Bold New Books to Make Us Think

The Autobiography of a Transgender Scientist By Ben Barres A leading scientist describes his life, his gender transition, his scientific work, and his advocacy for gender equality in science. $21.95 Bits to Bitcoin How Our Digital Stuff Works By Mark Stuart Day An accessible guide to our digital infrastructure, explaining the basics of operating systems, networks, security, and other topics for the general reader. $29.95 Plagues and the Paradox of Progress Why the World Is Getting Healthier in Worrisome Ways By Thomas J. Bollyky A grand historical narrative about the rise and fall of plagues in human societies interwoven with contemporary case studies of the consequences. $27.95 The Tales Teeth Tell Development, Evolution, Behavior By Tanya M. Smith What teeth can tell us about human evolution, development, and behavior. $29.95 How Smart Machines Think By Sean Gerrish Everything you’ve always wanted to know about self-driving cars, Netflix recommendations, IBM’s Watson, and video game-playing computer programs. $27.95 Twitterbots Making Machines that Make Meaning By Tony Veale and Mike Cook The world of Twitterbots, from botdom’s greatest hits to bot construction to the place of the bot in the social media universe. $29.95 Altered States of Consciousness Experiences Out of Time and Self By Marc Wittmann What altered states of consciousness—the dissolution of feelings of time and self—can tell us about the mystery of consciousness. $24.95