Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green

Title: Everything is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection

Author: John Green

Publisher: Crash Course Books 2025

Genre: Nonfiction - Science, History

Pages: 208

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Nonfiction Reader

Where I Got It: Preordered in 2025!

Tuberculosis has been entwined with hu­manity for millennia. Once romanticized as a malady of poets, today tuberculosis is seen as a disease of poverty that walks the trails of injustice and inequity we blazed for it.

In 2019, author John Green met Henry Reider, a young tuberculosis patient at Lakka Government Hospital in Sierra Leone. John be­came fast friends with Henry, a boy with spindly legs and a big, goofy smile. In the years since that first visit to Lakka, Green has become a vocal advocate for increased access to treatment and wider awareness of the healthcare inequi­ties that allow this curable, preventable infec­tious disease to also be the deadliest, killing over a million people every year.

In Everything Is Tuberculosis, John tells Henry’s story, woven through with the scientific and social histories of how tuberculosis has shaped our world—and how our choices will shape the future of tuberculosis.

I really appreciate John Green’s ability to weave hard science and history with emotional human stories and somehow not make it seem trite or manipulative. We get a comprehensive history of tuberculosis, its place in society, and current state. We get some beautiful and tragic human stories weaving in and out. I really loved hearing personal stories of dealing with the disease. Along the way, Green also includes his own commentary about his obsession with tuberculosis. I absolutely loved this short book.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Kinky History by Esmé Louise James

Title: Kinky History: A Rollicking Journey Through Our Sexual Past, Present, and Future

Author: Esmé Louise James

Publisher: Tarcher 2024

Genre: Nonfiction - History, Science

Pages: 320

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Nonfiction Reader

Where I Got It: Library

Contrary to popular belief, our predecessors had all sorts of obscene hobbies long before Christian Greyhit the scene. In this enlightening romp, learn about the first instances of homosexuality on record from the ancient world and the diverse history of nonbinary gender; encounter a thousand years’ worth of hilarious and horrifying contraceptive methods; consider the positive and negative effects of the widespread availability of pornography in the digital age—and how our relationship to it changed during the pandemic; take a sneaky riffle through centuries of bedside drawers; and discover the dirty little secrets of luminaries such as Julius Caesar, James Joyce, Albert Einstein, and Virginia Woolf.

Esmé Louise James also identifies the key tipping points that directly inform current beliefs around sex to place the past in conversation with the present. By educating ourselves about the weird, wonderful, and varied spectrum of human sexuality and experience, we can normalize and destigmatize sex, write people of marginalized sexual identities back into the pages of history, and build toward a more liberated future..

A friend recommended the author based on her Instagram reels. I started following her and loved her little historical tidbits. And then I found out that she wrote a book and had to immediately read it. Diving in, James writes just like her instagram voice, funny and yet full of information. We go on an exploration of sex in history dispelling many myths along the way. I loved the inclusion of various historical figures as attendees of our dinner party. They added an interesting human element to the statistics and deep research. This book is not for those afraid of talking about sex in detail. And yet, I think that it should be required reading for adults. Having honest conversations with each other should be number one. I really enjoyed this one.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Story of Evolution in 25 Discoveries by Donald R. Prothero

Title: The Story of Evolution in 25 Discoveries: The Evidence and the People Who Found It

Author: Donald R. Prothero

Publisher: Columbia University 2020

Genre: Nonfiction - Science

Pages: 376

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf Project

Where I Got It: The Nook, Cedar Falls IA

The theory of evolution unites the past, present, and future of living things. It puts humanity’s place in the universe into necessary perspective. Despite a history of controversy, the evidence for evolution continues to accumulate as a result of many separate strands of amazing scientific sleuthing.

In The Story of Evolution in 25 Discoveries, Donald R. Prothero explores the most fascinating breakthroughs in piecing together the evidence for evolution. In twenty-five vignettes, he recounts the dramatic stories of the people who made crucial discoveries, placing each moment in the context of what it represented for the progress of science. He tackles topics like what it means to see evolution in action and what the many transitional fossils show us about evolution, following figures from Darwin to lesser-known researchers as they unlock the mysteries of the fossil record, the earth, and the universe. The book also features the stories of animal species strange and familiar, including humans―and our ties to some of our closest relatives and more distant cousins. Prothero’s wide-ranging tales showcase awe-inspiring and bizarre aspects of nature and the powerful insights they give us into the way that life works.

I grabbed this last summer from the used bin at a bookstore (The Nook) in Cedar Falls, Iowa. I was hoping for a fun adventure through what we know about evolution. And that’s exactly what we got! I love how every chapter is its own mini book. You can do a deep dive into a variety of topics within evolution in this one volume. I was especially fascinated by chapter tracing animal lineage. We get to see exactly how our understanding of topics have changed over the decades. I loved it so much that I had to pass it on to a friend. And I will be adding it to Arthur’s required reading in high school. In the end, I will be putting Prothero’s other texts onto my TBR pile.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Blood by Jen Gunter

Title: Blood: The Science, Medicine, and Mythology of Menstruation

Author: Jen Gunter

Publisher: Citadel 2024

Genre: Nonfiction - Science

Pages: 480

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Nonfiction Reader; 52 Book Club - Nonfiction Recommended by a Friend

Most women can expect to have hundreds of periods in a lifetime. So why is real information so hard to find? Despite its significance, most education about menstruation focuses either on increasing the chances of pregnancy or preventing it. And while both are crucial, women deserve to know more about their bodies than just what happens in service to reproduction. At a time when charlatans, politicians, and even some doctors are succeeding in propagating damaging misinformation and disempowering women, Dr. Jen provides the antidote with science, myth busting, and no-nonsense facts.

Not knowing how your body works makes it challenging to advocate for yourself. Consequently, many suffer in silence thinking their bodies are uniquely broken, or they turn to disreputable sources. Blood is a practical, empowering guide to what’s typical, what’s concerning, and when to seek care—recounted with expertise and frank, fearless wit that have made Dr. Jen today’s most trusted voice in women’s health.

Dr. Jen answers all your period-related questions, including: What exactly happens during menstruation? How heavy is too heavy? How much should periods hurt? and provides essential information. Blood is about much more than biology. It’s an all-in-one, revolutionary guide that will change the way we think about, talk about—and don’t talk about—our bodies and our well-being.

Another amazingly informative yet very readable science text from Jen Gunter. I had previous read her older book, The Vagina Bible, and recommended it every single person I knew. I picked this later book up and remember why I enjoy her weighty tomes so much. Gunter writes with clarity and conciseness with a bit of a humor. Even in the most complicated medical sections, the reader can easily follow the explanations. I learned so much from this book. I can’t wait to pick up her other book about menopause next month.

Next up on the TBR pile:

How Zoologists Organize Things by David Bainbridge

Title: How Zoologists Organize Things: The Art of Classification

Author: David Bainbridge

Publisher: Frances Lincoln 2020

Genre: Nonfiction - Science

Pages: 256

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Seasonal TBR - Winter

Humankind’s fascination with the animal kingdom began as a matter of survival – differentiating the edible from the toxic, the ferocious from the tractable. Since then, our compulsion to catalogue wildlife has played a key role in growing our understanding of the planet and ourselves, inspiring religious beliefs and evolving scientific theories. The book unveils wild truths and even wilder myths about animals, as perpetuated by zoologists – revealing how much more there is to learn, and unlearn.

Long before Darwin, our ancestors were obsessed with the visual similarities and differences between the animals. Early scientists could sense there was an order that unified all life and formulated a variety of schemes to help illustrate this. This human quest to classify living beings has left us with a rich artistic legacy, from the folklore and religiosity of the ancient and Medieval world through the naturalistic cataloging of the Enlightenment to the modern, computer-generated classificatory labyrinth.

Now this is a book I can get behind. We are treated to a journey through time focusing on the classification of living (and sometimes nonliving) things. We get to learn about the major players in the various time periods. But what really made the book a winner for me was all the illustrations. Most of the book is taken up with illustrations from various scientists and time periods. We get to visually see the evolution of classification throughout the centuries. I spent very long periods of time just looking at all the little details within the illustrations. Lovely!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Underland by Robert Macfarlane

Title: Underland: A Deep time Journey

Author: Robert Macfarlane

Publisher: W.W. Norton 2020

Genre: Nonfiction

Pages: 496

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Winter TBR

In Underland, Robert Macfarlane delivers an epic exploration of the Earth’s underworlds as they exist in myth, literature, memory, and the land itself. Traveling through the dizzying expanse of geologic time―from prehistoric art in Norwegian sea caves, to the blue depths of the Greenland ice cap, to a deep-sunk "hiding place" where nuclear waste will be stored for 100,000 years to come―Underland takes us on an extraordinary journey into our relationship with darkness, burial, and what lies beneath the surface of both place and mind.

I heard about this one on What Should I Read Next and decided I needed to read a book about travels under the ground. I haven’t read any other Robert Macfarlane books, but after reading this one, I think I need to add him to my incredibly long TBR. Macfarlane has this lyrical style that straddles the line between nonfiction and a novel. I loved it! Each chapter intertwines Macfarlane’s actual explorations all over the world, history and science about the Earth, and meditations on life. Like any collection, there were some chapters that I liked more than others, but taken all together, this is an amazing variety of explorations under the world. My absolute favorite chapter detailed Macfarlane’s explorations in the Parisian underground. I even got claustrophobic while reading some of the passages. It was intense! I’ve been raving about this one so much that I might have convinced J to read this soon.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Ends of the World by Peter Brannen

Title: The Ends of the World: Volcanic Apocalypses, Lethal Oceans, and Our Quest to Understand Earth’s Past Mass Extinctions

Author: Peter Brannen

Publisher: Ecco 2018

Genre: Nonfiction - Science

Pages: 336

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Winter TBR

Our world has ended five times: it has been broiled, frozen, poison-gassed, smothered, and pelted by asteroids. In The Ends of the World, Peter Brannen dives into deep time, exploring Earth’s past dead ends, and in the process, offers us a glimpse of our possible future.

Many scientists now believe that the climate shifts of the twenty-first century have analogs in these five extinctions. Using the visible clues these devastations have left behind in the fossil record, The Ends of the World takes us inside “scenes of the crime,” from South Africa to the New York Palisades, to tell the story of each extinction. Brannen examines the fossil record—which is rife with creatures like dragonflies the size of sea gulls and guillotine-mouthed fish—and introduces us to the researchers on the front lines who, using the forensic tools of modern science, are piecing together what really happened at the crime scenes of the Earth’s biggest whodunits.

Part road trip, part history, and part cautionary tale, The Ends of the World takes us on a tour of the ways that our planet has clawed itself back from the grave, and casts our future in a completely new light.

Caveat: This is not a bad good even with my star rating, it just wasn’t the book for me personally. I find that many of these more general history books are fairly boring to me as I know a little too much about history. In this case, I have read so many history and specifically pre-history and extinction event books that this one was a lot of repetitive information. I enjoyed the book, but end up skimming a ton of the chapters. Good info, just not for me.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Steve Brusatte

Title: The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of Their Lost World

Author: Steve Brusatte

Publisher: William Morrow 2018

Genre: Nonfiction - Science

Pages: 404

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library

Brusatte traces the evolution of dinosaurs from their inauspicious start as small shadow dwellers—themselves the beneficiaries of a mass extinction caused by volcanic eruptions at the beginning of the Triassic period—into the dominant array of species every wide-eyed child memorizes today, T. rex, Triceratops, Brontosaurus, and more. This gifted scientist and writer re-creates the dinosaurs’ peak during the Jurassic and Cretaceous, when thousands of species thrived, and winged and feathered dinosaurs, the prehistoric ancestors of modern birds, emerged. The story continues to the end of the Cretaceous period, when a giant asteroid or comet struck the planet and nearly every dinosaur species (but not all) died out, in the most extraordinary extinction event in earth’s history, one full of lessons for today as we confront a “sixth extinction.”

Dinosaurs are a hot topic in our house. I think Quentin can name more dinosaur species than most college students. So, of course I had to pick this one up. While the chapters are information dense, Brusatte creates an easy-to-read narrative to help digest all those facts. We start at the beginning and end after the fall with chapters on everything in between. The chapters really helped me create a mental timeline for the dinosaurs and the various species. I finally got a handle on the when and where for some of the most recognizable dinosaurs like the Triceratops or the Brachiosaurus. I found the chapters dealing with the Cretaceous time period the most interesting. I loved the speculation about the fall of the carchardontosaurs and the rise of the tyrannosaurs. A fascinating look at the ancient world. Quentin was upset that there weren’t more pictures, but I’ll allow it. He is 3 years old after all.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Archaeology from Space by Sarah Parcak

Title: Archaeology from Space: How the Future Shapes Our Past

Author: Sarah Parcak

Publisher: Henry Holt 2019

Genre: Nonfiction

Pages: 283

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library; Goodreads Random

National Geographic Explorer and TED Prize-winner Dr. Sarah Parcak gives readers a personal tour of the evolution, major discoveries, and future potential of the young field of satellite archaeology. From surprise advancements after the declassification of spy photography, to a new map of the mythical Egyptian city of Tanis, she shares her field’s biggest discoveries, revealing why space archaeology is not only exciting, but urgently essential to the preservation of the world’s ancient treasures.

Parcak has worked in twelve countries and four continents, using multispectral and high-resolution satellite imagery to identify thousands of previously unknown settlements, roads, fortresses, palaces, tombs, and even potential pyramids. From there, her stories take us back in time and across borders, into the day-to-day lives of ancient humans whose traits and genes we share. And she shows us that if we heed the lessons of the past, we can shape a vibrant future.

I picked this one up from the library. A nice explanation of space archaeology, its growth and future. The science behind it was interesting, but I was more engaged with the passages detailing how it’s been used. I wanted the examples of discoveries and how they were found. I wanted more first hand accounts of discoveries and the process used. But overall, I really enjoyed this nonfiction book.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Story of the World in 100 Species by Christopher Lloyd

Title: The Story of the World in 100 Species

Author: Christopher Lloyd

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing 2016

Genre: Nonfiction

Pages: 416

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library

In the retitled paperback edition of his book What on Earth Evolved?, Christopher Lloyd leads us on an extraordinary journey, from the birth of life to the present day, as he explains, in a jargon-free way, the phenomenon we call “life on Earth.” Lloyd starts with the Earth “before humans,” when loose strands of genetic code swarmed over the planet, and moves on to explore the creatures that evolved in the murky deep and crept up on the shore to become pioneers of life on land. He then investigates the world “after humans” and how the coevolution of humans and a range of other key species has transformed the planet over the last twelve thousand years. In the process, he identifies the hundred most influential species that have ever lived--with candidates as diverse as slime, sea scorpions, dragonflies, potatoes, ants, tulips, sheep, and grapes--and reveals those that have most changed life on Earth.

One of the books from the library that I grabbed on a whim but kept putting at the bottom of the To Read stack. With the library closures, I have extended due dates on all books. This one got moved up to the top of the pile. Over about a week I read through the 100 entires detailing very important species to life. I found the sections on early life (pre-human life) to be much more interesting that more modern species. The two entries about bony fish were especially fascinating. I think I gravitated towards those entries that focused on the mechanics of evolution to trace the path of life through the ages. An interesting science book for the week.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Invisible Women by Caroline Criado-Perez

Title: Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men

Author: Caroline Criado Perez

Publisher: Harry N. Abrams 2019

Genre: Nonfiction

Pages: 272

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library

Data is fundamental to the modern world. From economic development, to healthcare, to education and public policy, we rely on numbers to allocate resources and make crucial decisions. But because so much data fails to take into account gender, because it treats men as the default and women as atypical, bias and discrimination are baked into our systems. And women pay tremendous costs for this bias, in time, money, and often with their lives.
Celebrated feminist advocate Caroline Criado Perez investigates the shocking root cause of gender inequality and research in Invisible Women​, diving into women’s lives at home, the workplace, the public square, the doctor’s office, and more. Built on hundreds of studies in the US, the UK, and around the world, and written with energy, wit, and sparkling intelligence, this is a groundbreaking, unforgettable exposé that will change the way you look at the world.

This book was infuriating… In that this book highlighted all the ways that women are disadvantaged, put in danger, ignored, and put in the “other” category. I hated reading this because I my anger just kept rising. But it was a good book to really put statistics and facts behind all those feelings I had about how women are second class citizens. It really highlighted many areas of concern backed up with studies (or lack thereof). I was really interested in the chapter about toilets. Who knew that the lack of toilets could impact women so negatively? I think I did underneath, but this really laid out all the problems. A fascinating read. My only issues came with the lack of ways to move forward. The book got me really angry, but did little to help me channel that anger to something productive.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Packing for Mars by Mary Roach

Title: Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

Author: Mary Roach

Publisher: W.W. Norton 2010

Genre: Nonfiction - Science

Pages: 334

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library

The best-selling author of Stiff and Bonk explores the irresistibly strange universe of space travel and life without gravity. From the Space Shuttle training toilet to a crash test of NASA’s new space capsule, Mary Roach takes us on the surreally entertaining trip into the science of life in space and space on Earth.

How have I never actually read this one? I love Mary Roach’s books and her wit. This is a great collection of topics relating to our desire to conquer space. I especially loved the chapters detailing the early attempts to get to the moon. Roach writes with such wit while conveying tons of factual content. I really enjoyed this book a lot. I don’t think it’s quite as good as Spook but it may be my second favorite of her books.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Hot Zone by Richard Preston

Title: The Hot Zone: The Terrifying True Story of the Origins of the Ebola Virus

Author: Richard Preston

Publisher: Anchor 1994

Genre: Nonfiction - Science

Pages: 323

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Monthly Keyword - August; Nonfiction - Pre2000

A highly infectious, deadly virus from the central African rain forest suddenly appears in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. There is no cure. In a few days 90 percent of its victims are dead. A secret military SWAT team of soldiers and scientists is mobilized to stop the outbreak of this exotic "hot" virus. The Hot Zone tells this dramatic story, giving a hair-raising account of the appearance of rare and lethal viruses and their "crashes" into the human race. Shocking, frightening, and impossible to ignore, The Hot Zone proves that truth really is scarier than fiction.

How have I never actually read this one? I love reading about infectious diseases. I am fascinated by ebola. But this book has sat on my TBR list for decades… I finally got around to it and loved every page of it. The story of Ebola’s almost outbreak in Virginia is terrifying even more because it’s all true. The book is written in a fictional narrative style throughout most of the chapters, but we really get a sense of time and place with all parties involved. I really enjoyed the chapters that set up our knowledge of ebola at the end of the 1980s. At times, I think the writing got a little too detailed with things like what the participants wore or ate, but overall I was on the hook the entire time.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Eruption by Steve Olson

Title: Eruption: The Untold Story of Mount St. Helens

Author: Steve Olson

Publisher: W.W. Norton and Company 2017

Genre: Nonfiction - U.S. History; Science

Pages: 336

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: UnRead Shelf; Modern Mrs. Darcy - Fascinating Topic; Nonfiction Bingo - Nature

For months in early 1980, scientists, journalists, and nearby residents listened anxiously to rumblings from Mount St. Helens in southwestern Washington State. Still, no one was prepared when a cataclysmic eruption blew the top off of the mountain, laying waste to hundreds of square miles of land and killing fifty-seven people. Steve Olson interweaves vivid personal stories with the history, science, and economic forces that influenced the fates and futures of those around the volcano. Eruption delivers a spellbinding narrative of an event that changed the course of volcanic science, and an epic tale of our fraught relationship with the natural world.

I’m always a sucker for narrative history book and this one was gifted to me by the library. (Thank you summer reading program!) I dove in and realized that I really didn’t know much about the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. Granted it was before I was born, but still, I know a lot of stuff prior to 1982. Reading this book gave me a very clear picture of the run-up to the eruption and the aftermath. I really enjoyed learning about the history of the volcano and the back-and-forth between politicians and scientists about the warning zone. The earth science really got me hooked on the book. I wasn’t as much of. fan of the detailed history of the Weyerhauser family. Sure, the company was important when it came to drawing boundary lines, but I don’t think we needed that detailed of a history. Otherwise, I enjoyed this one.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson

Title: Astrophysics for People in a Hurry

Author: Neil deGrasse Tyson

Publisher: Norton and Company 2017

Genre: Nonfiction - Science 

Pages: 224

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; Modern Mrs. Darcy - Essay Collection

What is the nature of space and time? How do we fit within the universe? How does the universe fit within us? There’s no better guide through these mind-expanding questions than acclaimed astrophysicist and best-selling author Neil deGrasse Tyson.

But today, few of us have time to contemplate the cosmos. So Tyson brings the universe down to Earth succinctly and clearly, with sparkling wit, in tasty chapters consumable anytime and anywhere in your busy day.

While you wait for your morning coffee to brew, for the bus, the train, or a plane to arrive, Astrophysics for People in a Hurry will reveal just what you need to be fluent and ready for the next cosmic headlines: from the Big Bang to black holes, from quarks to quantum mechanics, and from the search for planets to the search for life in the universe.

Our book club selection for February (actually the meeting isn't until next weekend due to last weekend's retreat). I was looking forward to learning more about astrophysics and this did not disappoint. I have always enjoyed Tyson's way of relating scientific information. This collection of essays has some great pieces with a ton of information about the universe. I know I didn't really retain all the information and will have to reread this one soon. But that's okay, Tyson's style of writing will make that reread enjoyable. 

Next up on the TBR pile:

A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking

Title: A Brief History of Time

Author: Stephen Hawking

Publisher: Bantam 1998

Genre: Nonfiction -- Science

Pages: 212

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual (Nonfiction Adventure); Nonfiction; Popsugar -- Haven't read since high school

A landmark volume in science writing by one of the great minds of our time, Stephen Hawking’s book explores such profound questions as: How did the universe begin—and what made its start possible? Does time always flow forward? Is the universe unending—or are there boundaries? Are there other dimensions in space? What will happen when it all ends?

Told in language we all can understand, A Brief History of Time plunges into the exotic realms of black holes and quarks, of antimatter and “arrows of time,” of the big bang and a bigger God—where the possibilities are wondrous and unexpected. With exciting images and profound imagination, Stephen Hawking brings us closer to the ultimate secrets at the very heart of creation.

A book I first read back in high school. I have to say that I understand a lot more of this volume now than I did then. I appreciate Hawking's conversational style in explaining very large complicated topics. Definitely a must read.

The Great Influenza by John M. Barry

Title: The Great Influenza

Author: John M. Barry

Publisher: Penguin Books 2004

Genre: Nonfiction -- History, Science

Pages: 546

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual (Nonfiction Adventure); Nonfiction

At the height of WWI, history’s most lethal influenza virus erupted in an army camp in Kansas, moved east with American troops, then exploded, killing as many as 100 million people worldwide. It killed more people in twenty-four months than AIDS killed in twenty-four years, more in a year than the Black Death killed in a century. But this was not the Middle Ages, and 1918 marked the first collision of science and epidemic disease. Magisterial in its breadth of perspective and depth of research and now revised to reflect the growing danger of the avian flu, The Great Influenza is ultimately a tale of triumph amid tragedy, which provides us with a precise and sobering model as we confront the epidemics looming on our own horizon.

Such an interesting premise! The 1918 Flu is one of my great interest areas. I was excited to learn more. Unfortunately, I can't praise this volume. Barry is no Erik Larson. I kept getting very distracted by the slow plodding nature of the writing. I wanted more of a storytelling approach a la Larson. Some of the asides dealing with medical history or epidemiology  went on too long and were too detailed. About 250 pages in, I was getting very weary of the book, but I wanted to find out more about the pandemic and end result. I'm glad I finished it, but it's not going on my favorite books list at all. Just couldn't fully endorse this one.

How We Got to Now by Steven Johnson

Title: How We Got to Now: Six Innovations that Made the Modern World

Author: Steven Johnson

Publisher: Riverhead Books 2014

Genre: Nonfiction - History

Pages: 304

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Nonfiction Adventure (perpetual); 52 Books - W 31

In this illustrated history, Steven Johnson explores the history of innovation over centuries, tracing facets of modern life (refrigeration, clocks, and eyeglass lenses, to name a few) from their creation by hobbyists, amateurs, and entrepreneurs to their unintended historical consequences. Filled with surprising stories of accidental genius and brilliant mistakes—from the French publisher who invented the phonograph before Edison but forgot to include playback, to the Hollywood movie star who helped invent the technology behind Wi-Fi and Bluetooth—How We Got to Now investigates the secret history behind the everyday objects of contemporary life.

A decent book focusing on a few key innovations. I liked some parts more than others. I especially enjoyed the chapter on cold. Fascinating read about the novelty of cold things in hot places leading to our use of cold technology today. I sure do love my ice and air conditioning. However, some of the chapters felt very dry. Overall, I didn't love this book. But the right person might!

What If? by Randall Munroe

Title: What If? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions

Author: Randall Munroe

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2014

Genre: Nonfiction - Science

Pages: 303

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Nonfiction Adventure (perpetual); Read Your Freebies; Dewey Decimal - 500s

Fans of xkcd ask Munroe a lot of strange questions. What if you tried to hit a baseball pitched at 90 percent the speed of light? How fast can you hit a speed bump while driving and live? If there was a robot apocalypse, how long would humanity last?

In pursuit of answers, Munroe runs computer simulations, pores over stacks of declassified military research memos, solves differential equations, and consults with nuclear reactor operators. His responses are masterpieces of clarity and hilarity, complemented by signature xkcd comics. They often predict the complete annihilation of humankind, or at least a really big explosion.

As a loyal follower of xkcd, I've been dying to read this book since it was released. And I enjoyed every page of it. I love the seemingly ridiculous questions that Munroe answers seriously. My favorite question involved potentially eradicating the common cold. Fascinating answer! And sprinkled throughout the book are Munroe's famous stick figure cartoons. As times the book really dives into serious math, but Munroe explains everything in such a way and even I understand the crazy math. Awesome read that I sped through in just one day!

The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins

Title: The God Delusion

Author: Richard Dawkins

Publisher: Mariner 2008

Genre: Nonfiction

Pages: 480

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Nerdy Nonfiction - Religion; ebook; 52 Books -- W27; Dusty Bookshelf

How I Got It: iPad read

A preeminent scientist -- and the world's most prominent atheist -- asserts the irrationality of belief in God and the grievous harm religion has inflicted on society, from the Crusades to 9/11.

With rigor and wit, Dawkins examines God in all his forms, from the sex-obsessed tyrant of the Old Testament to the more benign (but still illogical) Celestial Watchmaker favored by some Enlightenment thinkers. He eviscerates the major arguments for religion and demonstrates the supreme improbability of a supreme being. He shows how religion fuels war, foments bigotry, and abuses children, buttressing his points with historical and contemporary evidence. The God Delusion makes a compelling case that belief in God is not just wrong but potentially deadly. It also offers exhilarating insight into the advantages of atheism to the individual and society, not the least of which is a clearer, truer appreciation of the universe's wonders than any faith could ever muster.

I liked this Dawkins much more than The Selfish Gene.  And I think the reason stems from his writing style.  This book's style and language are much more accessible to the non-scientist.  Dawkins takes a nice easy logical approach to the topic of God and religion.  He leads us step by step through the various arguments for the existence of God and religion and shows us where they go wrong.  It was a nice change to read a piece so reasoned and clear.  Usually pro- and anti-religion arguments turn into ridiculous rants and name-calling.  Dawkins shies away from the rants and tries to lay out logical arguments.  I approve!  A very interesting book.