AP BIOLOGY RECOMMENDED READING LISTS:
BOOKS WE HAVE IN OUR LIBRARY.
(Many of the books marked as "NEW!" were purchased with a grant from the Grosse Ile Education Foundation)
| Covers | Title/Author | Book Summary | Call # |
 |
Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton |
A satelite returns with an unknown pathogen
"organism." (SCIENCE FICTION) |
Fic Cri (also in pbk) |
 |
The Beak of the Finch: A
Story of Evolution in Our Time by Jonathon Weiner |
The story of Rosemary and Peter Grant, who
have observed beak evolution for 20 years on Daphne Island in the Galapagos. (NONFICTION) |
 598.8 Wei |
 |
Charles Darwin: Voyaging by E. Janet Browne |
Traces the interesting life of Charles Darwin
from birth to 1985 just before his publishing of Origin of Species. (NONFICTION) |
575 Bro |
 |
Cheating Monkeys and
Citizen Bees by Lee Dugatkin |
Dugatkin ,an evolutionary
biologist),is steady in his belief that "the study of evolution and animal
behavior can be used to foster and enhance cooperation in humans." He argues
forcefully that the behavioral predisposition of humans may be predicted by
evolution. (NONFICTION) |
591.5 Dug
|
 |
Cobra Event by Richard Preston |
A bioterrorist story of the dispersal of
genetically engineered pathogens. (SCIENCE FICTION) |
FIC (pbk) Pre |
 |
Darwinia by Robert Charles Wilson |
A 1920s
expedition to explore former Europe, which disappeared a few years earlier,
replaced by primitive jungle, dangerous inhabitants and exotic animals. (SCIENCE FICTION) |
|
 |
Darwin's Black Box by Michael J. Behe
|
Michael Behe looks at evidence
in biochemistry pointing toward the limits of evolutionary theory, arguing
that the complexity and interdependence of biochemical systems make it
harder to envision Darwin's gradual changes. He asserts that biochemical
machines must have been designed by some type of higher intelligence. (NONFICTION) |
575 |
 |
Darwin's Ghost: The Origin
of Species Updated by Steve Jones |
Wonderful and easy to read,
this is an updated version of Origin of Species
using Darwin's exact table of contents (and many of Darwin's original but
replacing the 1800's examples with modern ones that support Origin's
arguments concerning natural selection. (NONFICTION) |
|
| The Day of St.
Anthony's Fire by John G. Fuller |
615.9 |
||
 |
Dead Men Do Tell Tales: The
Strange and Fascinating Cases of a Forensic Anthropologist by William Maples |
Dr. Maples tells the stories of his
strangest, most interesting, and most macabre cases. (NONFICTION) |
614.1 Map |
 |
Deep survival : who lives,
who dies, and why : true stories of miraculous endurance and sudden death
by Laurence Gonzales |
This narrative is the first
book to describe the science of survival, revealing through new
psychological and neurological research the workings of the brain that
motivate our actions. Unconscious responses to everything from events in
daily life to dire emergencies are driven by primal regions of the brain:
those that support the survival of the species, but not always the
individual. (NONFICTION) |
613.6 Gon |
 |
Demon in the Freezer by Richard Preston |
The history and eradication of the small pox virus. (NONFICTION) |
616.9 Pre |
 |
Dinner at the New Gene
Cafe: How Genetic Engineering is Changing What We Eat, How We Live, and the
Global Politics of Food by Bill Lambrecht |
Lambrecht traces the scientific and political
controversies surrounding the use of genetically modified organisms and the
food we eat. (NONFICTION) |
363.19 Lam |
 |
Dr. Tatiana's Sex Advice to
All Creation by Olivia Judsen |
A "Dear Abby" style science
column that answers the who, what, when, where, why, and how of a
fascinating variety of sexual activity for all creatures, great and small. (NONFICTION) |
306.7 Jud |
 |
Evolution: The Triumph of
an Idea by Carl Zimmer |
A history of evolution for the layperson. (NONFICTION) |
OSZ 576.8 Zim |
 |
Fast Food Nation: The Dark
Side of the All-American Meal by Eric Schlosser |
A disturbing look at the empty
and excess calories, unhealthy menus, and dangerous practices and processing
that may affect those who dine at fast food restaurants. (NONFICTION) |
394.1 Sch |
| Food, Inc. Peter Pringle |
363.19 Pri |
||
 |
Genes, Girls, and Gamow:
After the Double Helix by James D. Watson |
Of course Watson and Francis
Crick were serious scientists when they discovered the structure of DNA and
won the Nobel Prize and all that. But they were also young men seeking less
lofty prizes and engaging in activities that did not make it into the
laboratory notes. (NONFICTION) |
572.8 Wat |
 |
Golden Ratio: The Story of
PHI, the World's Most Astonishing Number by Mario Livio |
A captivating journey through
art and architecture. botany and biology, physics and mathematics; this
ratio, 1.6180339887...impacts so many facets of our lives that it has
fascinated us through the ages. (NONFICTION) |
516.2 Liv |
 |
Gorillas in the Mist by Dian Fossey |
Fossey's Own Story of Working
With gorillas in the remote African rain forest. (NONFICTION) |
599.88 Fos |
 |
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The
Fates of Human Societies by Jared M. Diamond |
An investigation into human
nature, history, and politics to explain how Europe conquered the New World,
Africa, and Asia (NONFICTION) |
303.4 Dia |
 |
Handmaid's Tale: A Novel by Margaret Atwood |
Set in the near future, the handmaids of the title are
women who can still bear children after the ravages of war caused
wide-spread sterility. One of the handmaids, Kate, is caught trying to
escape and sent to the prison-like training center. She is sent from there
to the home of the commander to bear his child, but revolutionary forces
have other plans for her! |
|
 |
The Hot Zone by Richard Preston |
A frightening story of an Ebola outbreak |
614.5 |
 |
Hydrogen: The Essential
Element by John S. Rigden |
A fascinating history is revealed in this probe of a
scientific giant, the hydrogen atom. |
|
 |
In the Shadow of Man by Jane Goodall |
Goodall's story of her work with chimpanzees. |
|
 |
Insect Lives edited by Erich Hoyt & Ted Schultz |
A weird and wonderful journey into the insect world
through literature, science, art, and popular culture. |
|
 |
Into Thin Air: A Personal
Account of the Mount Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer |
Krakauer was part of the ill-fated Mount Everest
expedition that resulted in nine deaths. |
796.5 |
 |
Island of the Colorblind by Oliver Sachs |
The author studies total colorblindness and
a rare type of paralysis in light of their appearance in Pacific island
populations; includes anthropology, botany, and medicine. |
617.7 |
| A Journal of
the Plague Year by Daniel DeFoe |
FIC |
||
 |
Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton |
One of mankind's most thrilling fantasies
has come true--an astonishing technique for recovering and cloning dinosaur
DNA has been discovered. Creatures that have been extinct for eons roam
Jurassic Park, where all the world can visit them--for a price. Until
something goes wrong. |
|
 |
Killer Germs by Barry Zimmerman |
A graphic treatment of emerging and reemerging diseases. |
616.9 |
 |
Last Dinosaur Book: The
Life and Times of a Cultural Icon by W.J. Mitchell |
A look at the evolving image of the dinosaur. |
|
 |
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula LeGuin |
The story of an envoy from Earth who goes
to another planet to establish a relationship between two planets. |
FIC |
 |
Lives of a Cell: Notes of a
Biology Watcher by Lewis Thomas |
Lewis Thomas explores the
world around us and examines the complex interdependence of all things. He
covers topics as diverse as computers, germs, language, music, death,
insects and medicine in a series of poetic, personal essays. (NONFICTION) |
301.31 Tho |
 |
Madness: A Brief History by Roy Porter |
What is meant when we say
"madness?" Examine the wide range of possibilities this question covers,
from witches to electric shock therapy to Prozac. (NONFICTION) |
616.89 Por |
 |
Medusa and the Snail: More
Notes of a Biology Watcher by Lewis Thomas |
The medusa is a tiny jellfish
that lives on the surface of a sea slug found in the Bay of Naples. Readers
will find themselves caught up in the fate of the medusa and the snail as a
metaphor for eternal issues of life and death. There are essays on the human
genius for making mistakes, on disease and natural death, on cloning, on
warts, as well as an assessment of medical science and health care. His
prose is marked by wonder and wit. (NONFICTION) |
574 Tho |
 |
The Monk in the Garden: The
Lost and Found Genius of Gregor Mendel, the Father of Genetics by Robin M. Henig |
Nominated for the National
Book Critics Circle Award for Biography, this balanced, sensitive account of
Gregor Mendel -- whose life has been held up as the story of a "forgotten
genius" ahead of his time -- reveals a thoughtful man who through luck,
persistence, and insight became known as the Father of Genetics. (NONFICTION) |
576.5 Hen |
 |
Napolean's Buttons: How 17
Molecules Changed the World by Penny LeCouteur |
This book tells the stories of
seventeen molecules that, like the tin in Napoleon's buttons, greatly
influenced the course of history. These molecules resulted in grand feats of
engineering and spurred advances in medicine and have determined what we
eat, drink, and wear today. (NONFICTION) |
540 LeC |
 |
Nineteen Eight-Four by George Orwell |
"Winston Smith (Hurt) endures a squalid existence in totalitarian Oceania under the constant surveillance of Big Brother. But his life takes a horrifying turn when he begins a forbidden love affair and commits the crime of independent thought. Sent to the chillingly labeled 'Ministry of Love, ' he is placed at the mercy of O'Brien (Burton), a coolly treacherous leader determined to control his thoughts .... (SCIENCE FICTION) |
|
 |
Origin of Species: By Means
of Natural Selection or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle
for Life by Charles Darwin |
Darwin's original work that presented natural selection as
the mechanism for evolution. |
|
 |
Our Stolen Future by Theo Colburn |
The impact that synthetic chemicals in the environment
have on human reproduction, development, and disease. |
615.902 |
 |
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard |
Collections of essays on Dillard's Observations of nature. |
500.9 |
| Plagues and
Peoples by William H. McNeill |
614.4 |
||
 |
Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver |
A story told through the voices of four daughters of a
Baptist missionary to the Congo. |
FIC |
 |
Prometheans in the Lab:
Chemistry and the Making of the Modern World by Charon McGrane |
From nylon to fertilizer to DDT, stories of
nine chemists to bring home the excitement and importance of their work in
the modern world. (NONFICTION) |
660.09 McG |
 |
The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins |
Dawkins makes the case that our genes
maintain us in order to make more genes. (NONFICTION) |
591.5 Daw |
 |
Seven
Daughters of Eve: The Science that Reveals Our Genetic Ancestry by Bryan Sykes |
How decoding mitochondrial DNA answers
questions of human origins. (NONFICTION) |
599.93 Syk |
 |
Short History of Nearly
Everything by Bill Bryson |
Reports how humans figured out
major concepts in science, from the age of the universe to continental drift
to how cells work, complete with interesting dialogue from the world's most
famous truth seekers. (NONFICTION) |
500 Bry |
 |
Silent Spring by Rachel Carsen |
Carson's classic expose of posons in the
environment and how they accumulate in the tissues of animals. (NONFICTION) |
363.73 Car |
 |
Stiff: The Curious Lives of
Human Cadavers by Mary Roach |
Discover the amazing
life-after-death adventures of human bodies in this examination of how
medical and research students use cadavers to make our lives better. (NONFICTION) |
611 Roa |
 |
Thieves, Deceivers, and
Killers: Tales of Chemistry in Nature by William Agosta |
A collection of stories woven
together with the thread of chemistry - antibiotics, enzymes in
extremophiles, intricate chemical communication in insects, etc. (NONFICTION) |
577 Ago |
 |
Timeline by Michael Crichton |
Time travel to the medieval
past goes awry. |
FIC Cri |
 |
Why we Get Sick: The New
Science of Darwinian Medicine by M. Ness Randolph |
Is our tendency to "fix" our bodies with
medicine keeping them from working exactly as they're supposed to? Two
pioneers of the emerging science of Darwinian medicine argue that illness is
part and parcel of the evolutionary system and as such, may be helping us to
evolve towards better adaptation to our environment. |
|
 |
Xenocide by Orson Scott Card |
The story of an attempt to control a highly adaptive virus
on planet Lusitania |
FIC |
| Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks |
|
FIC |