December is the month of elaborate Christmas dinners, winter walks in the woods, and Christmas movies. But also an excellent moment to settle down in your favorite chair, with a cup of hot chocolate and a good book. Our editors recommend her favorite books for under the tree.
Bold Important
By Mariëtte Boon and Liesbeth van Rossum
December is traditionally the month of eating way too much and then trying to lose those extra pounds again – a resolution that comes back more often throughout the year. But despite this obsession with our body fat, we usually know very little about it. And that's a shame, say Mariëtte Boon and Liesbeth van Rossum. Both are doctors and researchers. In 'Fat Important' they take you into the deepest recesses of your body fat on the basis of penetrating examples and experience stories, and they show you how important and valuable this part of your body actually is.
Read an extensive review of 'Vet Important' on NEMO Kennislink here.
– Renée Canrinus-Moezelaar, Chemistry editor –
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Blood – a biography
By Rose George
Venison steak? Mushroom risotto? Vegetable Curry? Or cozy gourmet? Whatever you serve for your Christmas dinner, this book on blood is a good read for carnivores, vegans and everyone in between. Rose George introduces you to all kinds of aspects of blood, but she mainly focuses on the people who have that blood flowing through their veins. She takes you on a journey to Nepal, South Africa, Wales, Canada, India and the London of the Second World War. Her stories are sometimes intense and poignant, but also hopeful and surprising. George is outspoken, enthusiastic, witty and genuinely interested in the people she writes about. That makes 'Blood', despite the many serious problems it deals with, a lively and optimistic book.
Read the in-depth review of 'Blood. A biography' on NEMO Kennislink.
– Esther Thole, editor Chemical Sciences / Functional Molecular Systems –
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The uninhabitable earth
By David Wallace-Wells
This may not be a feel-good book to read by the Christmas tree, but it will teach you a lot about climate change. The American journalist David Wallace-Wells outlines the possible consequences for our daily lives in a clear way, based on expert estimates. Be prepared for a lot of numbers and depressing scenarios. From food production to water resources and even economic stability, many aspects of our lives will suffer from global warming. 'The uninhabitable earth' shakes you up well, but also contains a hopeful message. We can keep our earth livable, but then something has to be done now.
Read the extensive review of 'The uninhabitable earth' on NEMO Kennislink here.
– Welmoed van Zuiden, editorial intern –
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The cosmic cabinet of curiosities
By George van Hal and Ans Hekkenberg
WHAT. THE. @^%!$#. IS THIS AGAIN? That's pretty much the thought that occurred to the authors of The Cosmic Cabinet of Curiosities as they studied the night sky. Between those thousands of twinkling stars there are quite a few weird guys. Stars hidden in stars or planets that literally evaporate because they are cooked by their star. Or a real Bermuda Triangle in space where satellites run amok and astronauts see strange flashes of light. The list is long, and science journalists George van Hal and Ans Hekkenberg wrote a very readable and comic book about it.
Read the extensive review of 'The cosmic cabinet of curiosities' on NEMO Kennislink here.
– Roel van der Heijden, editor Astronomy, Physics &Technology –
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The root of the word
By Yannick Fritschy
Another introductory book on language? That's what I thought when 'Tribe of the Word' appeared. This booklet is different, the author says in his foreword, because it is an alpha topic explained by a beta. Is that a world of difference? Not really. The subject, the origin and change of languages, belongs to comparative linguistics, and this sub-discipline happens to be most closely related to the natural sciences. The parallel that Fritschy draws between language and biological evolution is not very new either. However, this parallel is a common thread in his book, which makes it fun to read. Moreover, the author has a smooth pen, writes with enthusiasm and places comic footnotes under his text*. By ascribing from modern Dutch to the very beginnings of the first primordial language, he manages to hold the reader's attention. Extremely suitable for reading under the Christmas tree, between the courses. Another introductory book on language? Why not!
(* speaking of footnotes:I missed a list of sources in this book)
– Mathilde Jansen, editor Linguistics –
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The body – a travel guide
By Bill Bryson
Author Bill Bryson gained worldwide fame with his bestseller A Short History of Almost Everything. For his new book, he immersed himself in the human body. The book is made up of 23 chapters, each dealing with a different aspect of the body; from your microbial inhabitants to various diseases. As in his other books, Bill Bryson writes fluently, accessible and tells the reader many fun anecdotes and facts. That every cell contains a meter of DNA and that if you were to explain all your DNA, it would pass Pluto, for example. Or that the scorched air from your vacuum cleaner is caused by the burning of skin flakes, of which we lose half a kilo every year. It is a voluminous travelogue that is accessible and entertaining for people with and without a (bio)medical background. Beautiful illustrations could have completed the story. The historical photos of doctors and patients are nice, but the book would have benefited more from biological illustrations or small infographics.
– Anne van Kessel, editor Biology –
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The radio – a cultural history
By Huub Females
The Top 2000 starts again, a real Dutch Christmas tradition, isn't it? Double celebration, because Dutch radio is a hundred years old and the Top 2000 is also featured in the book 'The radio – a cultural history'. Furthermore, the most beautiful stories about the technical predecessors of radio, the flourishing of live orchestras in the fifties, pillarized broadcasters, radio pirates at sea, sports radio, you name it. In the first fifty years in particular, radio, with its free music and information, had a major influence on Dutch people who had no money for concert tickets, competitions or courses. And most of those were Dutch back then.
Read the extensive review of 'The radio – a cultural history' on NEMO Kennislink here.
– Marjolein Overmeer, editor Humanities –
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How to build an Iron Man suit
By Barry Fitzgerald
How do you recreate Iron Man's suit with insights from science? That's what physicist Barry Fitzgerald's new book is about. He worked at TU Delft and TU Eindhoven and wrote the book 'How to build an Iron Man suit'. Don't expect a step-by-step manual to actually build the suit, but a fascinating look behind the scenes of scientists and engineers. Fitzgerald explains in an accessible manner how you make sure that a suit can fly, how you make a strong and at the same time not too heavy suit, making you invulnerable. And which bio-sensors check whether you are not going to die. Still useful to know if you still have ambitions to become a superhero.
Read an interview with Barry Fitzgerald about 'How to build an Iron Man suit' on NEMO Kennislink here.
– Robert Visscher, Technology editor –
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10 years gift
By David van Bodegom and Rudi Westendorp
10 years gift, written by aging doctors David van Bodegom and Rudi Westendorp, is a practical booklet based on scientific information. The booklet contains all kinds of tips that make it possible to live a healthy life for longer. Van Bodegom and Westendorp do not assume strict rules of life, but use the strategy of removal, replacement, avoidance and preparation. They show how you can make your kitchen or living room healthier in a simple way. Instead of a box of cookies, put a bowl of apples in plain sight. Unconsciously, people will then eat more apples and fewer cookies. Unfortunately, not all tips are equally easy to apply. Convincing your colleagues to meet standing up and skip Friday afternoon drinks might be a bit much to ask. But by making small adjustments yourself, you will soon have gained a number of healthy years.
– Elles Lalieu, editor of Medical Sciences –
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Neanderthals in the Northern Netherlands
By Marcel Niekus and Evert van Ginkel
On March 10, 2007, a group of archaeologists found a hand ax from the time of the Neanderthals in a meadow near the Drenthe village of Zeijen. Four years later, the counter stood at thirteen, and more than eighty knocks had been found – by-products of the production of stone tools. Apparently, 50,000 years ago Neanderthals camped on this flank of the Rug van Zeijen. This discovery of the site Peest was the reason for making this richly illustrated book. It is not only about the Neanderthals of Drenthe, but places the find in a broad context. No prior knowledge is required. While reading you will learn a lot about the Neanderthals and how they lived in Europe, but also about the development of archeology in the Netherlands. The book is easy to read and has beautiful illustrations. Recommended!
– Marlies ter Voorde, editor Earth &Climate –
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The 50+ brain
By Margriet Sitskoorn
Another year passed. Time flies and no one is getting any younger. As you get older, changes occur in the brain, but that idea should not make you nervous, according to clinical neuropsychologist Margriet Sitskoorn. In her latest book 'The 50+ brain' she shows that the brains of people over fifty are not only declining, new skills are also being added. What a relief! If you want to keep the upstairs room fit, you cannot avoid the well-known lifestyle advice for vital ageing. Anyone who reads this book during the Christmas holidays will therefore have to make good resolutions again in 2020.
– Mariska van Sprundel, editor Brain &Behavior –
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