New books & media

Glacier: Nature and Culture, Peter G. Knight, Reaktion Books, 2019, $24.95 (paper)

Among the many victims of climate change are glaciers. The huge bodies of dense ice that form on land and are constantly moving from the force of their own weight no longer cover as much of Earth’s surface as they once did. In Glacier: Nature and Culture, geographer Peter Knight discusses not only the science of glaciers but also their importance and influence on the environment, weather, and even art and culture. Featuring more than 100 illustrations, Glacier pays homage to one of Earth’s most majestic, yet fragile, features. —cc

Our Universe: An Astronomer’s Guide, Jo Dunkley, Harvard U. Press, 2019, $29.95

Written for a general audience, Our Universe: An Astronomer’s Guide aims to instill in readers a sense of the wonder and mystery of the cosmos and whet their appetites for future discoveries. Starting with an overview of Earth and the solar system, astrophysicist Jo Dunkley continues outward, explaining star formation, black holes, and dark matter and finishing up with what the author calls a “whistle-stop history” of the universe. Discussions of major scientific theories, their evolution, and the ever-improving technologies used to peer deeper into space lead to an inspiring epilogue on the many mysteries that remain to be solved, such as whether extraterrestrial life exists and what the invisible part of the universe is made of. —cc

A Polar Affair: Antarctica’s Forgotten Hero and the Secret Love Lives of Penguins, Lloyd Spencer Davis, Pegasus Books, 2019, $29.95

Only recently come to light is the first scientific study of penguin sexuality in Antarctica, written by George Murray Levick, who served as physician for Robert Scott’s Antarctic expedition of 1910–13. Contrary to popular belief that penguins are monogamous and mate for life, Levick observed them committing a number of what he considered to be sexual depravities and misbehaviors. Indicative of the Victorian mores of the times, the manuscript was marked “NOT FOR PUBLICATION” and hidden away. Those long-forgotten pages serve as the impetus for A Polar Affair, a combination of adventure and natural history by modern-day penguin expert and Antarctic explorer Lloyd Spencer Davis, who discusses the life and times of the scientist who wrote them, drawing parallels between Levick’s findings and his own research, carried out almost a century later. —cc

Ingredients: The Strange Chemistry of What We Put in Us and on Us, George Zaidan, Dutton, 2020, $27.00

From eating cheese puffs to smoking cigarettes to applying sunscreen, humans ingest, breathe, and absorb numerous chemicals every day. What’s harmful, and what isn’t? In Ingredients, science communicator George Zaidan delves into what science can and cannot tell us about the potential dangers of those and other commonplace products. Aimed at a popular audience, the book presents the latest scientific research in a lighthearted and occasionally irreverent manner. —cc

Archaeology from Space: How the Future Shapes Our Past, Sarah Parcak, Henry Holt and Co, 2019, $30.00

When you think of an archaeologist, you may picture someone bent over in the dirt carefully uncovering a fragment of ancient history. Space archaeology, though, is a newer and complementary specialty that employs aerial photography and satellite imagery to reveal undiscovered sites and other topographical features on Earth that wouldn’t be readily visible from the ground. In Archaeology from Space, archaeologist Sarah Parcak provides a comprehensive review of the new subfield. She covers the science’s history from the first attempts in which balloons and satellites were used to some of today’s endeavors with the newest tools, such as unmanned drones. In addition to explaining the science of remote sensing, Parcak constructs historical narratives for the sites she’s studied across 12 countries and 4 continents. —al