Other Best American Series

The Best American
Science and Nature Writing 2012

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Book Details

Best-selling author of Predictably Irrational and The Upside of Irrationality, Dan Ariely selects the year’s top science and nature writing, carrying readers into fresh, new worlds in this collection that brings together the best from a variety of fascinating fields The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2012 includes Jerome Groopman, Sy Montgomery, Michael Behar, Deborah Blum, Thomas Goetz, David Eagleman, Rivka Galchen, David Kirby and others.

 

Contents

Foreword by Tim Folger

Introduction by Dan Ariely

 

Part One: Bacteria/Microorganisms

BRENDAN BUHLER. The Teeming Metropolis of You
from California Magazine

VIRGINIA HUGHES. Our Body the Ecosystem
from Popular Science

JEROME GROOPMAN. The Peanut Puzzle
from The New Yorker

 

Part Two: Animals

CARL ZIMMER. The Long, Curious, Extravagant Evolution of Feathers
from National Geographic

THOMAS HAYDEN. How to Hatch a Dinosaur
from Wired

MICHAEL BEHAR. Faster. Higher. Squeakier
from Outside

BIJAL P. TRIVEDI. The Wipeout Gene
from Scientific American

SY MONTGOMERY. Deep Intellect
from Orion

MARK W. MOFFETT. Ants & the Art of War
from Scientific American

 

Part Three: Humans (the Good)

DEBORAH BLUM. The Scent of Your Thoughts
from Scientific American

ELIZABETH KOLBERT. Sleeping with the Enemy
from The New Yorker

MICHAEL ROBERTS. The Touchy-Feely (but Totally Scientific!) Methods of Wallace J. Nichols
from Outside

 

Part Four: Humans (the Bad)

THOMAS GOETZ. The Feedback Loop
from Wired

JASON DALEY. What You Don’t Know Can Kill You
from Discover

DAVID DOBBS. Beautiful Brains
from National Geographic

DAVID EAGLEMAN. The Brain on Trial
from The Atlantic

 

Part Five: Society and Environment

JOHN SEABROOK. Crush Point
from The New Yorker

DAVID KIRBY. Ill Wind
from Discover

ROBERT KUNZIG. The City Solution
from National Geographic

 

Part Six: Technology

MICHAEL SPECTER. Test-tube Burgers
from The New Yorker

MARK MCCLUSKY. Mad Science
from Wired

RIVKA GALCHEN. Dream Machine
from The New Yorker

JOSHUA DAVIS. The Crypto-Currency
from The New Yorker

BRIAN CHRISTIAN. Mind vs. Machine
from The Atlantic

 

Contributors’ Notes

Other Notable Science and Nature Writing of 2011

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Other distinguished submissions on this topic, selected by the series editor Tim Folger.

A-B
Angier, Natalie So Much More Than Plasma and Poison New York Times, June 6
Angier, Natalie Path of Discovery, Lighted by a Bug Man’s Insights New York Times, April 4.
Balakar, Nicholas Study of Vision Tackles a Philosophy Riddle New York Times, April 25
Barcott, Bruce Arctic Fever OnEarth, Spring.
Barcott, Bruce Totally Psyched for the Full-Rip Nine Outside, August
Bartusiak, Marcia Ye Olde Black Hole Natural History, September
Bartusiak, Marcia Chemistry Lesson Natural History, November
Batuman, Elif Natural Histories The New Yorker, October 24
Beil, Laura The Magic Bullet for Prostate Cancer Men’s Health, March
Bhattacharjee, Yudhijit The Fall and Rise of Douglas Prasher Discover, April
Bhattacharjee, Yudhijit Whales’ Grandeur and Grace, Up Close New York Times, April 18
Black, George Coal on a Roll OnEarth, Fall
Black, George Life and Death in a Dry Land OnEarth, Winter
Borrell, Brendan The Great Pumpkin Smithsonian, October
Borrell, Brendan The Gloucester Fish War Bloomberg Businessweek, November 22
C-D
Campbell, James Star Power Outside, December
Chang, Kenneth With “Coolest Job Ever” Ending Astronauts Seek Next Frontier. New York Times, April 23
Cho, Adrian Particle Physicists’ New Extreme Teams Science, September 16
Clynes, Tom Scientist in a Strange Land Popular Science, October
Conniff, Richard Dying for Discovery New York Times, January 16
Couzin-Frankel, Jennifer Aging Genes: The Sirtuin Story Unfolds Science, December 2
Doyle, Brian The Creature Beyond the Mountains Orion, September–October
Duke, Gareth The Dinosaur Baron of Transylvania Scientific American, October
E-F
Egan, Timothy Sometimes the Bear Gets You New York Times, September 29
Enserink, Martin Can This DNA Sleuth Help Catch Criminals? Science, February 18
Epstein, Helen Flu Warning: Beware the Drug Companies! New York Review of Books, May 12
Finkel, Michael The Volcano Next Door National Geographic, April
Fox, Douglas Super Storms Popular Mechanics, October
Fox, Douglas Omens from a Vanished Sea High Country News, October 31
Freedman, Eric Extinction Is Forever Earth Island, Autumn
French, Howard W. E.O. Wilson’s Theory of Everything The Atlantic, November.
G-H
Genoways, Ted Tar Sands Showdown in the Nebraska Sandhills www.onearth.org, September 30
Gessner, David Spoiling Walden: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Cape Wind www.onearth.org, November 29
Gillis, Justin A Warming Planet Struggles to Feed Itself New York Times, June 4.
Gisleson, Anne Shifting: Cycles of Loss on a Sinking Coast Ecotone, Fall
Grimm, David Iceman Unfrozen National Geographic, November.
Grimm, David Are Dolphins Too Smart for Captivity? Science, April 29
Halpern, Sue Over the High-Tech Rainbow New York Review of Books, November 24.
Higginbottom, Adam Half-Life Wired, May
Hooper, Joseph The Man Who Would Stop Time Popular Science, August.
I-J
Irion, Robert Something New Under the Sun Smithsonian, April.
K-L
Kaufman, Frederick The Second Green Revolution Popular Science, February.
Kaufman, Marc Space Odyssey: Scientists Go to the Extremes of the Earth to Divine the Secrets of Extraterrestrial Life Washington Post, February 27
Keats, Jonathan The Search for a More Perfect Kilogram Wired, October.
Kluger, Jeffery Little Women Time, October 31.
Koeppel, Dan Let There Be LED Wired, September.
Kolbert, Elizabeth The Acid Sea National Geographic, April
Kupferschmidt, Kai Sharp Insights and a Sharp Tongue Science, November 4
Lehrer, Jonah The Truth Wears Off The New Yorker, December 13
Lightman, Alan The Accidental Universe Harper’s Magazine, December
M-N
MacKinnon, J.B. Wisdom in the Wild Orion, May–June.
McGough, Matthew The Lazarus File The Atlantic, June
Mitra, Maureen Nandini Ready or Not Earth Island Journal, Autumn
Nijhuis, Michelle Crisis in the Caves Smithsonian, July–August
O-P
Ostlind, Emilene The Perilous Journey of Wyoming’s Migrating Pronghorn High Country News, December 26
Peed, Mike We Have No Bananas The New Yorker, January 10
Q-R
Reidy, Michael S. The Rucksack of Joseph Dalton Hooker Alpinist, Winter.
Rich, Nathaniel Red Eden The Believer, May
Rich, Nathaniel The Luckiest Woman on Earth Harper’s Magazine, August
Roberts, Paul The Last Drops Popular Science, July
Ruben, Adam Experimental Error: Fetus Don’t Fail Me Now sciencecareers.sciencemag.org, May 27
S-T
Sides, Hampton The Man Who Saw Too Much Outside, January
Siebert, Charles Joy for Orphan Elephants National Geographic, September.
Sofge, Erik The Early Adopter’s Guide to Space Travel Popular Mechanics, May
Stap, Don Grains of Change Audubon, March–April
Steinhardt, Paul J. The Inflation Debate Scientific American, April
Stephenson, Neal Innovation Starvation www.wired.com, October 27
Stover, Dawn The “Scientization” of Yucca Mountain www.thebulletin.org, October 12
Subramanian, Meera India’s Vanishing Vultures Virginia Quarterly Review, Spring
Svoboda, Elizabeth Is Fusion Finally for Real? Popular Mechanics, June
Talty, Stephen Shark! Playboy, June
Taubes, Gary Is Sugar Toxic? New York Times, April 13
Teresi, Dick Lynn Margulis Says She’s Not Controversial, She’s Right Discover, April
Tucker, Abigail Dig, Drink and Be Merry Smithsonian, August
U-V
Vance, Eric Dolphin Desperadoes Discover, September.
Vedral, Vlatka Living in a Quantum World Scientific American, June
Vine, Katy The Birdman of Texas Texas Monthly, May
Vlahos, James Blue Sky Power Popular Mechanics, March
W-X
Y-Z
Yeoman, Barry Lake Erie Deathwatch www.onearth.org, August 31
Zuckerman, Jocelyn C. Constant Gardeners OnEarth, Winter
Zuk, Marlene Six Legs Natural History, June
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

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