NCC BioScience Book Club

Reading good books about science and all its connections is a great way to become a better scientist, doctor, or citizen! The books below were recommended by NCC Biology faculty, staff, and students. You can read some on your own, or maybe you'd like to form a book club or discussion group or discuss one at a βββ meeting… You can also recommend a book that you like!

Environment & Conservation

Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey
Desert Solitaire
Author: Edward Abbey
Field: Environment & Conservation
Genre: Non-fiction
Recommender: Jon Visick
Find it at the NCC library
In the 1950s, Ed Abbey worked as a seasonal ranger in what was then Arches National Monument, Utah, touching off a lifelong career as one of the foremost environmental writers and activists. This beautiful book recounts his experiences and often intense opinions; it'll make you fall in love with the Southwest and want to protect it.
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Forty Signs of Rain by Kim Stanley Robinson
Forty Signs of Rain
Author: Kim Stanley Robinson
Field: Environment & Conservation
Genre: Fiction
Recommender: Jon Visick
Find it at Amazon
This near-future sci-fi novel brings together climate change with the inner workings of the NSF and its integrity as well as the potential for governmental action. A fun read, and the first in a trilogy if you like the characters and want more.
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The Overstory by Richard Preston
The Overstory
Author: Richard Preston
Field: Environment & Conservation
Genre: Fiction
Recommender: Jon Visick
Find it at the NCC library
Pulitzer Prize-winning story of nine people whose "roots" lead them to care for trees, brought together in the end by their desire to fight forest destruction
1 reader liked this book

Epidemiology & Public Health

The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson
The Ghost Map
Author: Steven Johnson
Field: Epidemiology & Public Health
Genre: Non-fiction
Recommender: Jon Visick
Find it at Amazon
How John Snow's map of London's 1854 cholera epidemic traced the source to a contaminated water pump and launched epidemiology is well known. Less well-known is the contribution of a local priest to Snow's work and how the outbreak changed cities and society forever.
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Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder
Mountains Beyond Mountains
Author: Tracy Kidder
Field: Epidemiology & Public Health
Genre: Non-fiction
Recommender: Jon Visick
Find it at the NCC library
Paul Farmer was a Harvard MD who saw disease differently, with poverty at the roots of much of it. This book tells the story of Farmer's work to improve health in Haiti and other impoverished, disease-burdened areas.
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Evolution

The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin
The Origin of Species
Author: Charles Darwin
Field: Evolution
Genre: Non-fiction
Recommender: Jon Visick
Find it at the NCC library
Every biologist should know what Darwin really said—and once you get used to his wordiness, it's delightful to see him so carefully lay out his argument.
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History of Science

Imbeciles: The Supreme Court, American Eugenics and the Sterilization of Carrie Buck by Adam Cohen
Imbeciles: The Supreme Court, American Eugenics and the Sterilization of Carrie Buck
Author: Adam Cohen
Field: History of Science
Genre: Non-fiction
Recommender: Steve Johnston
A distressing discussion of American eugenics. A terrible example of how science can go off the rails.
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Medicine

The Biology of Cancer by Robert Weinberg
The Biology of Cancer
Author: Robert Weinberg
Field: Medicine
Genre: Non-fiction
Recommender: Steve Johnston
Heavy-duty investigation into the cells and molecules that cause cancer.
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The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee
The Emperor of All Maladies
Author: Siddhartha Mukherjee
Field: Medicine
Genre: Non-fiction
Recommender: Jon Visick
Find it at the NCC library
This fascinating history of cancer and our understanding of the disease and its treatment makes clear why it has not succumbed to decades of intense research.
1 reader liked this book
Song of the Cell by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Song of the Cell
Author: Siddhartha Mukherjee
Field: Medicine
Genre: Non-fiction
Recommender: Steve Johnston
A delightful tour of the cell, emphasizing connections to human medicine.
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Microbiology

The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton
The Andromeda Strain
Author: Michael Crichton
Field: Microbiology
Genre: Fiction
Recommender: Jon Visick
Find it at Amazon
An oldie but a goodie by the author of Jurassic Park: what happens when a crashing satellite brings a biological threat to earth?
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Microbe Hunters by Paul De Kruif
Microbe Hunters
Author: Paul De Kruif
Field: Microbiology
Genre: Biography
Recommender: Jon Visick
Find it at the NCC library
The book that started Dr. Visick on the path to being a microbiologist! Written in the 1920s and in print ever since, this book chronicles "microbe hunters" like Koch, Pasteur, and van Leeuwenhoek who built our understanding of germs and disease and developed the science of microbiology.
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Spillover by David Quammen
Spillover
Author: David Quammen
Field: Microbiology
Genre: Non-fiction
Recommender: Jon Visick
Find it at the NCC library
Why do human disease epidemics so often result from microbes that "jump" from animals? Quammen explains how microbiology detectives identified the source of important "spillover" events and even predicts a (then) future coronavirus pandemic!
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Molecular Biology

The Double Helix by James Watson
The Double Helix
Author: James Watson
Field: Molecular Biology
Genre: Non-fiction
Recommender: Jon Visick
Find it at the NCC library
A classic! The story of the discovery of the structure of DNA as told from Jim Watson's egotistical, misogynistic perspective is an illuminating look at science and scientists in the real world.
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The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee
The Gene: An Intimate History
Author: Siddhartha Mukherjee
Field: Molecular Biology
Genre: Non-fiction
Recommender: Jon Visick
Find it at Amazon
Far more balanced and unbiased than Watson's "The Double Helix" but still an engaging and readable history of our understanding of genes and molecular genetics
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Science (general)

In Ascension by Martin MacInnes
In Ascension
Author: Martin MacInnes
Field: Science (general)
Genre: Fiction
Recommender: Steve Johnston
This one is hard to classify. It's a near-future sci-fi book about the first contact with off-planet intelligence. The key person is, of course, a microbiologist. Delightful writing (it was shortlisted for the Booker Award)
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Scientific Integrity/Ethics

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Author: Rebecca Skloot
Field: Scientific Integrity/Ethics
Genre: Non-fiction
Recommender: Steve Johnston
A fascinating exploration into the early days of cell culture and how race and class influence the study of biology
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Intuition by Allegra Goodman
Intuition
Author: Allegra Goodman
Field: Scientific Integrity/Ethics
Genre: Fiction
Recommender: Jon Visick
Find it at Amazon
Loosely based on a real-life scientific-misconduct case, this is the story of a young post-doc who has to blow the whistle on a colleague in a high-pressure lab.
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The Language of God by Francis Collins
The Language of God
Author: Francis Collins
Field: Scientific Integrity/Ethics
Genre: Non-fiction
Recommender: Steve Johnston
A very personal reflection on the intersection of modern molecular biology and religion
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Virology

Breathless: The Scientific Race to Defeat a Deadly Virus by David Quammen
Breathless: The Scientific Race to Defeat a Deadly Virus
Author: David Quammen
Field: Virology
Genre: Non-fiction
Recommender: Jon Visick
Find it at the NCC library
If infectious disease experts had predicted the next pandemic could well be an emerging coronavirus, why weren't we more ready for SARS-CoV-2? When the virus appeared, how did scientists respond? Where did the virus come from? This book explores many of the pivotal events in the early history of the CoVID-19 pandemic.
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The Great Influenza by John M. Barry
The Great Influenza
Author: John M. Barry
Field: Virology
Genre: Non-fiction
Recommender: Jon Visick
Find it at the NCC library
Imagine a pandemic like CoVID-19--but in a time before we understood viruses or how to develop vaccines against them. The 1918 flu pandemic killed some 40 million people worldwide, and if you think CoVID was "unprecedented," well, just read this book!
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