quammen's nontechnical point-of-view and his sense of humor render science not only palatable but entertaining, making this collection engaging for readers with even a passing interest in the natural world.
The benefits of the mid-afternoon nap, why multi-tasking is a dangerous myth, and the sticky subject of gender differences are just a fraction of the topics covered as Medina explains how our brains work.
What if, by plague or divine rapture, the entire human race disappeared from the planet? What would happen to the Earth?
Charles Seife draws on his gift for making cutting-edge science accessible to explain information theory.
With a notebook and night-vision gear, Robert Sullivan sits in a New York streamlike flow of garbage becoming one with the rat. Sullivan, a modern-day Thoreau, spends a year plunging the depths of New York's burgeoning rat populations.
Loosely based on the form of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, The Ancestor's Tale takes us modern humans back through four billion years of life on our planet.
Why Birds Sing is a lyric exploration of bird song that blends the latest scientific research with a deep understanding of musical beauty and form.
