These books are ones selected out of many more that I have read because they are a) Classics in Science/Nature writing (for various reasons), 2) were astonishingly entertaining 和 informative, 和/or 3) were life-changingly fascinating (to me at least, marked with stars).
*枪，细菌和钢铁（1999）贾里德·戴蒙德
This book proposes a gr和, sweeping hypothesis about human cultural evolution that
explains why some places ended up wealthy 和 "developed" 和 others did not. Diamond
combines ideas from ecology, economics, anthropology 和 history to systematically
describe how the bidoversity, climate 和 connectivity with other cultural groups
has determined the fate of human societies. If you like this book, follow up with崩溃我们可以从失败的人类社会中学到什么。
香蕉：改变世界的水果的命运（2008） D。 Koeppel
Seriously, you have to read this book! You would never guess the political 和 economic
forces at work in the world that have collaborated to make bananas the number one
fruit in the US 和 how our future enjoyment of them is threatened by a fungal disease.
动物，蔬菜，奇迹（2008） B。 Kingsolver
This book is the story of a modern family who decided to grow all their own food for
a year. It is an elegantly-written reflection on the place food in our modern American
lives 和 the environmental consequences of the convenience of packaged foods. Kingsolver
is well-known for her novels, which often have ecological themes, as well, such a挥霍的夏天和飞行的行为。（她是我最喜欢的小说作家之一）。
杂食者的困境（2007） M。 Pollan
Well-written 和 thoughtful examination of where food comes from in America by a very
popular author of non-fiction relating to food. I was especially surprised at the
link between corn products 和 the petroleum industry. Poses more questions than
he answers.
沙县年鉴（1949）奥尔多·利奥波德
Poetic description of the natural environment around his home by one of the founding
thinkers in American conservation science. He was a game manager, but recognized
the beauty 和 inherent "rightness" in intact ecosystems that was becoming threatened
by human use of the environment. Considered a classic of American literature as well
as of environmental writing.
寂静的春天（1962） R。卡森
Classic of environmental literature, beautifully written 和 foundational in our underst和ing
of the effects of toxic chemicals in the environment. Reads now as very dated, however.
Many of the problems she discusses have been somewhat effectively solved by banning
DDT 和 the other regulations enacted in the Clean Air 和 Clean Water Acts 和 the
Endangered Species Act. But this book had a major impact in shifting thinking in
the US 和 globally so that these things could happen.
我们被偷走的未来：我们是否在威胁我们的生育能力、智力和生存？（1996） T。科尔伯恩，D。布马诺斯基，J。 P。迈尔斯
有点像现代的后续寂静的春天我会推荐它寂静的春天for a modern audience (=you). It discusses the sub-lethal effects of the accumulation
of toxic chemicals in the environment 和 in our bodies, 和 the potential effects
such as damage to the brain during development. If you have heard the term “endocrine
disruptors” 和 want to know more about them, this is the book for you!
渡渡鸟之歌（1997）大卫·奎曼
*雀的喙()
美好的生活史蒂芬·杰伊·古尔德
*无尽的形式最美丽（）肖恩·卡罗尔
*你内心的鱼（2008）尼尔·舒宾
Fascinating story of the evolution of Tetrapods from our fishy ancestors through various
transitional forms 和 onto l和 by one of the paleontologists who has discovered
和 described a couple of the most important fossils in the field. Entertaining style,
well-written.
致命暴发（2011） A。莱维特
A compelling series of thrilling stories of epidemiological detective work. This
book highlights the use of data 和 detective work to track down the origins 和 pathology
of human disease outbreaks. Very interesting stuff; if you have any interest in either
pathology lab work or public heath policy this would give you a good idea of the types
of jobs (和 personalities) in the field.
品茶的女士（2002） D。萨尔堡
双螺旋结构（1968） J。沃森
Yes, this is the Watson of Watson 和 Crick, who got the Nobel Prize for the discovery
of the structure of DNA. It tells the story of the scientific work that went into
the discovery, including the personalities of the cast of characters 和 their rivalries.
Somewhat dated, but a classic in scientific literature.
对有机体的感觉（1974） e·福克斯·凯勒
This is the story of an iconoclastic figure in science, Barbara McClintock who as
a woman scientist in the early 20thcentury was largely ignored 和 sidelined while doggedly working on brilliant research
that eventually won her a Nobel Prize. The work is in corn genetics, 和 she discovered
transposable elements. This book provides a good explanation of the technical aspects
that will stretch your underst和ing of genetics beyond the Bio 120 level.
自私的基因（1976） R。道金斯
One of the most popular 和 possibly best-written general-audience science books ever.
The second edition, published in 1990 has additional material. His explanation of
evolution by natural selection from the perspective of the gene (和 as an atheist)
represents the world in a (to many) mind-blowingly fascinating way. The science of
the book is actually a bit dated at this point, 和 my response was a bit “meh” but
I knew all the content already. He has gone on to write many other books that you
may also like if you like this one.
花园里的和尚（2001） r。m arantz Henig
A biography of Gregor Mendel, focusing on his life work on pea plants that led to
the discovery of the concept of genes 和 how they are inherited. It also tells the
story of how the work was not recognized at the time (和 why) 和 then was rediscovered
later. For a short book, it gets a lot of story in 和 I enjoyed it very much.
为什么斑马不会得溃疡（1995） r。s apolsky
Besides have a super-fun title 和 adorable Matisse-like dancing zebras on the cover,
this mind-blowing book is awesome because it really explains what stress does to the
body 和 why at the body organ 和 cellular level. It is also incredibly funny 和
brilliantly written. I wanted to start re-reading it the second I finished it, but
didn’t because it was overdue at the library already. It does have a short guide
to de-stressing at the end, if you are interested in that aspect of the research as
well. You will be extra-motivated to take up meditation after you really underst和
all the negative consequences of prolonged stress.
色盲之岛（1996） O。萨克斯
Dr. Sacks is a gifted writer 和 neurobiologist who is probably more famous for his
other books such as把妻子当成帽子的男人和醒来(yes, the one the movie is based on). This one is my favorite because it blends neuroscience
和 cultural anthropology (trying to make sense of human populations on two isl和s
with strange neurological disorders) as well as history 和 all the ecological factors
of isl和-dwelling in addition to evolution. It was hard to decide what topic to
put this book under, in fact, but ultimately it is about people. Most people who read
one of Sacks books go on to devour all the others.
《尸体：人类尸体的奇特生活（2007）罗奇先生
If you have ever wondered what happens to the bodies that get “donated to science”
this is the book for you. Roach describes the various uses human cadavers are put
to 和 the information that we have learned from them, as well as describing the history
of how human remains have been used in science through the ages. Strangely she manages
to make the whole thing really fascinating 和 funny. Student interested in forensics
may particularly enjoy this book. I haven’t read her other books (currently狼吞虎咽地吃-关于饮食和消化和性交——关于性)，但如果它们不是很有趣，我会感到惊讶。
善待与公平：给一位年轻医生的信。 （2007） P。克拉斯
Excellent read; great advice 和 insight on the process of becoming a doctor as told
by a doctor mother to her med school-bound son.
热光，冷钢：外科医生第一年的生，死和不眠之夜. (2006) M. J. Collins. Awesome chronicle of orthopedic surgery residency! I couldn't put it down.
实习医生：医生入会仪式。 （2009） S。 Jauhar
This one is a little dark, but gives you good insight into the emotions (doubts) that
can come up.