鈥淟OVE, death and baboons鈥�: the subtitle of Robert Sapolsky鈥檚 wonderful A Primate鈥檚 Memoir (Vintage, 拢7.99) gives you a flavour of the treats in store. Accounts of fieldwork can be arid or swoonily emotional. Sapolsky鈥檚 is neither. He irreverently names baboons after Old Testament prophets, encounters a Gaelic-speaking government inspector and sadly watches baboons dine on cattle offal and die from TB. All part of a passionate, enthralling account of work in East Africa. If you buy only one book this month, buy this.
If you鈥檝e got deeper pockets, buy Heather Pringle鈥檚 The Mummy Congress as well (Fourth Estate, 拢7.99). At a regular gathering of those devoted to unravelling the mysteries of the long-dead, she begins to unwind the secrets of the scientists, the devotees and the plain dotty. A great read, full of anecdotes to pass on instantly. Did you know that ascetic Japanese Buddhist monks began their own mummification while still alive by restricting their diet?
And, of course, Dorothy Crawford鈥檚 history of viruses, The Invisible Enemy (Oxford, 拢8.99), is a must-buy. Our reviewer recommended it as a 鈥渃lear and powerful beacon鈥� to penetrate the fog of misinformation about viruses. It鈥檚 beautifully written, too.
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But these three books are just a sample of what鈥檚 out. In Northern Lights (Penguin, 拢6.99) novelist Lucy Jago brilliantly tells the story of the 鈥渂oy professor鈥� Kristian Birkeland who explained what the northern lights were. Readers are encouraged to read Lawrence Krauss鈥檚 Atom (Abacus, 拢9.99), applauding its 鈥渢ruly astonishing breadth鈥� as Krauss follows an atom of oxygen across the cosmos. Or you could trace the path of fast food to your waist, hips, wherever, with Eric Schlosser鈥檚 Fast Food Nation (Penguin, 拢6.99). It鈥檚 a piercing take on the spread of junk food from America鈥攁cting here in its role as evil empire鈥攖o the rest of the world. Not just a pop book, said a colleague, but good solid stuff. And another excellent book to round off the month is Tom Wakeford鈥檚 Liaisons of Life (Wiley, 拢11.50), a look at the cooperative side of life.