FASCINATING PERSONAL ACCOUNT of a journalist’s experience of “recovering” false memories of childhood abuse.

REMAPPING THE SOLAR SYSTEM with the astronomer whose discoveries led to Pluto’s demotion. Surprisingly funny!

IDEALS OF UTOPIA explored in the context of today’s planned environments; reportage adds fun to philosophizing.

BREEZY ESSAYS on evolutionary biology and psychology: some intriguing insights, some flimsy generalizations.

SCIENCE WRITER’S MEMOIR of her daughter’s recovery from anorexia is a tough read, but a helpful resource.

FASCINATING, RIVETING, sometimes funny, true story of physicists working to unlock the secret of dark matter. B PLUS

THE 4 PERCENT UNIVERSE: DARK MATTER, DARK ENERGY, AND THE RACE TO DISCOVER THE REST OF REALITY
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH)
2011

INSIDE THE STRANGER-THAN-FICTION world of endangered reptile smuggling; picaresque, quirky, ultimately sobering. B PLUS

STOLEN WORLD: A TALE OF REPTILES, SMUGGLERS, AND SKULDUGGERY
Crown Publishing Group
2011

SMART BUT NEVER HIGHFALUTIN book presents ten thought experiments in astrophysics. A must for SF writers! B PLUS

WHAT IF THE EARTH HAD TWO MOONS? by Neil F. Comins
New York: St. Martin’s Press
March, 2010

CHATTY, breezy look at the business and culture of defying the aging process engages, but avoids the big questions. B PLUS

DRINKING PROBLEMS AT THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH by Beth Teitell
New York: William Morrow
October 2008

MATHEMATICAL MODELS/algorithms, and how they’re being used to describe/predict human behavior, chattily presented. SOLID B

THE NUMERATI by Stephen Baker
New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
August 2008