Member articles

Rectangular photo of Devin Reese’s office bookshelf showing works on turtles, reptiles, amphibians, Darwin, the Galapagos, and the environment. Photo credit: Devin Reese.

George R. Zug and Devin A. Reese (NASW member)—Tortoises of the World: Giants to Dwarfs

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

All tortoises are turtles, but not all turtles are tortoises, herpetologist George R. Zug and NASW member Devin A. Reese report in Tortoises of the World: Giants to Dwarfs. Tortoises may converse via low-frequency vocalizations, this illustrated guide to 47 tortoise species relates. They can feel tactile stimulation of their shells. Habitat change and direct exploitation threaten their survival.

Rectangular photo of Devin Reese’s office bookshelf showing works on turtles, reptiles, amphibians, Darwin, the Galapagos, and the environment. Photo credit: Devin Reese.

George R. Zug and Devin A. Reese (NASW member)—Tortoises of the World: Giants to Dwarfs

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

All tortoises are turtles, but not all turtles are tortoises, herpetologist George R. Zug and NASW member Devin A. Reese report in Tortoises of the World: Giants to Dwarfs. Tortoises may converse via low-frequency vocalizations, this illustrated guide to 47 tortoise species relates. They can feel tactile stimulation of their shells. Habitat change and direct exploitation threaten their survival.

Rectangular image of Heather Hansen’s readings for Solitude: The Science and Power of Being Alone, including books on awe, contemplation, refuge, and memoirs. Image credit: Heather Hansen.

Netta Weinstein, Heather Hansen (NASW member), and Thuy-vy Nguyen—Solitude: The Science and Power of Being Alone

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

Solitude, often disparaged, linked to loneliness, or thought an unattainable luxury, offers many benefits for everyday life, Netta Weinstein, NASW member Heather Hansen, and Thuy-vy Nguyen write in Solitude: The Science and Power of Being Alone. Solitude can boost creativity, reflection, and resilience, the authors say. Surprise: it also often fosters improvements in social relationships.

Rectangular image of Heather Hansen’s readings for Solitude: The Science and Power of Being Alone, including books on awe, contemplation, refuge, and memoirs. Image credit: Heather Hansen.

Netta Weinstein, Heather Hansen (NASW member), and Thuy-vy Nguyen—Solitude: The Science and Power of Being Alone

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

Solitude, often disparaged, linked to loneliness, or thought an unattainable luxury, offers many benefits for everyday life, Netta Weinstein, NASW member Heather Hansen, and Thuy-vy Nguyen write in Solitude: The Science and Power of Being Alone. Solitude can boost creativity, reflection, and resilience, the authors say. Surprise: it also often fosters improvements in social relationships.

Rectangular photo of Steve Nadis’ office bookshelf showing several works on Einstein, general relativity, and space-time, along with Nadis’ and his coauthor’s previous books on these topics. Photo credit: Steve Nadis.

Steve Nadis (NASW member) and Shing-Tung Yau—The Gravity of Math: How Geometry Rules the Universe

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

More than a century after Einstein published his theory of general relativity, physicists and mathematicians still strive to unravel its implications and expand upon it, NASW member Steve Nadis and Shing-Tung Yau write in The Gravity of Math: How Geometry Rules the Universe. Continual exchange and spillover of ideas across disciplinary boundaries, they note, advance our understanding of the universe.

Rectangular photo of Steve Nadis’ office bookshelf showing several works on Einstein, general relativity, and space-time, along with Nadis’ and his coauthor’s previous books on these topics. Photo credit: Steve Nadis.

Steve Nadis (NASW member) and Shing-Tung Yau—The Gravity of Math: How Geometry Rules the Universe

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

More than a century after Einstein published his theory of general relativity, physicists and mathematicians still strive to unravel its implications and expand upon it, NASW member Steve Nadis and Shing-Tung Yau write in The Gravity of Math: How Geometry Rules the Universe. Continual exchange and spillover of ideas across disciplinary boundaries, they note, advance our understanding of the universe.

Rectangular photo of Mark Wolverton’s office bookshelf showing works by and about physicists Arthur Holly Compton and Robert Millikan, the subjects of his book Splinters of Infinity, along with books on cosmic rays, stars, astronomy, and physics. Photo credit: Mark Wolverton.

Mark Wolverton—Splinters of Infinity: Cosmic Rays and the Clash of Two Nobel Prize-Winning Scientists over the Secrets of Creation

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

“Cosmic rays remain one of the most intractable scientific puzzles of all time,” Mark Wolverton asserts. Debate between two physicist superstars over what cosmic rays are and how they came to be roiled scientific, religious, and philosophical groups in the 1930s, Wolverton writes in Splinters of Infinity: Cosmic Rays and the Clash of Two Nobel Prize-Winning Scientists over the Secrets of Creation.