recommended books - nonfiction

August 18, 2026

A list of some of my favorite nonfiction science books I have read.

I read a lot of nonfiction, and I read it more often than I do fiction. A lot of the time I'm reading two books at once: one fiction and one nonfiction. But over the past few years I've gravitated more towards nonfiction for some reason. It's because there are so many things I want to learn about. I can easily come across a nonfiction book in a variety of topics and find it interesting.

I'm a lot slower reading nonfiction because it takes more brainpower to read. I love learning new things though!

Here I've put together a list of my recommended nonfiction in the field of science and biology books.

Jakalopes' Recommended Nonfiction Biology Books

Animal Behavior:

• Gorillas in the Mist, Diane Fossey
  Classic conservation book about a woman studying gorillas in Rwanda and Uganda. Diane Fossey is a complicated scientist but a major player in conservation.
• In the Shadow of Man, Jane Goodall
  Also classic, about Goodall's initial work with chimpanzee behavior. Has some pretty deeply sad, dark parts, so don't read it if you don't want to be upset.
• Innocent Killers, Jane Goodall
  About Goodall's little known work in jackal, african wild dog, and hyena behavior. Spotted hyenas are one of my favorite animals and once you learn about them, it's hard to not look for more material.
• In Quest for the Sacred Baboon: A Scientist's Journey, Hans Kummer
  A scientist's journey in studying Hamadryas baboons in both captivity and the wild. It's an older book and some of the first social behavior records on this particular species.
• Hyena Nights & Kalahari Days, Gus & Margie Mills
  Two married scientists and their field exploits studying brown and spotted hyenas.
• Among the Bone Eaters: Encounters with Hyenas in Harar, Marcus Baynes-Rock
  Written more from an anthropology perspective. An anthropologist studies the relationship between the semi-domesticated spotted hyenas that live alongside people in Ethiopia. Lots of photos in this one.
• Chulo: A Year Among the Coatimundis, Gilbert
  About the author's time studying this unique raccoon-like animal in the canyons of Arizona. Lots of interesting social behavior. The author is a little old school and has some representative sexist attitudes, just to keep in mind. This one is entirely available on archive.org.

Scientists:

• Woman in the Mists, Farley Mowat
  Biography about Diane Fossey's life, fascinating stuff, doesn't lionize her either and addresses her issues.

Paleontology:

• Dinosaurs: New Visions of a Lost World, Benton
  Coffee table style book with beautiful illustrations. Addresses interesting fossils and biology. There's a neat section on how scientists determine the color of dinosaur feathers by the cellular structures.
• Beasts Before Us: The Untold Story of Mammal Origins and Evolution, Panciroli Accessible, casual book on the earliest mammals, including the synapsids like Dimetrodon. Learn about our small rodent-like nocturnal history.

General:

• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Skloot
  Necessary for any science ethics class. A reporter interviews the family around a black woman who unknowingly supplied important cancer cells to the scientific community. Heartbreaking.
• The Greatest Show on Earth, Richard Dawkins
  A fun tour around evolution, very accessibly written.
• Coyote America, Dan Flores
  The role of the coyote in American culture, myth, and science. I found this one sad.
• How to Tame a Fox (And Build a Dog): Visionary Scientists and a Siberian Tale of Jump-Started Evolution, Lee Dugatkin & Lyudmila Trut
  Describes the Russian science behind the fox domestication experiments. One of the authors was one of the primary scientists.

Genetics:

• The Gene: An Intimate History, Mukherjee
  Accessible review of the history of the field of genetics. Does not shy away from the unethical eugenics-based aspects.
• Genetic Prophecy: Beyond the Double Helix, Harsanyi
  A bit out of date now. Addresses the increasing importance of genetic screening. Human disease based. Mostly avoids the negative history.

Textbook, more detailed:

• The Solitary Bee, Danforth
  Quintessential for studying solitary bees (so, most bees). Impressive synthesis of lots of data.
• Bumblebees: Behaviour, Ecology, and Conservation, Goulson
  A little shallowly written and very foraging-focused, but the author is the premier bumblebee scientist right now. A jumping off point for learning about bumblebee ecology.
• Biology Of Whiptail Lizards (Genus Cnemidophorus), Wright and Vitt
  THE textbook on whiptails. It's pretty detailed and science-based, very technical, but there's no better resources for this group that exists right now. It was written when Whiptails were classified in the genus Cnemidophorous, but have since been moved to Aspidoscelis.