Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Recommended Resources Non-Fiction Science Reading Suggestions

D15 is very interested in biology. She said this week that she wants to do some more non-fiction reading in the science space, so I am looking for suggestions. She is a very strong reader, but has only had a little chemistry so far. She is not really interested in physics or engineering, but might consider a math book or two as well. Biographies are okay, but she is not much interested in Darwin or older bio history. Here are some that we have identified so far:

The Microbe Hunters
The Ghost Map
The Secret Life of Henrietta Lacks
Mountains Beyond Mountains (she is interested in public health)
The Nothing That Is: A Natural History of Zero
The Radioactive Boy Scout
Miss Leavitt's Stars
The Pale Blue Dot (neither this nor Miss Leavitt are biology, but she might read a couple of astronomy books too)
Abraham Lincoln's DNA and Other Adventures in Genetics
Einstein's Refrigerator and Other Stories of the Flip Side of History
Elizabeth Blackburn & The Story of Telomeres

Something by Richard Preston? And the Band Played On?

At one point of time, my older daughter wanted to become a doctor. She signed up at a university to do a summer of genome research and read quite few biology related no-fictions.

. Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin
. Seven daughters of Eve by Bryan Sykes
. The selfish gene by Richard Dawkins
. Genome by Matt Ridley
. A life decoded by Craig Venter
. The Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

Reading alone doesn't seem to do the trick. Despite parent's encouragements, she changed her mind abruptly. Now she is studying Applied Math.

Some of the Oliver Sacks books? He's so great.

The Hot Zone
Silent Spring (ditto of chenchuan)

Thank you all for listing these titles.