Help starting out

[NewReader]

Well to be honest I've have not done much reading outside what has been assigned for college. I just havn't had much time with working full time as well as being enrolled in college full time. But now that I've graduated and have more time on my hands I'd really like to start reading a few good books.

Hopefully you guys can give me some suggestions on the topics that interest me (or any other topics/books you find interesting)

Here is a list of what I'm looking for:
under sea exploration
universe/planets
ancient history (Egypt, 7 wonders of the world,...)
dead sea scrolls
atlantis (something based on empirical evidence with logical conclusions, nothing too far fetched)
science
animals(evolution, rare species...)


Problem I've been having while searching is a lot of the books I find fall under "historical fiction". Maybe it's my topic selection or my search process but I can't seem to find what I'm looking for. Atlantis is a tough one since most fall under historical fiction (which I can understand). But I'm looking more on something more along the lines of talking about plato's work, background on how the topic of atlantis started, and what type of evidence people have presented over the years.

Thanks for any and all help...

 

[sparkchaser]

For universe/planets, I recommend the following two books:

Cosmos by Carl Sagan
A Brief History or Time by Stephen Hawking

I have heard great things about The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory by Brian Greene but I haven't read it yet.

For science, a really great overall introduction is Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything. Aside from that, I can only recommend niche specific texts.

As far as animals and evolution goes, these are my recommendations:

Life on Earth by David Attenborough
Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History by Stephen Jay Gould. It's fairly technical but not overly so.
Dinosaur Heresies by Dr. Robert Bakker

I haven't read any of the recent texts on Darwin so I can't suggest or recommend any of those.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. I am sure I will remember more once I wake up.

 

[nporter]

I would try Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinction by David Quammen

 

[NewReader]

For universe/planets, I recommend the following two books:

Cosmos by Carl Sagan
A Brief History or Time by Stephen Hawking

I have heard great things about The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory by Brian Greene but I haven't read it yet.

For science, a really great overall introduction is Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything. Aside from that, I can only recommend niche specific texts.

As far as animals and evolution goes, these are my recommendations:

Life on Earth by David Attenborough
Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History by Stephen Jay Gould. It's fairly technical but not overly so.
Dinosaur Heresies by Dr. Robert Bakker

I haven't read any of the recent texts on Darwin so I can't suggest or recommend any of those.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. I am sure I will remember more once I wake up.

It's funny you mention Brief History of time b/c that's one of the first books I just bought this past weekend (actually Briefer[/] History of Time, the Prince, and the Art of War)

Cosmos looks interesting, actually quite a few of Sagan's works look interesting (Demon haunted world looks like an interesting read debunking paranormal)

Actually looking through your list they all look really interesting thanks alot!

I would try Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinction by David Quammen

Thanks

 

[sparkchaser]

Demon Haunted World is great. You should consider adding it to your list.

I attempted to suggest books that broadly covered the topics you were interested in. From there you can pick what interests you more and select the next reads accordingly.

I think that Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond might be something you would enjoy as well.

Enjoy!

 

[NewReader]

Demon Haunted World is great. You should consider adding it to your list.

I attempted to suggest books that broadly covered the topics you were interested in. From there you can pick what interests you more and select the next reads accordingly.

I think that Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond might be something you would enjoy as well.

Enjoy!

Thanks alot,

I think the next books I'm going to check out are:
Demon Haunted World
Universe in a Nutshell
Short History of Nearly Everything
and one more still undecided on

That should keep me busy for a while

Do you have any other Stephen Hawking works that you think I should look into?

 

[sparkchaser]

As far as Stephen Hawking goes, read Brief History of Time and Universe in a Nutshell and if you're still wanting more then check out his collection of essays. He's written a fair bit and there may be considerable overlap.