The Human Brain Book: An Illustrated Guide To Its Structure, Function and DisordersBy Rita Carter, DK, 254 pages, $46
Science writer Rita Carter takes the reader through the structures, functions and disorders of the brain in clear and compelling way. Carter explains - among other things - the visual cortex, how memories are formed, the aging brain and nerve impulses. Each topic is effectively and beautifully illustrated with medical scans, photographs, 3D cutaways and diagrams.
Galápagos: Preserving Darwin’s LegacyBy Tui De Roy, Firefly, 240 pages, $49.95
Whether you’re a Darwin fan, a traveller, a photographer or a naturalist, this book will appeal, with its stunning photos and accessible commentary by leading Galápagos researchers. The colour photos range from panoramas of lava flows to life-size pictures of tiny shells, and a great variety of plants and animals native to this unique area. On the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth, this book focuses on conservation efforts, as the natural habitat is sadly in danger from human activity.
Einstein: The Life of a GeniusBy Walter Isaacson, Collins Design, 96 pages, $49
A worthy companion to Isaacson’s epic Einstein: His Life and Universe (2007), this slight compendium covers the key points of Einstein’s biography, includes copies of his lecture notes from 1918-19, his August 1939 letter to Franklin Delano Roosevelt informing the U.S. president of the possibility of producing nuclear weapons, and a copy of his U.S. citizenship papers.
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Planet Earth: One Million Things: The Incredible Visual GuideBy John Woodward, DK, 135 pages, $22.99
For the curious child in all of us, this lavishly illustrated survey of our planet covers the gamut from the Earth’s place in the solar system, to its physical makeup, to how it has been shaped by the forces of water and weather. Every page is a feast of images and information.
Mapping The World: Stories of GeographyBy Caroline and Martine Laffon, Firefly, 189 pages, $39.95
Ever heard of Hécatée of Milet? Well, there’s a map in this book by the sixth-century BC Ionian cartographer that indicates that he knew, even then, that the Earth was more or less round. It’s just one of some 87 full-colour maps, including ones from 13th-century China and 15th-century France, featured in this remarkable volume of reproductions, complete with a series of thoughtful essays.
Space Flight: The Complete Story from Sputnik to Apollo - and BeyondBy Giles Sparrow, DK, 320 pages, $23.95
Starting with a quick primer in early rocketry, the book moves on to early spaceflight in the form of a kind of encyclopedia. It is thorough and there are copious illustrations in addition to the main text. There are short biographies of astronauts as well that lend context to all the hardware presented. Of particular interest are the cross-section illustrations of the various space stations, including Mir.
Surviving: How Animals Adapt to Their Environments
By Allesandro Minelli and Maria Pia Mannucci, Firefly, 198 pages, $45
A tantalizing introduction to Darwin, with more than 90 gorgeous photos of creatures ranging strange and wondrous to quite familiar. Each of five sections is introduced with an overview of the millennia of evolution and the complexity of nature. The imperatives of adaptation are laid out: hunger, reproduction, defence against attack, extreme environments and weather. The book offers a quiet hope, noting that life on Earth has endured five mass extinctions, most dramatically 250 million years ago (long before the dinosaurs), when barely 10 per cent of species survived.
How To Be a Genius: Your Brain and How to Train itBy John Woodward, DK, 192 pages, $23.99
If, when looking at two circles - one surrounded by smaller ones and another surrounded by bigger ones - you think one is bigger than the other, then you will enjoy discovering why and how the brain plays such tricks on you. This book is designed for the curious young mind. Presented in a simple format and illustrated in the manner of a comic book, there is plenty for the budding young scientist to think about.
Far Out: A Space-Time ChronicleBy Michael Benson, Abrams, 320 pages, $71.50
Michael Benson has assembled 300 breathtaking, full-colour images to produce a virtual tour of the universe - or, at least, what can be seen from the great observatories around the world and telescopes in space. The pictures range from relatively nearby nebula in our Milky Way to distant clusters of galaxies billions of light-years away. This visual feast also includes essays about what was happening on Earth when light from some of these distant celestial objects first set out on the long journey to our solar system. A trip through both space and time.
Secrets of the Universe: How We Discovered the CosmosBy Paul Murdin, University of Chicago Press, 341 pages, $49
Our concept of the universe has certainly changed a lot since our distant ancestors first looked up at the night sky. Where ancient civilizations once thought of Earth as the centre of the cosmos, we now see our home planet as a mere speck in a vast and expanding universe. In 65 short chapters, astronomer Paul Murdin introduces us to many of the great thinkers and scientists whose insights and discoveries over the centuries helped to reshape our vision of space.
Prehistoric Life: The Definitive Visual History of Life on EarthEdited by Ina Stradins, Angeles Gavira Guerrero and Peter Frances, DK, 512 pages, $46
This richly illustrated book relies on the latest in graphic images and fossil photographs to recreate the long and varied journey of life on our home planet. Using a chronological approach, it takes us from the first emergence of tiny microbes to the eventual rise of early humans, with mini-profiles of a broad sampling of wondrous animals and plants that once occupied Earth.
Evidence of EvolutionBy Mary Ellen Hannibal, photographs by Susan Middleton, Abrams, 128 pages, $38.95
The clean, lovely photographs tell a lot of the story here. All the images are of specimens of animals, insects and birds that show how their species have evolved to survive. Included are images of Darwin’s Galapagos finches with their carefully organized tags. The text describes different aspects of evolution, in manageable chunks that allow the reader to stay interested as they go from reading illuminating text to absorbing the photographs. Delightful.
The Greatest Intergalactic Guide to Space EverBy “The Brainwaves,” DK, 61 pages, $23.99
Cartoon characters that children will actually find funny move readers along child-friendly paths (like at a zoo or in an obstacle course), making jokes while imparting information about planets, galaxies, famous people in space (including the man who described a comet as a dirty snowball), legendary figures in space (such as Icarus), about light displays, constellations, weather patterns on Earth, and so much more. Think Where’s Waldo for junior rocket scientists.
Science: The Definitive Visual GuideEditor-in-chief Adam Hart-Davis, DK, 512 pages, $60
The incredible sweep of scientific discovery from wheels, levers and pulleys through alchemy, engines and inoculations to cloning and nanotechnology gets the full DK visual treatment. In chronological order, the “Eureka” moments of every period from the Stone Age to the Information Age are described with concise accessibility and rich illustration. Profiles of the exceptional thinkers who have driven human progress, from Aristotle to Einstein, give life to Isaac Newton’s comment: “If I have seen further it is only by standing on the shoulders of giants.”