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Being a microbiologist, I just can't pass the newest by Carl Zimmer - Microcosm E. coli and the New Science of Life. But I'll also gladly support some of the wonderful suggestions already made here.
Amy wrote: "I just came across this book and it looked very interesting to me:
[b:Endless Forms Most Beautiful The New Science of Evo Devo|39096|Endless Forms Most Beautiful The New Science of Evo Devo|Sean ..."
That was a very good book. I've also read The Making of the Fittest. Not as good as Endless Forms Most Beautiful, but Carroll would be hard pressed to top that one.
That is also on my "to-read" shelf. It looks really good. I've heard very good things from personally reliable sources.
I just came across this book and it looked very interesting to me:Endless Forms Most Beautiful The New Science of Evo Devo
I'll also suggest a lesser read work of Darwin's entitled The Expression of Emotion in Man and Animals which can be read in full, online, for free, right here:http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1227
Carolyn wrote: "Though I am a major fan of botany books anyway"
Not recommending this for the April read, but Carolyn, I found a real treasure on Amazon awhile back. Kessinger Publishing reprinted Julius Von Sachs's "History of Botany, 1530-1860). It's photocopied from a 1906 edition, but it was all there and in excellent shape. The only problem was the print was small.
It was an excellent book. I'm glad Kessinger made it available again.
Peter, I also like the idea of discussing "Origin of the Species".
I have to go with At the Water's Edge Fish with Fingers, Whales with Legs, and How Life Came Ashore but Then Went Back to Sea, also by Carl Zimmer. Great book. :)
This was recommended to me a while ago and I haven't got round to reading it yet:Power, Sex, Suicide Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life
All the suggestions sound interesting though.
I read Botany of Desire a few years ago and it is a beautiful book and not polemical at all. It turned my perception of the plant world upside down for a few weeks before my natural egocentricity re-asserted itself. The writing is excellent, evocative, and interesting. On the whole, it is a good book, one of my favorites. (Though I am a major fan of botany books anyway.)
Tracy, your "Botany of Desire" suggestion is another great choice (and one that has been sitting on my office bookshelf unread for a while). I'm now reading Michael Pollan's "In Defense of Food" and he's an engaging (if a bit too polemical, at least in that book) writer.
I hope that some time this year we will take the time to discuss 'The Origin of Species'. I lay it on the table now, aware that November would be more appropriate.peter
I think this counts as biology, even if it is a bit weird and scary: Germs Biological Weapons and America's Secret War.
Dan, I'm glad you listed Carl Zimmer. I always enjoy his articles in Discover magazine. I'll vote for one from the Feb. poll that I thought looked good, The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World
Carolyn, that book looks very interesting. Another one in the microbiological sphere that I'll put on the table is Parasite Rex : Inside the Bizarre World of Nature's Most Dangerous Creatures, by science writer (and Goodreads author!) Carl Zimmer.
Beautiful Minds: The Parallel Lives of Great Apes and Dolphins by Maddalena Bearzi and Craig B. Stanford A highly, highly recommended read for anyone interested in ethology, cognitive/behavioral neuroscience and evolutionary theory in general.
My recommendation is: 
Liaisons of Life From Hornworts to Hippos--How the Unassuming Microbe has Driven Evolution
It is a book that I have wanted to read for quite a while.
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Books mentioned in this topic
Liaisons of Life: From Hornworts to Hippos--How the Unassuming Microbe has Driven Evolution (other topics)The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World (other topics)
Germs: Biological Weapons and America's Secret War (other topics)
Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life (other topics)
At the Water's Edge : Fish with Fingers, Whales with Legs, and How Life Came Ashore but Then Went Back to Sea (other topics)
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