History of Things You Didn't Know You Needed to Know

Updated June 9, 2026
Drag items up and down to your preferred order then select the "Save Order" button.
The age of wood : our most useful material and the construction of civilization
Ennos, Roland
Paper Book
A groundbreaking examination of the role that wood and trees have played in our global ecosystem--including human evolution and the rise and fall of empires--in the bestselling tradition of Yuval Harari's Sapiens and Mark Kurlansky's Salt. As the dominant species on...
Pests how humans create animal villains
Brookshire, Bethany
Paper Book
An engrossing and revealing study of why we deem certain animals "pests" and others not--from cats to rats, elephants to pigeons--and what this tells us about our own perceptions, beliefs, and actions, as well as our place in the natural world A squirrel in the garden. A rat in the wall. A...
The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks
Skloot, Rebecca, 1972-
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * "The story of modern medicine and bioethics--and, indeed, race relations--is refracted beautifully, and movingly."--Entertainment Weekly NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE FROM HBO® STARRING OPRAH WINFREY AND ROSE BYRNE * ONE OF THE "MOST...
Eats, shoots & leaves the zero tolerance approach to punctuation
Truss, Lynne.
Paper Book
We all know the basics of punctuation. Or do we? A look at most neighborhood signage tells a different story. Through sloppy usage and low standards on the internet, in email, and now text messages, we have made proper punctuation an endangered species. In Eats, Shoots & Leaves, former editor...
The triumph of the fungi a rotten history
Money, Nicholas P.
Paper Book
This book is concerned with the most devastating fungal diseases in history. These are the plagues of trees and crop plants, caused by invisible spores that have reshaped entire landscapes and decimated human populations. The Triumph of the Fungi focuses on the fascinating biology of the well- and...
An edible history of humanity
Standage, Tom.
Paper Book
Throughout history, food has done more than simply provide sustenance. It has acted as a tool of social transformation, political organization, geopolitical competition, industrial development, military conflict and economic expansion.An Edible History of Humanity is an account of how food...
The warmth of other suns : the epic story of America's great migration
Wilkerson, Isabel.
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD WINNER * ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR * TIME'S TEN BEST NONFICTION BOOKS OF THE DECADE * ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES'S FIVE BEST BOOKS OF THE 21ST CENTURY * A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST...
The radium girls the dark story of America's shining women
Moore, Kate (Writer and editor)
Paper Book
A New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Amazon Charts Bestseller! "The glowing ghosts of the radium girls haunt us still." --NPR Books  Discover the gripping and inspiring true story of The Radium Girls, a groundbreaking work by acclaimed author Kate Moore....
Salt, sugar, fat : how the food giants hooked us
Moss, Michael
Paper Book
From a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter at The New York Times comes the troubling story of the rise of the processed food industry--and how it used salt, sugar, and fat to addict us. Salt Sugar Fat is a journey into the highly secretive world of the...

Library staff! You can create and contribute to lists. Contact your catalog administrator or log in here.