From Eugenia Bone, the critically acclaimed author of Mycophilia, comes an approachable, highly personal look at our complex relationship with the microbial world.
While researching her book about mushrooms, Eugenia Bone became fascinated with microbes–those life forms that are too small to see without a microscope. Specifically, she wanted to understand the microbes that lived inside other living organisms like plants and people. But as she began reading books, scholarly articles, blogs, and even attending an online course in an attempt to grasp the microbiology, she quickly realized she couldn’t do it alone.
That’s why she enrolled at Columbia University to study Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology. Her stories about being a middle-aged mom embedded in undergrad college life are spot-on and hilarious. But more profoundly, when Bone went back to school she learned that biology is a vast conspiracy of microbes. Microbes invented living and as a result they are implicated in every aspect of every living thing. This popular science book takes the layman on a broad survey of the role of microbes in nature and illustrates their importance to the existence of everything: atmosphere, soil, plants, and us.
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A Handful of Happiness
Massimo Vacchetta, an Italian veterinarian specializing in large animals, is recently divorced and feeling heartbroken and depressed— until the day that someone brings an orphaned baby hedgehog into his clinic. As the tiny hedgehog cries and whimpers, Massimo immediately understands the extent of the animal’s vulnerability and isolation. Recognizing her helplessness and desperation in himself, he connects with her in a way he’s never connected with any other animal.
In caring for this hedgehog, Massimo uncovers her vibrant personality, and rediscovers his own.
Soon, another sick hedgehog lands in his lap. And then another. As people begin to seek him out to heal and care for the injured or orphaned animals, and Massimo finally discovers his life’s mission.
As other sick hedgies are healed and released, Massimo continues to dote on Ninna like a child, constantly fretting about her health and happiness, caring about her in a way he’s never cared about anyone or anything else. But the cage that once kept her safe soon becomes a prison, and as much as it breaks Massimo’s heart to let her go, he knows she longs to be free.
Through this life-affirming story of a man and his hedgehog, we learn that no love is too great and no creature too small.
The Power of a Plant
In The Power of a Plant, globally acclaimed teacher and self-proclaimed CEO (Chief Eternal Optimist) of Bronx County, Stephen Ritz, shows you how, in one of the nation’s poorest communities, his students thrive in school and in life by growing, cooking, eating, and sharing the bounty of their green classroom. Born and raised in the Bronx, Stephen knew precisely nothing about farming and tipped the scales at about 300 lb. But when a flower broke up a brawl among burly teenagers at a tough South Bronx high school, Stephen saw a teachable moment to connect kids—and himself—with nature. By using plants as an entry point for learning across all subjects, he transformed his classroom into a vibrant and hopeful space. Student attendance soared from 40 to 93 percent. Disciplinary issues plummeted. In a school with a 17 percent graduation rate and staggering crime rate, every one of his students finished school and stayed out of jail. He then took control of his own health and lost more than 100 pounds to model good behavior for his students. After growing more than 40,000 pounds of vegetables in school, he figured out how to bring the magic of gardening into the heart of schooling for kids of all ages.
The DNA Restart
In The DNA Restart, Sharon Moalem, MD, PhD, provides a revolutionary step-by-step guide to the diet and lifestyle perfect for your individual genetic makeup. A physician, scientist, neurogeneticist and New York Times best-selling author, Dr. Moalem has spent the last two decades researching and formulating how to reset your own genetic code using five essential pillars: eat for your genes, reverse aging, eat umami, drink oolong tea and slow living. The DNA Restart Plan utilizes decades of in-depth scientific research into genetics, epigenetics nutrition and longevity to explain the pivotal role genes play in the journey to ideal weight and health status. Dr. Moalem’s unique 28-day plan shows how to upgrade sleep, harness sensory awareness, and use exercise to reset your DNA; how to determine the right amount of protein, carbs and fats you need for your individual genetic makeup; and how to incorporate umami-rich recipes and oolong teas into your diet to genetically thrive. Delicious recipes with mix-and-match meal plans, inspiring testimonials and genetic self-tests round out this paradigm-shifting diet book.
The Code of the Extraordinary Mind
From money to happiness, time management to personal potential, the accepted ‘rules of success’ are woefully out of date. Vishen Lakhiani, founder and CEO of MindValley.com, has a solution: a revolutionary new method called Consciousness Engineering that upgrades your beliefs and shows how to create new habits for a better approach to work, love, money, health, and life. He offers valuable tools for how to take life off of autopilot and make happiness facing choices. Blending evolutionary biology, mindfulness and meditation practices, and anecdotes from some of the world’s most extraordinary thinkers, The Code of the Extraordinary Mind provides a new framework for understanding and enhancing the human self.