American Scientist

American Scientist ’s readers, writers, and editors share the science books that struck their fancy in 2015—summed up in just six words! The following entries are excerpted from the Twitter hashtag #SciBooksIn6, where you can find additional mini-summaries.

“Iron Age cold cases reopened, solved.”—Dianne Timblin
Bog Bodies Uncovered , by Miranda Aldhouse-Green

“Math and passion personified: John Conway.”—Rob Gluck
Genius at Play: The Curious Mind of John Horton Conway, by Siobhan Roberts

“Questioning the very existence of space.”—Ben P. Stein
Spooky Action at a Distance: The Phenomenon That Reimagines Space and Time—and What It Means for Black Holes, the Big Bang, and Theories of Everything, by George Musser

“Fundamental to well-being— complex neuroscience.” —Katie L. Burke
Touch: The Science of Hand, Heart, and Mind , by David J. Linden

“Investigating extraterrestrial geology, many meteorites needed.” —Nicole Lunning
35 Seasons of U.S. Antarctic Meteorites (1976-2010): A Pictorial Guide to the Collection , eds. Kevin Righter, Catherine Corrigan, Timothy McCoy, and Ralph Harvey

“Chemistry plus recipes: Explore savory taste.”—Sandra J. Ackerman
Umami: Unlocking the Secrets of the Fifth Taste , by Ole G. Mouritsen and Klavs Styrbæk

“Playboy has nothing on hermaphroditic mollusks.”—Jeremy Yoder
Nature’s Nether Regions: What the Sex Lives of Bugs, Birds, and Beasts Tell Us About Evolution, Diversity, and Ourselves , by Menno Schilthuizen

“Astronauts explored. Photographer clicked. We enjoy.” —Corey S. Powell
Infinite Worlds: The People and Places of Space Exploration , by Michael Soluri