Honors Biology Reading List
Welcome to Honors Biology! Now it’s time to get to work. Below is a list of summer reading books. We have separated them into groups, based on the four units we will be studying next year. Please select one book from each group (four books total). You must read one book and complete the firing line assignment on it by May 31. You must also write a short essay (3-5 paragraphs) on why you selected that book and what you learned from reading it. Submit the assignment to Mr. Berger or Ms. Eareckson.
For each of the 3 books you read over the summer, write 10 “Firing Line” questions and answers about the book. You do not need to write an essay about the summer books. You may substitute one or more of the summer books with a biology-themed book of your choice; you must pre-approve it with Mr. Berger or Ms. Eareckson. Examples of firing line questions might include:
Where does the story take place?
What are some interesting behaviors described by the author?
What important discoveries were highlighted in the book?
What is the central thesis of the book?
Neurobiology and Behavior
Elephant Memories, Cynthia Moss
For the Love of a Dog, Patricia McConnell
Anthill, Edward O. Wilson
Proust was a Neuroscientist, Jonah Lehrer
Never Cry Wolf, Farley Mowat
Honeybee Democracy, Thomas Seeley
Animals in Translation, Temple Grandin
The Elephant Whisperer, Lawrence Anthony
Elephant Company, Vicki Croke
Hallucinations, or any other book by Oliver Sacks
Genetics, Population Genetics, and Evolution
Botany of Desire, Michael Pollan
The Accidental Mind, David Linden
The Violoinist’s Thumb, Sam Keen
Guns, Germs and Steel, Jared Diamond
1491 (and 1493), Charles Mann
The Panda’s Thumb, or anything else by Stephen Jay Gould
The Origin of Species, Charles Darwin
The Double Helix, James Watson
Genome, Matt Ridley
The Story of the Human Body, Daniel Lieberman
Medicine, Bioethics, Chemistry
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot
The Mortal Molecule, Paul Zack
Mountains Beyond Mountains, Tracy Kidder
Letter to a Young Scientist, EO Wilson
Ecology
Silent Spring, Rachel Carson
In the Shadow of Man, Jane Goodall
Primate’s Memoire, Robert Sapulski
A Sand County Almanac, Aldo Leopold
Biomimicry, Janine Benyus
Insectopedia, Hugh Raffles
So Excellent a Fishe, Archie Carr
The Big Burn and/or The Worst Hard Time, Timothy Egan
Elephant Company, Vicki Croke (you may use this book for either Neurobiology or Ecology, but not both)
The Tangled Tree: A Radical History of Life, David Quammen
Email us if you have questions [email protected] and [email protected]
Happy Reading! Ms. Eareckson and Mr. Berger
P.S. TED Talks and Nova and other PBS videos are also a great summer past-time.
Information on the EPI Yellowstone service learning experience is attached.
Welcome to Honors Biology! Now it’s time to get to work. Below is a list of summer reading books. We have separated them into groups, based on the four units we will be studying next year. Please select one book from each group (four books total). You must read one book and complete the firing line assignment on it by May 31. You must also write a short essay (3-5 paragraphs) on why you selected that book and what you learned from reading it. Submit the assignment to Mr. Berger or Ms. Eareckson.
For each of the 3 books you read over the summer, write 10 “Firing Line” questions and answers about the book. You do not need to write an essay about the summer books. You may substitute one or more of the summer books with a biology-themed book of your choice; you must pre-approve it with Mr. Berger or Ms. Eareckson. Examples of firing line questions might include:
Where does the story take place?
What are some interesting behaviors described by the author?
What important discoveries were highlighted in the book?
What is the central thesis of the book?
Neurobiology and Behavior
Elephant Memories, Cynthia Moss
For the Love of a Dog, Patricia McConnell
Anthill, Edward O. Wilson
Proust was a Neuroscientist, Jonah Lehrer
Never Cry Wolf, Farley Mowat
Honeybee Democracy, Thomas Seeley
Animals in Translation, Temple Grandin
The Elephant Whisperer, Lawrence Anthony
Elephant Company, Vicki Croke
Hallucinations, or any other book by Oliver Sacks
Genetics, Population Genetics, and Evolution
Botany of Desire, Michael Pollan
The Accidental Mind, David Linden
The Violoinist’s Thumb, Sam Keen
Guns, Germs and Steel, Jared Diamond
1491 (and 1493), Charles Mann
The Panda’s Thumb, or anything else by Stephen Jay Gould
The Origin of Species, Charles Darwin
The Double Helix, James Watson
Genome, Matt Ridley
The Story of the Human Body, Daniel Lieberman
Medicine, Bioethics, Chemistry
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot
The Mortal Molecule, Paul Zack
Mountains Beyond Mountains, Tracy Kidder
Letter to a Young Scientist, EO Wilson
Ecology
Silent Spring, Rachel Carson
In the Shadow of Man, Jane Goodall
Primate’s Memoire, Robert Sapulski
A Sand County Almanac, Aldo Leopold
Biomimicry, Janine Benyus
Insectopedia, Hugh Raffles
So Excellent a Fishe, Archie Carr
The Big Burn and/or The Worst Hard Time, Timothy Egan
Elephant Company, Vicki Croke (you may use this book for either Neurobiology or Ecology, but not both)
The Tangled Tree: A Radical History of Life, David Quammen
Email us if you have questions [email protected] and [email protected]
Happy Reading! Ms. Eareckson and Mr. Berger
P.S. TED Talks and Nova and other PBS videos are also a great summer past-time.
Information on the EPI Yellowstone service learning experience is attached.