Vote for the Next Book (#17)

Crisis Averted: The Hidden Science of Fighting Outbreaks

by Caitlin Rivers, PhD

History, Medicine, Health
320 pages, first published October 8, 2024
Available at 15 Michigan Libraries
"There are few visible markers of the accomplishments of public health. If epidemiologists do their jobs, nothing happens. An outbreak does not grow into an epidemic. A child does not go hungry. A would-be smoker never lights up. These achievements are rarely noticed or celebrated, but Caitlin Rivers lives for such victories. By making sure that things don’t happen, she and legions of scientists, practitioners, and policymakers change the course of history. We have many of the tools and experiences needed to prevent the next crisis, but countless challenges remain, including constantly emerging pathogens, the rapid growth of biotechnology, and the inconsistent cycles of funding for government organizations like the CDC. Progress can be slow, even with the next pandemic potentially right around the corner, but the unsung heroes in public health remain focused on their missions. Averted is their story—from the eradication of smallpox in the 20th century to today’s safeguards against extraterrestrial germs. ” – GoodReads

The Universe in Verse: 15 Portals to Wonder Through Science & Poetry

by Maria Popova

Poetry, Essays, Nature, Philosophy, Art, History
112 pages, first published October 1, 2024
Available at 23 Michigan Libraries
“Poetry and science, as Popova writes in her introduction, "are instruments for knowing the world more intimately and loving it more deeply." In 15 short essays on subjects ranging from the mystery of dark matter and the infinity of pi to the resilience of trees and the intelligence of octopuses, Popova tells the stories of scientific searching and discovery. These stories are interwoven with details from the very real and human lives of scientists—many of them women, many underrecognized—and poets inspired by the same questions and the beauty they reveal. Each essay is paired with a poem reflecting its subject by poets ranging from Emily Dickinson, W. H. Auden, and Edna St. Vincent Millay to Maya Angelou, Diane Ackerman, and Tracy K. Smith, and is stunningly illustrated by celebrated artist Ofra Amit. Together, they wake us to a 'reality aglow with wonder.'” – GoodReads

Women in White Coats: How the First Women Doctors Changed the World of Medicine

by Oliva Campbell

History, Medicine, Biography
368 pages, first published March 2, 2021
Available at 105 Michigan Libraries
“Motivated by personal loss and frustration over inadequate medical care, Elizabeth Blackwell, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson and Sophia Jex-Blake fought for a woman's place in the male-dominated medical field. For the first time ever, Women in White Coats tells the complete history of these three pioneering women who, despite countless obstacles, earned medical degrees and paved the way for other women to do the same. Though very different in personality and circumstance, together these women built women-run hospitals and teaching colleges--creating for the first time medical care for women by women." - GoodReads

Vote for the Next Book (#18)

Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America

by Beth Macy

Politics, Health, Medicine, True Crime, Sociology
384 pages, first published August 7, 2018
Available at 205 Michigan Libraries
Literary Awards: GoodReads Nominee for Readers' Favorite Nonfiction (2018)
"Beth Macy takes us into the epicenter of America's twenty-plus year struggle with opioid addiction. From distressed small communities in Central Appalachia to wealthy suburbs; from disparate cities to once-idyllic farm towns; it's a heartbreaking trajectory that illustrates how this national crisis has persisted for so long and become so firmly entrenched." – GoodReads

Is a River Alive?

by Robert Macfarlane

Nature, History, Ecology, Philosophy, Environment, Natural History
384 pages, published May 1, 2025
Available at 100 Michigan Libraries
“Robert Macfarlane brings his glittering style to a profound work of travel writing, reporting, and natural history. Is a River Alive? is a joyous exploration into an ancient, urgent idea: that rivers are living beings who should be recognized as such in imagination and law. Macfarlane takes readers on three unforgettable journeys teeming with extraordinary people and places: to the miraculous cloud-forests and mountain streams of Ecuador, to the wounded creeks and lagoons of India, and to the spectacular wild rivers of Canada—imperiled by mining, pollution, and dams. Braiding these journeys is the life story of the fragile chalk stream a mile from Macfarlane’s house, which flows through his own years and days. Powered by Macfarlane’s dazzling prose and lit throughout by other voices, Is a River Alive? will open hearts, challenge perspectives, and remind us that our fate flows with that of rivers—and always has.” – GoodReads

It's a Gas: The Sublime & Elusive Elements that Expand Our World

by Mark Miodownik

Chemistry, History, Technology, Popular
304 pages, first published September 17, 2024
Available at 48 Michigan Libraries
“Gases are all around us—they fill our lungs, power our movement, create stars, and warm our atmosphere. Often invisible and sometimes odorless, these ubiquitous substances are also the least understood materials in our world, and always have been.

It wasn’t long ago that they were seen as the work of ancient the sudden closing of a door after a change in airflow signaled a ghost’s presence. Scientists and engineers have struggled with their own gaseous demons. The development of high-pressure steam power in the eighteenth century literally blew away some researchers, ushering in a new era for both safety regulations and mass transit. And carbon dioxide, that noxious byproduct of fossil fuel consumption and cow burps, gave rise to modern civilization. Its warming properties known for centuries, it now spells ruin for our fragile atmosphere." -GoodReads

Vote for the Next Book (#19)

Great Lakes Sea Lamprey: The 70 Year War on a Biological Invader

by Cory Brant

Nature, Michigan
384 pages, first published August 22, 2019
Available at 26 Michigan Libraries
"Great Lakes Sea Lamprey draws on extensive interviews with individuals who experienced the invasion firsthand as well as a trove of unexplored archival materials to tell the incredible story of sea lamprey in the Great Lakes—what started the invasion, how it was halted, and what this history can teach us about the response to biological invaders in the present and future. Richly illustrated with color and black & white photographs, the book will interest readers concerned with the health of the Great Lakes, the history of the conservation movement, and the ongoing threat of invasive species." – GoodReads

The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory

by Brian Greene

Physics, Astronomy, Popular Science, Space, Philosophy, Mathematics
464 pages, first published February 1, 1999
Available at 56 Michigan Libraries
“Today, physicists and mathematicians throughout the world are feverishly working on one of the most ambitious theories ever proposed: superstring theory. String theory, as it is often called, is the key to the Unified Field Theory that eluded Einstein for more than thirty years. Finally, the century-old antagonism between the large and the small--General Relativity and Quantum Theory--is resolved. String theory proclaims that all of the wondrous happenings in the universe, from the frantic dancing of subatomic quarks to the majestic swirling of heavenly galaxies, are reflections of one grand physical principle and manifestations of one single entity: microscopically tiny vibrating loops of energy, a billionth of a billionth the size of an atom. In this brilliantly articulated and refreshingly clear book, Greene relates the scientific story and the human struggle behind twentieth-century physics' search for a theory of everything.” – GoodReads

The Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet

by Jeff Goodell

Climate Change, Environment, Nature, Politics, History, Ecology, Health
400 pages, first published July 11, 2023
Available at 134 Michigan Libraries
“The Heat Will Kill You First is about the extreme ways in which our planet is already changing. It is about why spring is coming a few weeks earlier and fall is coming a few weeks later and the impact that will have on everything from our food supply to disease outbreaks. It is about what will happen to our lives and our communities when typical summer days in Chicago or Boston go from 90° F to 110°F. A heatwave, Goodell explains, is a predatory event— one that culls out the most vulnerable people. But that is changing. As heatwaves become more intense and more common, they will become more democratic. " -GoodReads

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