7/6/2020 Huan Song & Ryan Wyllie
Summer is the perfect time to dive into new reads. We asked the bioengineering community for recommendations and here are eleven books to add to your summer reading list.
Written by Huan Song & Ryan Wyllie
Summer is the perfect time to dive into new reads. We asked the bioengineering community for recommendations and here are eleven books to add to your summer reading list.
1. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Sloot
Henrietta Lacks was an African-American woman diagnosed with terminal cervical cancer and was treated at Johns Hopkins University in 1951. Her doctor took a sample of her cells without her knowledge and these "immortal cells" grown in culture became instrumental to modern medicine. This book dives into the dark history of scientific experimentation on people of color and critical questions around bioethics.
2. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
The Hate that U Give is a poignant fictional story that follows Starr Carter, a sixteen-year-old girl who's life gets turned upside down after she witnesses the death of her friend Khalid at the hands of the police. This is a poignant must-read to better understand police brutality and being Black in America.
3. The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science by Norman Doidge
Dr. Norman Doidge is a renowned psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who travels around the country to meet brilliant scientists and discuss neuroplasticity and the brain. Beyond writing a science book, Doidge examines the role of the brain in shaping our personalities, experiences and ultimately our humanity.
4. Emergent Strategy by Adrienne Maree Brown
Adrienne Maree Brown is a social justice activist, writer and speaker. Her book, Emergent Strategy is a collection of essays, exercises, poems, playlists and more actively engage with the reader on thinking about the future. This book explores topics like collaboration, embracing change and toppling the status quo as a part of the process to build a different world.
5. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
This philosophical work was written by the famous Roman emperor during the late second century A.D. It deals with questions regarding morality, duty, responsibility, and how to deal with stress. This book is particularly interesting from a historical perspective because it was never meant for publication, and is in essence the private diary of Marcus Aurelius.
6. When Nietzsche Wept: A Novel Of Obsession by Irvin D. Yalom
When Nietzsche Wept is a fictional novel set in 19th-century Vienna that follows the famous philosopher Friedrich Nietzche as he seeks help from Josef Breuer, a founding father of the field of psychoanalysis. This encounter grows into a relationship of mutual therapy.
7. Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande
Being Mortal is a profound and deeply personal book about aging and death. Interwoven with stories from nursing homes to retired doctors facing their mortality, Gawande takes the reader with him as he navigates the end of his own father's life.
8. On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder
This is a really short book that could perhaps be better described as a pamphlet. Synder is a history professor at Yale who focuses on the politics and history of 20th century Europe. On Tyranny is a collection of lessons and warnings about how authoritarian regimes arise using evidence from Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union and modern Russia.
9. When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
Doctors are not invincible nor immortal. This book is the memoir and final chronicles of Dr. Kalanithi's life after he was diagnosed with terminal stage IV lung cancer just as he became a new father. His book explores his transition from a medical practitioner to a patient and what makes life worthwhile.
10. A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
This book is a survey of the history behind scientific achievements in the fields of geology, physics, chemistry, biology, paleontology, and anthropology. While some of the science is outdated, particularly with regards to biology, it sheds light on the human side of the scientists. Bryson also writes with a very witty style that adds color to his accounts.
11. My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey by Jill Bolte Taylor
Jill Bolte Taylor, a then thirty-seven-year-old Harvard-trained brain scientist experienced a massive stroke in the left hemisphere of her brain which completely changed her life. This is a first-person account of what happens to the brain after a traumatic injury and the journey of recovery and discovery.