Top 5 Tuesday(?) - Nonfiction

After not posting at all last week (mostly owing to adopting a new kitten, Amy Pond), I’ve decided to move Top 5 Monday to Tuesday. Henceforth, it will be known as…Top 5 Tuesday!

This week, I tackle my 5 favorite nonfiction books:

1.     On the Origin of Species, Charles Darwin

Okay, you had to figure I’d throw this on the list. After all, Darwin’s 1859 publication is the seminal work in evolutionary biology. Darwin manages to lay out his theory – evolution via natural selection – in relatively plain terms. Of course, Darwin’s theory has changed (evolved, if you will) over the 150 or so years since its publication, but On the Origin of Species has greatly impacted the scientific community and how we think about life on this planet.

2.     Fateful Harvest, Duff Wilson

I first read Wilson’s book on a plane ride to Kansas, as fate would have it. My grandpa and I were on our way out to look at houses, and I needed to read something for a book report for my AP Environmental Science class. Fateful Harvest is, essentially, the story of the small town of Quincy, Washington. The town’s mayor and a group of concerned farmers discovered a horrible secret – agricultural giant Cenex had been lacing their fertilizers with industrial byproducts, including heavy metals. Thanks to this book, I no longer buy Cenex gasoline and I scrub the hell out of my produce.

3.     Level 4 Virus Hunters of the CDC, Joseph B. McCormick

In case you didn’t know, I’m sort of a freak. I mean, who else reads books about viruses for fun? Infectious diseases – especially Level 4 viruses (the really scary ones) – have always been fascinating to me. McCormick’s book covers a number of fascinating diseases, focusing on hemorrhagic fevers like Ebola, Marburg, and Lassa fevers. McCormick was one of the first Western epidemiologists on the scene when Ebola was first discovered in the 1970s, and reading his account is both intriguing and terrifying.

4.     The Seven Daughters of Eve, Bryan Sykes

In addition to epidemiology, genetics is another area of science that continually fascinates me. I think that if I weren’t a wildlife/conservation biologist, I’d probably be a geneticist of some sort. In The Seven Daughters of Eve, Sykes explains mitochondrial DNA – and its significance – in an interesting and easy to understand way. Sykes also lines out the “seven daughters of Eve” seven distinct mitochondrial halpogroups, and explains how you can use mitochondrial DNA sequences to create phylogenetic histories of groups of people (far more easily than using full genome sequencing).

5.     Chronicles, Froissart

Here’s a shocker – this one isn’t a science book! Adding to my list of odd passions, I’ve always been really interested in the medieval period. In fact, I took several classes for my English degree in medieval studies – Arthurian Romances and Medieval Lit were my two favorites. We read Froissart’s Chronicles in Arthurian Romances, and I loved it. While Froissart did embellish the truth a little and got some of his dates wrong, the Chronicles stand as one of the most comprehensive looks at medieval culture and history.

Well, that’s it for this week. If you have any suggestions for next week’s Top 5, leave them in the comments!

Mischief Managed,

Slim Pearl Silver-Feather

Currently Reading: Still on hiatus!

Books read in 2012: 20