STEM Topics

Find surprising books on science, math, medicine and technology at the Lititz Public Library.

The Revolutionary Genius of Plants : A New Understanding of Plant Intelligence and BehaviorThe Revolutionary Genius of Plants: A New Understanding of Plant Intelligence and Behavior by Stefano Mancuso
Despite not having brains or central nervous systems, plants have the ability to innovate, react, remember and learn, offering opportunities for creative solutions to the technological and ecological problems of today.

How to Live in Space: Everything You Need to Know for the Not-So-Distant Future by Colin Stuart
Grounded in space science, planetary biology and rocket science, this guide takes readers through takeoff, life in orbit, terraforming and the long-term effects of space on the human body.

Path of the Puma: The Remarkable Resilience of the Mountain Lion by Jim Williams
During a time when most wild animals are experiencing decline, the puma, also known as the mountain lion and cougar, is resilient and resourceful in the face of development and climate change.

The Man Who Climbs TreesThe Man Who Climbs Trees by James Aldred
Whether scouting the perfect canopy shot for the BBC or looking for a little fun, the author, who has climbed scores of behemoth trees across the globe, recounts his most memorable encounters with trees and their inhabitants.

Natural Wonders of the World edited by Peter Frances
Landscape photography and illustrations with 3-D terrain models and other artwork reveal spectacular landmarks and the geological processes that formed the features.

The Tangled Tree: A Radical New History of Life by David Quammen
The study of horizontal gene transfer, the movement of genes across species lines, grew out of scientists using DNA sequences to study life’s diversity in the mid-1970s and shows roughly eight percent of the human genome arrived not through traditional inheritance but sideways by viral infection.

The World in a Grain: The Story of Sand and How it Transformed Civilization by Vince Beiser
Except for water and air, sand is the natural resource that we utilize more than any other, in everything from computer screens to highways to silicon chips to stained-glass windows.

Buzz : The Nature and Necessity of BeesBuzz: The Nature and Necessity of Bees by Thor Hanson
Bees play essential roles in the environment and economy, with an estimated 37% of the food we eat dependent upon bee pollination.

The Smithsonian History of Space Exploration: From the Ancient World to the Extraterrestrial Future by Roger D. Launius
Historian examines the thousands of years that humans have endeavored to understand the universe, including the pioneering work of ancient civilizations and Renaissance thinkers, as well as the technological and mechanical breakthroughs that have enabled space travel.

Beyond Infinity: An Expedition to the Outer Limits of Mathematics by Eugenia Cheng
An examination of elemental math and advanced abstractions considers scenarios such as how to use a chessboard to plan a worldwide dinner party, how to create infinite cookies from a finite ball of dough, how many numbers are there, is infinity =1 the same as 1+ infinity, and more.

Reader, Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World by Maryanne Wolf
New research on the reading brain considers the changes in our capacity for critical thinking, empathy and reflection while immersed in a digitally dominated world.

Through Two Doors at Once : The Elegant Experiment That Captures the Enigma of Our Quantum RealityThrough Two Doors at Once: The Elegant Experiment That Captures the Enigma of Our Quantum Reality by Anil Ananthaswamy
The story of quantum mechanics is told through the example of the “double-slit” experiment, showing how light passing through two slits cut into a cardboard sheet challenges the understanding of light and the nature of reality.

Unthinkable: An Extraordinary Journey Through the World’s Strangest Brains by Helen Thomson
Travelling the globe, the author tracked down individuals with nine incredibly rare brain disorders, using their experiences to illustrate how the brain can shape our lives in unexpected, brilliant and alarming ways.

Weather: An Illustrated History from Cloud Atlases to Climate Change by Andrew Revkin
Bite-sized narratives accompanied by exciting illustrations explain 100 meteorological milestones on such varied topics as the Earth’s first atmosphere, the physics of rainbows, the deadliest hailstorm, Groundhog Day, the invention of air conditioning, London’s Great Smog and more.

December 21, 2018