Gallery: The Best Science Books We Read in 2014
Metropolitan Books01beingmortal
Written by a man sometimes called the conscience of American medicine, *[Being Mortal](http://www.powells.com/biblio/18-9780805095159-0)* explores the intersection of health and care. By Atul Gawande.
University of Chicago Press02Book of beetles
More species of beetles exists than any other type of insect. *[The Book of Beetles](http://www.powells.com/biblio/62-9780226082752-0)* explores 600 of the shiniest, creepiest, and strangest. By Patrice Bouchard.
Portfolio Trade03fasterhigherstronger
Not all sports science involves doping. *[Faster, Higher, Stronger](http://www.powells.com/biblio/9781594631535)* explores how athletes and trainers are using genetics, psychology, and data to break records. By WIRED's Mark McClusky.
Graywolf Press04geek-sublime
Critical, smart, and self-reflective, *[Geek Sublime](http://www.powells.com/biblio/66-9780571310302-0)* thinks deeply about how the act of creating technology is similar to the process of making art. By Vikram Chandra.
Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers05Molecules high res
The second installment in a planned trilogy about chemistry, *[Molecules](http://www.amazon.com/Molecules-Architecture-Everything-Theodore-Gray/dp/1579129714/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418167963&sr=1-1&keywords=molecules)* shows how, through seemingly endless recombinations, invisible atoms are the reason for everything from rope to dope. By Theodore Gray.
Henry Holt and Co.06Sixth-extinction-nonfiction-book-kobert
*[The Sixth Extinction](http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-9780805092998-14)* is a damning implication of human civilization in the biggest die-off of Earth's species since an asteroid wiped the world clean of dinosaurs 65 million years ago. By Elizabeth Kolbert.
Riverhead07stevenjohnson-howegottonow
Did mastering refrigeration make us what we are today? *[How We Got To Now](http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-9781594632969-1)* makes the case for that, and five other innovations by brilliantly linking science with history. By Steven Johnson.
WILEY Blackwell08brainmyths
*[Great Myths of the Brain](http://www.amazon.com/Great-Myths-Brain-Psychology/dp/1118312716/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418238607&sr=1-1&keywords=great+myths+of+the+brain)* reintroduces neuroscience by debunking some of the most prevalent misconceptions about the mind. By [WIRED Science Blogger](http://stag4.wired.com/category/science-blogs/brainwatch/) Christian Jarrett.
Susan Middleton09Spineless-Cover
Beautiful pictures of undersea critters. *[Spineless](http://www.powells.com/biblio/2-9781419710070-0)* may be the best coffee table science book of 2014. By Susan Middleton.
W. W. Norton & Co.10EbolaPbk.indd
There are many months between now and the end of the current Ebola outbreak in western Africa. And the disease will likely come back. *[Ebola](http://www.powells.com/biblio/18-9780393351552-0),* is a tidy book that explains everything we know, and everything we don't, about this terrifying disease. By David Quammen.
Viking11The Lagoon
The knowledge of life began with the study of animals. *[The Lagoon](http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-9780670026746-0)* argues that Aristotle was the first person to lay an empirical eye on beasts, and therefore is the rightful father of not only biology, but all of science. By Armand Marie Leroi.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt12Rogers-PROOF-cvr-HI-RES
Ever wonder why you like to drink alcohol? *[Proof: The Science of Booze](http://www.amazon.com/Proof-Science-Booze-Adam-Rogers/dp/0547897960)* goes deep into the wonders of whiskey, the a-ha of ales. the wow of wines, and who-da-thunk of hootch. By WIRED's own Adam Rogers.
Laurel Braitman13animalmadness
*[Animal Madness: How Anxious Dogs, Compulsive Parrots, and Elephants in Recovery Help Us Understand Ourselves](“http://www.amazon.com/Animal-Madness-Compulsive-Elephants-Understand/dp/1451627009/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418342904&sr=1-1&keywords=animal+madness”)* is an incredibly intimate look at the emotional lives of animals. It’ll make you realize how closely they mirror our own mental states. By Laurel Braitman.
Public Domain Review Press14PubDomRev
The Public Domain Review is a non-profit organization that curates, and revitalizes, the best creative works to fall out of copyright. *[The Public Domain Review](http://publicdomainreview.org/essay-book/)* is a book of essays collecting the very best from the website's past three years. Highlights include invented languages, made up museums, and courtroom dramas featuring pigs. Multiple authors.
