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Life Sciences Books

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The Selfish Gene The Selfish Gene (Paperback)
by (shelved 17 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 4.16 — 198,366 ratings — published 1976
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The Origin of Species The Origin of Species (Hardcover)
by (shelved 15 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 4.01 — 124,847 ratings — published 1859
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The Gene: An Intimate History The Gene: An Intimate History (Hardcover)
by (shelved 14 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 4.34 — 58,331 ratings — published 2016
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Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters (Paperback)
by (shelved 12 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 4.06 — 28,642 ratings — published 1999
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The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer (Hardcover)
by (shelved 11 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 4.34 — 118,851 ratings — published 2010
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The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (Hardcover)
by (shelved 10 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 4.13 — 831,016 ratings — published 2010
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The Vital Question: Energy, Evolution, and the Origins of Complex Life The Vital Question: Energy, Evolution, and the Origins of Complex Life (Paperback)
by (shelved 8 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 4.18 — 6,176 ratings — published 2015
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The Double Helix The Double Helix (Paperback)
by (shelved 8 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 3.83 — 20,405 ratings — published 1968
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Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History (Paperback)
by (shelved 8 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 4.14 — 10,423 ratings — published 1989
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What Is Life? with Mind and Matter and Autobiographical Sketches What Is Life? with Mind and Matter and Autobiographical Sketches (Paperback)
by (shelved 7 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 4.12 — 8,137 ratings — published 1944
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The Epigenetics Revolution The Epigenetics Revolution (Kindle Edition)
by (shelved 7 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 4.05 — 5,565 ratings — published 2011
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Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End (Hardcover)
by (shelved 7 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 4.49 — 227,669 ratings — published 2014
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The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe Without Design The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe Without Design (Paperback)
by (shelved 7 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 4.09 — 42,575 ratings — published 1986
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The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution (Hardcover)
by (shelved 7 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 4.16 — 57,140 ratings — published 2009
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The Story of the Human Body: Evolution, Health, and Disease The Story of the Human Body: Evolution, Health, and Disease (ebook)
by (shelved 6 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 4.27 — 9,168 ratings — published 2013
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Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst (Hardcover)
by (shelved 6 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 4.37 — 34,663 ratings — published 2017
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The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate: Discoveries from a Secret World The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate: Discoveries from a Secret World (Hardcover)
by (shelved 6 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 4.06 — 93,652 ratings — published 2015
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Life on the Edge: The Coming of Age of Quantum Biology Life on the Edge: The Coming of Age of Quantum Biology (Hardcover)
by (shelved 6 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 4.11 — 3,856 ratings — published 2014
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Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life (Paperback)
by (shelved 6 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 4.07 — 17,216 ratings — published 1995
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Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (Paperback)
by (shelved 6 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 4.32 — 1,334,526 ratings — published 2011
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A Short History of Nearly Everything A Short History of Nearly Everything (Paperback)
by (shelved 6 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 4.21 — 437,007 ratings — published 2003
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Nature Via Nurture: Genes, Experience and What Makes Us Human Nature Via Nurture: Genes, Experience and What Makes Us Human (Paperback)
by (shelved 6 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 4.06 — 4,274 ratings — published 2003
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Your Inner Fish: a Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body Your Inner Fish: a Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body (Hardcover)
by (shelved 6 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 4.04 — 30,050 ratings — published 2008
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An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us (Hardcover)
by (shelved 5 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 4.46 — 39,407 ratings — published 2022
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Immune: a Journey into the Mysterious System that Keeps You Alive Immune: a Journey into the Mysterious System that Keeps You Alive (Hardcover)
by (shelved 5 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 4.58 — 14,310 ratings — published 2021
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Lifespan: Why We Age―and Why We Don't Have To Lifespan: Why We Age―and Why We Don't Have To (Hardcover)
by (shelved 5 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 4.11 — 27,499 ratings — published 2019
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Hacking Darwin: Genetic Engineering and the Future of Humanity Hacking Darwin: Genetic Engineering and the Future of Humanity (Hardcover)
by (shelved 5 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 3.97 — 3,878 ratings — published 2019
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I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life ― A New York Times Bestselling Science Book I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life ― A New York Times Bestselling Science Book (Hardcover)
by (shelved 5 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 4.16 — 33,828 ratings — published 2016
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A Crack in Creation: Gene Editing and the Unthinkable Power to Control Evolution A Crack in Creation: Gene Editing and the Unthinkable Power to Control Evolution (Hardcover)
by (shelved 5 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 4.13 — 6,722 ratings — published 2017
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The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt's New World The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt's New World (Hardcover)
by (shelved 5 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 4.33 — 31,401 ratings — published 2015
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Homo Deus: A History of Tomorrow Homo Deus: A History of Tomorrow (ebook)
by (shelved 5 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 4.18 — 296,663 ratings — published 2015
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The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History (Hardcover)
by (shelved 5 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 4.15 — 82,370 ratings — published 2014
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The Machinery of Life The Machinery of Life (Hardcover)
by (shelved 5 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 4.44 — 758 ratings — published 1992
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Biology Biology (Hardcover)
by (shelved 5 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 4.16 — 4,216 ratings — published 1987
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Microcosmos: Four Billion Years of Microbial Evolution Microcosmos: Four Billion Years of Microbial Evolution (Paperback)
by (shelved 5 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 4.23 — 915 ratings — published 1986
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The Extended Phenotype: The Long Reach of the Gene (Popular Science) The Extended Phenotype: The Long Reach of the Gene (Popular Science)
by (shelved 5 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 4.12 — 9,741 ratings — published 1982
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The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales (Paperback)
by (shelved 5 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 4.04 — 255,202 ratings — published 1985
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The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher (Paperback)
by (shelved 5 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 4.14 — 10,509 ratings — published 1974
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How Life Works: A User’s Guide to the New Biology How Life Works: A User’s Guide to the New Biology (Hardcover)
by (shelved 4 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 4.20 — 781 ratings — published 2023
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The Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity—and Will Determine the Fate of the Human Race The Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity—and Will Determine the Fate of the Human Race (Hardcover)
by (shelved 4 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 4.12 — 20,930 ratings — published 2018
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Life Ascending: The Ten Great Inventions of Evolution Life Ascending: The Ten Great Inventions of Evolution (Hardcover)
by (shelved 4 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 4.13 — 5,468 ratings — published 2009
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The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race (Hardcover)
by (shelved 4 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 4.28 — 43,015 ratings — published 2021
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She Has Her Mother's Laugh: The Powers, Perversions, and Potential of Heredity She Has Her Mother's Laugh: The Powers, Perversions, and Potential of Heredity (Hardcover)
by (shelved 4 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 4.15 — 7,695 ratings — published 2018
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The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinction The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinction (Paperback)
by (shelved 4 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 4.29 — 8,780 ratings — published 1996
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Other Minds Other Minds (Hardcover)
by (shelved 4 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 3.88 — 29,861 ratings — published 2016
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The Brain: The Story of You The Brain: The Story of You (Hardcover)
by (shelved 4 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 4.25 — 23,824 ratings — published 2015
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Why We Get Sick: The New Science of Darwinian Medicine Why We Get Sick: The New Science of Darwinian Medicine (Paperback)
by (shelved 4 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 4.10 — 3,130 ratings — published 1994
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Principles of Neural Science Principles of Neural Science (Hardcover)
by (shelved 4 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 4.49 — 1,431 ratings — published 1981
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The Billion Dollar Molecule: One Company's Quest for the Perfect Drug The Billion Dollar Molecule: One Company's Quest for the Perfect Drug (Paperback)
by (shelved 4 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 3.89 — 1,218 ratings — published
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Before the Dawn: Recovering the Lost History of Our Ancestors Before the Dawn: Recovering the Lost History of Our Ancestors (Paperback)
by (shelved 4 times as life-sciences)
avg rating 3.99 — 4,716 ratings — published 2006
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Aldous Huxley
“Our primary emphasis isn’t on physics and chemistry; it’s on the sciences of life.”
“Is that a matter of principle?”
“Not entirely. It’s also a matter of convenience and economic necessity. We don’t have the money for large-scale research in physics and chemistry, and we don’t really have any practical need for that kind of research—no heavy industries to be made more competitive, no armaments to be made more diabolical, not the faintest desire to land on the backside of the moon. Only the modest ambition to live as fully human beings in harmony with the rest of life on this island at this latitude on this planet. We can take the results of your researches in physics and chemistry and apply them, if we want to or can afford it, to our own purposes. Meanwhile we’ll concentrate on the research which promises to do us the greatest good—in the sciences of life and mind.”
― Aldous Huxley, Island

“Aboveground portions of a plant represent only “the tip of an iceberg.”
― Lincoln Taiz; Eduardo Zeiger, Plant Physiology by Lincoln Taiz

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