On Trails: An Exploration
By Robert Moor. Simon & Schuster, 2016
The War on Science: Who’s Waging It, Why It Matters, What We Can Do About It
By Shawn Otto. Milkweed Editions, 2016
How the World Breaks: Life in Catastrophe’s Path, From the Caribbean to Siberia
By Stan Cox and Paul Cox. The New Press, 2016
On supporting science journalism
If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
A World From Dust: How the Periodic Table Shaped Life
By Ben McFarland. Oxford University Press, 2016
Overcomplicated: Technology at the Limits of Comprehension
By Samuel Arbesman. Current, 2016
Subscribe to Support Independent Journalism
Great science journalism requires human expertise, time, effort and creativity. And it costs money. That’s why I and the journalists here at Scientific American hope you’ll join our community.
When you subscribe, you are supporting staff and freelance journalists who are passionate about telling science stories that are true, important and compelling. Our editors and reporters are often experts in their fields, which means they understand the nuances of big discoveries and can untangle the breakthroughs from the hype. With a subscription, you are also supporting rigorous fact-checking to ensure the words we publish are precise and accurate. And you’re supporting original illustrations, graphics and photos that bring you closer to an advanced laboratory, an ice sheet in Antarctica or a space mission in orbit. You’re helping us craft other types of high-quality journalism as well: Our newsletters are carefully written, edited and curated by staffers you have or will come to know and love. Our Science Quickly podcast is based on original reporting, collaboration with editors and scientists and exacting production.
Subscriptions keep this engine running so we can continue to deliver thoughtful, rigorous and independent science journalism to you. In an era of viral misinformation, this work is crucial. If you value what we do, I hope you’ll consider joining us as a subscriber
