The Master Builder by Alfonso Martinez Arias, Outlive by Dr Peter Attia and Wasteland by Oliver Franklin-Wallis.
The Master Builder by Alfonso Martinez Arias, Outlive by Dr Peter Attia and Wasteland by Oliver Franklin-Wallis.
A Book of Noises: Notes On the Auraculous
by Caspar Henderson (University of Chicago Press)
Dividing the noises of creation into four – humans, other life, space and the planet – Henderson explores, via a series of well-researched essays, the sounds of volcanoes, earworms, plants and even climate change.
TheDeepest Map: The High-Stakes Race to Chart the World’s Oceans
by Laura Trethewey (HarperCollins)
Little of the ocean’s floor has been mapped to date, but plans are to chart its entirety by 2030. In this gripping and unfortunately timely account, Laura Trethewey follows intriguing characters around the world in their race to the bottom.
Erebus the Ice Dragon: A Portrait of an Antarctic Volcano
by Colin Monteath (MUP)
Absorbing and handsomely produced portrait of the Antarctic peak by a writer, photographer and mountaineer who has worked on the continent for 32 seasons and helped co-ordinate the recovery operation after the 1979 Air New Zealand crash.
A Book of Noises by Caspar Henderson, The Deepest Map by Laura Trethewey and Erebus: The Ice Dragon by Colin Monteath.
Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution
by Cat Bohannon (Hutchinson Heinemann)
Engaging and illuminating investigation by a US scientist and writer, bulging with references from literature, cognitive science and anthropology, to explain the development of the female sex.
Everest Mountain Guide: The Remarkable Story of a Kiwi Mountaineer
by Guy Cotter (Potton & Burton)
A ripsnorting adventure from beginning to end. Cotter’s father (another Ed) climbed with Hillary, and Guy has a few personal insights into those early climbs. He also sets the record straight over the death of Rob Hall on Mt Everest in 1996.
Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World
by John Vaillant (Hodder & Stoughton)
Gripping and timely account of one of North America’s most devastating forest fires as an entry point into humanity’s changing relationship with fire.
Eve by Cat Bohannon, Everest: Mountain Guide by Guy Cotter and Fire Weather by John Vaillant.
Foreign Bodies: Pandemics, Vaccines and the Health of Nations
by Simon Schama (Simon & Schuster)
The British historian presents a sweeping and erudite account, focusing on smallpox, cholera and bubonic plague, of vaccination and its heroes as well as the political, cultural and biological borders.
The Handover: How We Gave Control of Our Lives to Corporations, States and AIs
by David Runciman (Profile)
A thoughtful contribution to the current urgent discussions around the opportunities and threats of AI by the British politics professor, noting what we can learn from how much power we have already given over to states and corporations.
Humanly Possible: Seven Hundred Years of Humanist Freethinking, Enquiry and Hope
by Sarah Bakewell (Chatto & Windus)
British author and professor Sarah Bakewell wrangles seven centuries of humanist thought into a scholarly yet accessible narrative, skilfully combining history, philosophy and biography.
Foreign Bodies by Simon Schama, The Handover by David Runciman and Humanly Possible by Sarah Bakewell.
The Master Builder: How the New Science of the Cell Is Rewriting the Story of Life
by Alfonso Martinez Arias (Basic Books)
Ingenious exploration by a leading Spanish developmental biologist arguing that it’s the unique organisation and activities of cells as master builders using the raw material of DNA that make us human.
Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity
by Peter Attia (Vermilion)
Excellent distillation, rich with data and anecdotes, of the careful research by the writer and podcaster – who trained as an oncologist – on how to maximise your cognitive and physical wellbeing and, hopefully, live a long, healthy life.
Wasteland: The Dirty Truth About What We Throw Away, Where It Goes, and Why It Matters
by Oliver Franklin-Wallis (Simon & Schuster)
An alarming exposé by an investigative journalist into the global waste crisis, how our economies rely on turning a blind eye, and what might help change things.
Be in to win 10 books
For a chance to be the lucky winner of 10 books, email your name and address to listenergiveaways@aremedia.co.nz with ‘Best Books’ in the subject line by midday on December 1. We’ll be running The Year in Books throughout the next week so look out for hot picks for lovers of fiction and non-fiction stories alike.
The 100 Best Books was compiled with the invaluable assistance of Chris Baskett, Helena Brow, Catherine Chidgey, Sue Copsey, Kiran Dass, Nik Dirga, Greg Dixon, Elisabeth Easther, Brigid Feehan, Charlotte Grimshaw, Kirsty Gunn, Linda Herrick, David Hill, Stephanie Johnson, Anne Kennedy, Elizabeth Kerr, Rachael King, Graeme Lay, Eileen Merriman, Chris Moore, Kelly Ana Morey, Emma Neale, Jenny Nicholls, Jeremy Rees, Sue Reidy, Catherine Robertson, Anna Rogers, Josie Shapiro, Tina Shaw, Craig Sisterson, Elizabeth Smither, Gill South, Rebecca Styles, Fiona Sussman, Andrew Paul Wood and others.
