Chemistry

1. Bill Bryson

A Short History Of Nearly Everything

The author describes himself as a reluctant traveller, but even when he stays safely at home he can't contain his curiosity about the world around him. This title is about his quest to understand everything that has happened from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization - how we got from there, being nothing at all, to here, being us.

1. Tim , Coulson

The Universal History of Us

Tim Coulson

1. Nick , Lane

Oxygen

Oxygen is the engine of life and evolution. This book explores the impact that oxygen has had on Earth, and the history of life. Explaining the rise of animals and plants, the origin of two sexes, and the evolution of ageing and death, it offers fresh perspectives on our own lives, explaining why we age and what we can do about it.

1. Harold , Mcgee

Nose Dive

The ultimate guide to the smells of the universe - the ambrosial to the malodorous, and everything in between - from the author of the acclaimed culinary guides On Food and Cooking and Keys to Good CookingFrom Harold McGee, James Beard Award-winning author and leading expert on the science of food and cooking, comes an extensive exploration of the awe-inspiring world of smell. In Nose Dive, McGee takes us on a sensory-filled adventure, from the sulfurous nascent earth more than four billion years ago, to the sweetly fragrant Tian Shan mountain range north of the Himalayas, to the keyboard of your laptop, where trace notes of formaldehyde escape between the keys. We'll sniff the ordinary (wet pavement and cut grass) and extraordinary (fresh bread and chocolate), the delightful (roses and vanilla) and the unpleasant (spoiled meat and rotten eggs). We'll smell each other. We'll smell ourselves.Through it all, McGee familiarizes us with the actual bits of matter that we breathe in-the molecules that trigger our perceptions. Beginning with the origins of those molecules in interstellar space, McGee moves onward through the smells of our planet, the air and the oceans, the forest and the meadows and the city, all the way to the smells of incense, perfume, wine, and food. Here is a story of the world, of all of the smells under our collective nose. A work of astounding scholarship and originality, Nose Dive distills the science behind the smells, and reveals how our sense of smell has the power to trigger in us feelings that are the very essence of being alive.

1. Ole G. Mouritsen
2. Minaka Ono

Traditional Japanese Seasonings and Condiments

Changes in eating behaviour towards a more plant-forward and sustainable diet require ways to prepare and impart, e.g., vegetables with those tastes, in particular umami, that humans crave as an evolutionary trait, but which plants generally lack due to fundamental plant biology.

Essential Oils

Essential oils, well-known for their remarkable properties, have played a ubiquitous role throughout human history. They connect us to our past, invoking memories of childhood places and the aromas of our grandparents' kitchens.