ONE of the best things about science books is that there is always something new and marvellous to savour when you have enough time. Those who are lucky enough to be going on holiday are spoiled for choice: there has been a book bonanza so far this year from both established heavy hitters and challenging newcomers.
Starting with the ever-popular dinosaurs, Riley Black’s is a vivid glimpse into the period just before (and just after) the worst day ever for life on Earth, when a 10-kilometre-wide asteroid ploughed into what is now Yucatán, Mexico, triggering the extinction of about three-quarters of Earth’s species.
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It is a great accompaniment to the recent documentaries and Prehistoric Planet. A consultant on the latter was palaeontologist Steve Brusatte, whose The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs was widely praised. Now, he has moved forward in time with , a fascinating, complex tale. Spoiler alert: humans only get a look-in right at the end.
Moving tentatively towards the world of humans is by palaeobiologist Thomas Halliday, which ranges from hundreds of millions of years ago when complex life first emerged to the relatively recent past of tens of thousands of years ago. If Earth’s past were squeezed into a single day, says Halliday, written human history would make up the last two-thousandths of a second, but “our species has an influence unlike almost any other biological force”. It is also far more destructive than the prominent natural disasters of the past.
There is a great example of our terrifying power in by George Monbiot: farming. It is “the most destructive human activity ever to have blighted the Earth”, he says. Luckily, he delivers on the book’s subtitle, exploring ways of “feeding the world without devouring the Earth”.
If Monbiot isn’t revolutionary enough for you, try tales from the animal world that are captivating but pack a powerful punch. Ed Yong tours animals’ inner lives in , while is wasp expert Seirian Sumner’s attempt to endear the “original bee” to us. Here, she paints a picture of wasps’ complex societies – and their current moment in the scientific sun. As for bees, Lars Chittka’s asks a radical question: are we ready to think that an insect may have a form of consciousness?
Who or what will soon go extinct may be a terrifying thought for a holiday, but in After They’re Gone, Peter Marren also explores changing humans’ relationship with other animals. And there are upsides: we can’t do anything about the past, but we can face up to the sixth extinction that is being driven by humanity. by Rebecca Nesbit takes that thought further, arguing it is time to stop being romantic about the nature of nature and make rational decisions about what to save.
We had better get a grip with all that responsibility sloshing around. Let’s try more sleep, surely a popular idea during vacation time. Russell Foster’s explains how sleep keeps our circadian rhythms on track: this relationship is so important that its interruption has a name, sleep and circadian rhythm disruption. Time to learn some sleep smarts if we are to avoid the darker side of sleep deprivation.
Fans of hardcore biology will also love , in which Nick Lane argues that if we want to understand the nature of life, we have to think about the flow of energy and matter – it is a tough tour de force. Physics buffs will enjoy Suzie Sheehy’s , a lively account of the 12 experiments that changed our world, from the discovery of the first subatomic particle to the confirmation of the Higgs boson.
There is a more personal note in , in which cosmologist Laura Mersini-Houghton combines her own story, including her childhood in communist Albania, with her ideas about our universe, which is “but a humble member in an intricate, vast and breathtakingly beautiful cosmic family”, she says.
We are also looking forward to Gaia Vince’s next month. She has a controversial idea: could migration be the ultimate adaptation to climate change? And for the September holiday crew, by Charles Cockell looks like fun. It is a collection of essays prompted by chats the astrobiologist had with taxi drivers all over the world, from what can live in space to whether we will ever understand aliens. Just the thing to mull over on a late break.
