In Nuts and Bolts: Seven Small Inventions That Changed the World in a Big Way, Roma Agrawal argues that the humble nail, wheel, spring, magnet, pump, lens, and string are fundamental engineering inventions upon which most of our modern technology depends. I found it fascinating to explore with her the various applications of these inventions throughout history and see how widely they are used today — often in unexpected ways.
Why Fish Don’t Exist is a short but fascinating and well-written book which combines biography, memoir, science (particularly taxonomy), and philosophy. Written by Lulu Miller, who cohosts both RadioLab and NPR’s Invisibilia podcast, the book recounts Miller’s fascination and subsequent disillusionment with David Starr Jordan, a prominent scientist and scholar during the late 19th and early 20th century.
Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race on Sept. 6, 2016 Purchase: Amazon Add to Goodreads The phenomenal true story of the black female mathematicians at NASA whose calculations helped fuel some of America’s greatest achievements in… June 9, 2017 Lark_Bookwyrm Book Reviews 8 ★★★★★
