A book about an object that changed the world

Between the Lines 2025 Reading Challenge Book Prompt #10

Updated December 13, 2024
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Apollo to the Moon : A History in 50 Objects
Muir-Harmony, Teasel E.
Paper Book
A celebration of the 50th anniversary of NASA's Apollo missions to the moon, this narrative uses 50 key artifacts from the Smithsonian archives to tell the story of the groundbreaking space exploration program. Bold photographs, fascinating graphics, and engaging stories...
Cryptonomicon
Stephenson, Neal.
Ebook
With this extraordinary first volume in what promises to be an epoch-making masterpiece, Neal Stephenson hacks into the secret histories of nations and the private obsessions of men, decrypting with dazzling virtuosity the forces that shaped this century. As an added bonus, the e-book edition of...
Frostbite : how refrigeration changed our food, our planet, and ourselves
Twilley, Nicola
Paper Book
"Engrossing...hard to put down." - The New York Times Book Review "Frostbite is a perfectly executed cold fusion of science, history, and literary verve . . . as a fellow nonfiction writer, I bow down. This is how it's done." - Mary Roach, author of Fuzz and...
The gunslinger
King, Stephen
Paper Book
"An impressive work of mythic magnitude that may turn out to be Stephen King's greatest literary achievement" (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution), The Gunslinger is the first volume in the epic Dark Tower Series. A #1 national bestseller, The Gunslinger...
Half life : a novel
Cantor, Jillian
Paper Book
The USA Today bestselling author of In Another Time reimagines the pioneering, passionate life of Marie Curie using a parallel structure to create two alternative timelines, one that mirrors her real life, one that explores the consequences for Marie and for science if she'd made a different...
Hiroshima : the last witnesses
Sheftall, M. G.
Paper Book
The first volume in a two-book series about each of the atomic bomb drops that ended the Pacific War based on years of irreplicable personal interviews with survivors to tell a story of devastation and resilience In this vividly rendered historical narrative, M. G. Sheftall layers...
The hobbit, or, There and back again
Tolkien, J. R. R.
Paper Book
A new mythology in an invented world and a timeless story that can be called both heroic romance and science fiction.
The last days of night : a novel
Moore, Graham
Paper Book
New York, 1888. The miracle of electric light is in its infancy, and a young untested lawyer named Paul Cravath, fresh out of Columbia Law School, takes a case that seems impossible to win. Paul’s client, George Westinghouse, has been sued by Thomas Edison over a billion-dollar question: Who...
The librarian spy : a novel of World War II
Martin, Madeline
Paper Book
The lion, the witch, and the wardrobe
Lewis, C. S.
Paper Book
A beautiful hardcover edition of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, book two in C. S. Lewis's classic fantasy series, The Chronicles of Narnia.  The full-color jacket features art by three-time Caldecott Medal-winning illustrator David Wiesner. The interior includes ...
Listening to the stars : Jocelyn Bell Burnell discovers pulsars
Parachini, Jodie
Paper Book
STARRED REVIEW! "An inspiring picture book biography of an inquisitive girl who became a world-renowned scientist, told in accessible language."--School Library Journal starred review STARRED REVIEW! "As gorgeous as it is informative."--Kirkus Reviews starred...
Radio girls
Stratford, Sarah Jane
Ebook
Star Wars : the lightsaber collection
Wallace, Daniel
Paper Book
"Wallace's strong grasp of the mythos of this universe will satisfy the die-hard Star Wars fan and serve as a fine introduction to those taking a first-time dive into one of pop culture's most important creations." -The Washington Post Star Wars: The...
Switchboard soldiers : a novel
Chiaverini, Jennifer
Paper Book
From New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Chiaverini, a bold, revelatory novel about one of the great untold stories of World War I--the women of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, who broke down gender barriers in the military and battled a pandemic as they helped lead the...
The Time Machine
Wells, H. G.
Paper Book
The first great novel to imagine time travel, H. G. Wells's The Time Machine (1895) follows its narrator on an incredible journey that takes him eventually to the earth's last moments. When a Victorian scientist invents a machine that allows him to travel to the year A.D. 802,701, he...
Toy time! : from hula hoops to he-man to hungry hungry hippos : a look back at the most-beloved toys of decades past
Byrne, Christopher.
Paper Book
What was your favorite childhood toy? Do you have fond memories of fighting unseen enemies with your G.I. Joe action figures, demolishing fleets of vehicles with your Tonka Toy Trucks, or Karate-chopping imaginary street thugs with your Teenage Mutant Ninja...

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