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Books

It took many, many long sea voyages and much tedious charting to produce the first crude maps of the world. Today, travelers are increasingly abandoning even the best maps in favor of electronic navigation devices.

Have GPS Devices Taken the Fun out of Navigation?

With the rise of the digital age, the fascinating skills of map reading and celestial navigation are becoming lost arts

Dr. Oliver Sacks dives deep into the brain to find the greatest adventures.

Why Oliver Sacks is One of the Great Modern Adventurers

The neurologist’s latest investigations of the mind explore the mystery of hallucinations – including his own

A cautious Camptosaurus approaches a resting Allosaurus. Even though the carnivore undoubtedly hunted the herbivore at times, the two weren’t constantly at war with each other.

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Dinosaurian Oddities

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The Insane Amount of Biodiversity in One Cubic Foot

David Liittschwager travels to the world’s richest ecosystems, photographing all the critters that pass through his “biocube” in 24 hours

Excerpt from Papias the Grammarian

1 Million Dollars Worth of Rare Dictionaries About to Go on Sale

On December 4, a collection of rare old dictionaries will go on auction at Bonhams in New York City

In Denmark, Cinderella Wore Galoshes

Cinderella isn’t a Disney story, and earlier versions are, well, different

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The Meals That Starving Travelers Dream Of

Daydreaming of food is a tradition as old as the saga of man versus wild. What would you wish to eat if you were starving in a tent or a dinghy at sea?

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The Science of Cooking a Turkey, and Other Thanksgiving Dishes

In a new book, the editors of Cook’s Illustrated share some secrets to preparing the perfect holiday feast

Geronimo as a prisoner of war at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, 1898

Geronimo’s Appeal to Theodore Roosevelt

Held captive far longer than his surrender agreement called for, the Apache warrior made his case directly to the president

Delphinium pergrinum

Amazing Close-Ups of Seeds

A scientist-artist duo creates stunning images, taken through a scanning electron microscope, of seeds in the Millennium Seed Bank

Happy Birthday to the Father of the Modern Vampire

If Bram Stoker were alive today, he’d be 165—pretty young for a vampire

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The Science of Good Cooking: Tips From America’s Test Kitchen

The newest book from Christopher Kimball and company pairs good food with good science

Black-headed Spider Monkey (Ateles fusciceps)

Alan Dudley’s Wondrous Array of Animal Skulls

A new book delivers fascinating photographs of over 300 skulls from the British taxidermist’s personal collection—the largest in the world

Invasive nutria in the Southern U.S.

Guilt-Free Meat-Eating Strategy: Hunt Invasive Species

A new book describes how invasive species may provide vegetarians a welcome meat-eating freebie

This man is ghost riding. Wikipedia says so.

In Honor of Wikipedia’s Near-Completion, Here Are Its Most Awesomely Weird Entries

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Young People Still Love Libraries

Most Americans between 16 - 29 still use the library to get books—real, paper books

Emily Post (left): 1946, National Portrait Gallery. Diana Vreeland (right): 1989, National Portrait Gallery.

Dress Codes and Etiquette, Part 2: Diana Vreeland vs. Emily Post on Vulgarity

How much drama is too much? These two famous women, who wielded power over how we dress, could have debated the subject

The front and back of the Building Stories box

Designing Lives and Building Stories, Chris Ware’s Comic Book Epic

In Building Stories, cartoonist Chris Ware presents the banality of everyday life as a stunning comic epic

161 Years Ago Today Ahab First Battled the White Whale, and Critics Hated It

Today marks the 161st anniversary of Moby Dick, the epic seafaring tale by Herman Melville, and Google is celebrating with its own Doodle

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The Scientific Reason Lena Dunham Got a $3.5 Million Book Advance

Last week, Random House offered a whopping $3.5 million for Lena Dunham’s first book, Not That Kind of Girl - but why?

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