Articles

Sneed B. Collard III—Birding for Boomers: And Everyone Else Brave Enough to Embrace the World’s Most Rewarding and Frustrating Activity

“One of the first great things about birds: they are everywhere,” Sneed B. Collard III writes in Birding for Boomers—and Everyone Else Brave Enough to Embrace the World’s Most Rewarding and Frustrating Activity. Collard offers tips for new birders on binoculars, field guides, and bird ID apps, coping with age-related hearing/vision loss, birding travel destinations, and bird conservation.

Sadie Dingfelder—Do I Know You? A Faceblind Reporter’s Journey into the Science of Sight, Memory, and Imagination

Sadie Dingfelder scolded a man in a grocery store for choosing the wrong item. She mistook him for her husband. After she learned she is faceblind, her reportorial instincts kicked in. In Do I Know You? A Faceblind Reporter's Journey into the Science of Sight, Memory, and Imagination, she says she’s learned how to cope: “If I pay close attention and ask the right questions, I’ll figure it out.”

Ferris Jabr—Becoming Earth: How Our Planet Came to Life

Over billions of years, life forms from microbes to mammoths transformed continents, oceans, and the atmosphere, Ferris Jabr reports in Becoming Earth: How Our Planet Came to Life. To explore this process, Jabr visited a former gold mine a mile underground, now a science lab; an Arctic region once home to megafauna; and a 1066-ft tall observatory for global climate studies in the Amazon rainforest.

Sneed B. Collard III—Like No Other: Earth’s Coolest One-of-a-Kind Creatures

The Australian platypus, though a mammal, lays eggs. Whale sharks, the world’s longest fish, may be 60 ft long. New Zealand’s kakapo, the world’s largest parrot, can’t fly, Sneed B. Collard III reports in Like No Other: Earth’s Coolest One-of-a-Kind Creatures. Collard, author of nearly 100 science books for young readers, includes additional resources and exercises in this amply-illustrated book.

Wendy Lyons Sunshine—Tender Paws: How Science-Based Parenting Can Transform Our Relationship with Dogs

Introducing a puppy or traumatized rescue dog to your home often presents unexpected challenges: some are nippy, fearful, or constant barkers. Tactics that help at-risk kids also may improve dog behavior, Wendy Lyons Sunshine asserts in Tender Paws: How Science-Based Parenting Can Transform Our Relationship with Dogs. To change behavior, she says, one first needs to assess a dog’s unmet needs.

Sheeva Azma—Science X Marketing

While science and marketing are separate disciplines, effective science communication draws on knowledge and skills from both, Sheeva Azma asserts in Science X Marketing, a book summarizing her experiences studying neuroscience and working as a science writer, educator, marketer, and policy advisor. Azma also explores ethical challenges that people who work in science marketing may face.

Erin Zimmerman—Unrooted: Botany, Motherhood, and the Fight to Save an Old Science

Despite extinction of nearly 600 seed plant species since the 18th century, the number of top US universities offering botany degrees continues to fall, Erin Zimmerman reports in Unrooted: Botany, Motherhood, and the Fight to Save an Old Science. Protected maternity leave, pumping space, remote work options, and childcare at conferences, she asserts, could keep more highly trained women in science.

George R. Zug and Devin A. Reese (NASW member)—Tortoises of the World: Giants to Dwarfs

All tortoises are turtles, but not all turtles are tortoises, herpetologist George R. Zug and NASW member Devin A. Reese report in Tortoises of the World: Giants to Dwarfs. Tortoises may converse via low-frequency vocalizations, this illustrated guide to 47 tortoise species relates. They can feel tactile stimulation of their shells. Habitat change and direct exploitation threaten their survival.

Netta Weinstein, Heather Hansen (NASW member), and Thuy-vy Nguyen—Solitude: The Science and Power of Being Alone

Solitude, often disparaged, linked to loneliness, or thought an unattainable luxury, offers many benefits for everyday life, Netta Weinstein, NASW member Heather Hansen, and Thuy-vy Nguyen write in Solitude: The Science and Power of Being Alone. Solitude can boost creativity, reflection, and resilience, the authors say. Surprise: it also often fosters improvements in social relationships.

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