# Recommend a natural history book **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 7, 2004, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-natural-history-book/249046 "2004-06-07T03:17:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![burundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@burundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burundi)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2004, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-natural-history-book/249046/1 "2004-06-07T03:17:38Z")
Afte coming off of a long mystery jag, I’ve decided to switch literary gears for a bit. I’m looking for an interesting, well-written book on natural history that would appeal to an intelligent non-scientist (me). Books in that vein which I’ve read and enjoyed include _The Botany of Desire_ by Michael Pollan, _A Book of Bees_ by Sue Hubbell, and _The Flamingo’s Smile_ by Stephen J. Gould. Any thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![Darwins\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darwins_finch/32/20304_2.png) [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2004, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-natural-history-book/249046/2 "2004-06-07T03:26:09Z")
Well, an obvious plug: if you enjoyed _The Flamingo’s Smile_, you’d probably also enjoy all of the other umpteen books based on Gould’s _Natural History_ essays (_Hen’s teeth and Horses’ Toes_, _Ever Since Darwin_, _Bully for Brontosaurus_, _Dinosaur in a Haystack_, _The Panda’s Thumb_, _Eight Little Piggies_, and _The Lying Stones of Marrakech_, just to name a few off the top of my head). Warner Shedd’s _Owls Aren’t Wise & Bats Aren’t Blind_ is a good read (and debunks a number of incorrect “facts” about assorted wildlife). ---
**Author:** ![Selkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@Selkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Selkie)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2004, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-natural-history-book/249046/3 "2004-06-07T03:50:50Z")
[The Private Life of Plants](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0691006393/qid=1086579935/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-7156326-6549455?v=glance&s=books) [Clan Apis](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/096772550X/qid=1086580066/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-7156326-6549455?v=glance&s=books) (ignore the “recommended reading level”) Some good recommendations over on the recent “books about evolution” thread, too. ---
**Author:** ![Darwins\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darwins_finch/32/20304_2.png) [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2004, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-natural-history-book/249046/4 "2004-06-07T04:45:17Z")
> [@Selkie](#): > > [The Private Life of Plants](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0691006393/qid=1086579935/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-7156326-6549455?v=glance&s=books) David Attenborough’s other “Life of” books, too, come to think of it: _The Life of Birds_ and _The Life of Mammals_. ---
**Author:** ![burundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@burundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burundi)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2004, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-natural-history-book/249046/5 "2004-06-07T14:36:59Z")
_The Life of Birds_ looks intriguing. I’ll have to see if my library has a copy. I may also pick up a copy for a Father’s Day present, too. My dad has a half a dozen feeders in his yard, and loves his backyard birds. Many thanks, y’all! ---
**Author:** ![Aitara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b3f665/32.png) [@Aitara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aitara)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2004, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-natural-history-book/249046/6 "2004-06-07T15:51:32Z")
I would highly recommend several by John McPhee. He written many more, but these are just the ones that I have read. **Annals of the Former World** -North American history told through geography. **The Control of Nature** -He investigates areas where we have attempted to change the course of Nature. One them is in Lousiana. The Mississippi is changing course, threatening New Orleans. The Corp of Engineers is trying hold back the waters. **The Founding Fish** -History as it relates to fish, the American Shad in particular ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2004, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-natural-history-book/249046/7 "2004-06-07T16:07:21Z")
Oh! Oh! Oh! An opportunity to recommend a couple of my favorite books! [My Family and Other Animals](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/014028902X/qid=1086623828/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-5196978-0015241?v=glance&s=books) by Gerald Malcolm Durrell and the sequels [Birds, Beasts and Relatives](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/ref=br_ss_/002-5196978-0015241) and [The Garden of the Gods](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0755111893/qid=1086624011/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-5196978-0015241?v=glance&s=books). I haven’t read the last one, but these are wonderful and wacky stories of a boy’s enchantment with the people and nature of the Greek island of Corfu. I listened to the first one, unabridged, on tape on a long, long car trip and had an embarrassing amount of giggle fits. The books are charming! I highly recommend them! ---
**Author:** ![burundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@burundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burundi)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2004, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-natural-history-book/249046/8 "2004-06-07T18:22:32Z")
**Ellen** , I read _My Family and Other Animals_ a few years ago, and really liked it, but I didn’t realize there were sequels. Thanks!