Need help with gift selection (books)

[logosoco]

I asked my son (21, 3rd year of college, science geek, biology major with teacher certification) what he would like for Christmas, he said "books" and that I could "surprise him".
He said he has recently gotten interested in ancient civilization and human history.
I bet some folks here in the Lounge could help me out. He may not like what his old mom would pick out
Another thing about him is last semester he and some other students formed a "Students for a Secular Society" club.
Any suggestions would be highly appreciated (and of course will get full credit when I give it to him!)

[cyberswede]

1. You might ask in one of DU's reading groups...

Non-fiction:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1194

Fiction:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1193

[Lochloosa]

2. I was fascinated with Poland by James A. Michener

Just a thought and you can pick it up cheap.

[logosoco]

3. Good advice! TYVM! nt

[trof]

4. Howard Zinn's "The People's History of America".

[HarveyDarkey]

6. Second that

Excellent book

[2naSalit]

16. That's a good selection though I have some others

Depends on his tastes but I would recommend these also:

Guns, Germs and Steel; The Fates of Human Societies. Jared Diamond

Pulitzer Prize winner.

It's an attempt to answer the questions around how human societies developed over time on the various continents by an Anthropologist... as in why did Europe come up with industrialization when other continents were primarily inhabited by hunter gatherers and others more agrarian yet not so mechanized and such? Maybe he'd enjoy that, kind of thick and is the next up in the stack next to bed.

OR

Rare.

sorry can't recall the author at the moment but it's a photo collection of the most endangered species. I gave it my graduate advisor as a gift and he really liked it.

OR

Trees by David Allen Sibley. A field guide to the trees of North America.

I have his field guide to Birds of North America, it's the best field guide to birds I have ever owned out of many. It gave Trees to several people who are forever grateful, next copy I buy I plan on keeping for myself.

[HarveyDarkey]

5. "The Greatest Show on Earth"

by Richard Dawkins

If he's a biologist he'll appreciate it. If he's a "secularist" he'll appreciate it more.

[XemaSab]

7. "Albion's Seed"

It's about the immigrants who founded the US, and the influence that they had on American culture.

For example, it talks about how people who were cleared out of Scotland brought their culture with them to Appalachia, and some of the stereotypes that we have of people from Appalachia are grounded in this long cultural tradition. Each section of the book talks about things like food, religion, marriage customs, naming conventions, and so forth.

It's a huge book, so he's going to look at it like "XOMG, do I really want to read all this?," but it's an easy book to pick up and put down and flip to different areas of.

It doesn't sound fascinating, but it is.

[applegrove]

8. "Better Angels of Our Nature" by Steven Pinker is an excellent read.

A cultural history of violence around the world and how, per person, violence against each other has gone down over the centuries.

[logosoco]

9. So many great suggestions!

I told him he must read "People's History" before he starts teaching (but not my copy! he can get his own! I don't loan out books, even to people I have given birth to).

That Dawkin's book is a good bet, I know he admires him.

"Albion's Seed" looks like something I would enjoy.

Thanks so much! I knew I would get good rec's here!

[Kaleva]

10. Anything written by Taverner

Here is a link to the condensed version of his latest work as published in Reader's Digest.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1018235698

[HopeHoops]

11. Well, he IS a guy...

On Edit: I gave the first one to my (now late) grandmother on one of her birthdays.

http://www.amazon.com/Gas-We-Pass-Story-Science/dp/1929132158/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1353171170&sr=1-1&keywords=story+of+farts

Image didn't copy correctly: "Walter the Farting Dog":
http://www.amazon.com/Walter-Farting-Dog-William-Kotzwinkle/dp/1583940537/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1353171170&sr=1-7&keywords=story+of+farts

http://www.amazon.com/Everyone-Poops-My-Body-Science/dp/192913214X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1353171274&sr=1-1&keywords=everybody+poops

Image didn't copy correctly: "Everybody Poops 410 Pounds Per Year"
http://www.amazon.com/Everybody-Poops-410-Pounds-Year/dp/1569757771/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1353171274&sr=1-2&keywords=everybody+poops


Image didn't copy correctly: "101 Sex Positions - Steamy to Mild"
http://www.amazon.com/101-Sex-Positions-Steamy-Mild/dp/1569756554/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1353171383&sr=1-2&keywords=illustrated+sex+positions

[Duer 157099]

12. Here's one that may appeal to him. Or not. Depends.

Supernatural: Meetings with the Ancient Teachers of Mankind by Graham Hancock

I found it fascinating.

Less than fifty thousand years ago mankind had no art, no religion, no sophisticated symbolism, no innovative thinking. Then, in a dramatic and electrifying change, described by scientists as "the greatest riddle in human history," all the skills and qualities that we value most highly in ourselves appeared already fully formed, as though bestowed on us by hidden powers.

In Supernatural Graham Hancock sets out to investigate this mysterious "before-and-after moment" and to discover the truth about the influences that gave birth to the modern human mind. His quest takes him on a detective journey from the stunningly beautiful painted caves of prehistoric France, Spain, and Italy to rock shelters in the mountains of South Africa, where he finds extraordinary Stone Age art. He uncovers clues that lead him to the depths of the Amazon rainforest to drink the powerful hallucinogen Ayahuasca with shamans, whose paintings contain images of "supernatural beings" identical to the animal-human hybrids depicted in prehistoric caves. Hallucinogens such as mescaline also produce visionary encounters with exactly the same beings. Scientists at the cutting edge of consciousness research have begun to consider the possibility that such hallucinations may be real perceptions of other "dimensions." Could the "supernaturals" first depicted in the painted caves be the ancient teachers of mankind? Could it be that human evolution is not just the "meaningless" process that Darwin identified, but something more purposive and intelligent that we have barely begun to understand?

http://www.amazon.com/Supernatural-Meetings-Ancient-Teachers-Mankind/dp/1932857842/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1353171944&sr=8-1&keywords=hancock+supernatural

[MH1]

13. "Idiot America: How Stupidity Became a Virtue in the Land of the Free" by Charles Pierce

It's a light read but it sounds like he might enjoy it.

Charlie Pierce is one of the most fun to read political commentators on the current scene.

http://www.amazon.com/Idiot-America-Stupidity-Became-Virtue/dp/0767926153/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1353172706&sr=8-1&keywords=idiot+america

[MiddleFingerMom]

14. I agree with Zinn's "A People's History of America" and also suggest Ken Follett's...

.
.
.
... "Pillars of the Earth", an enjoyable yet highly informative HUGE novel about medieval
England, the construction of a cathedral, and aN incredibly rich look at different social
strata of the times... including the corruption of politics by the intrusion of the Church.
.
One of my favorite books EVER -- and I used to be a VORACIOUS reader.
.
.
.
There's an excellent sequel -- 200 years later in the same locale -- "World Without End".
.
.
.

[madmom]

15. Saw this guy on

(I think Jon Steward) last week. His book looks interesting.

Chris Stringer.... Lone Survivors: How We Came to Be the Only Humans on Earth

http://www.amazon.com/Lone-Survivors-Came-Humans-Earth/dp/0805088911



A leading researcher on human evolution proposes a new and controversial theory of how our species came to be

In this groundbreaking and engaging work of science, world-renowned paleoanthropologist Chris Stringer sets out a new theory of humanity's origin, challenging both the multiregionalists (who hold that modern humans developed from ancient ancestors in different parts of the world) and his own "out of Africa" theory, which maintains that humans emerged rapidly in one small part of Africa and then spread to replace all other humans within and outside the continent. Stringer's new theory, based on archeological and genetic evidence, holds that distinct humans coexisted and competed across the African continent—exchanging genes, tools, and behavioral strategies.

Stringer draws on analyses of old and new fossils from around the world, DNA studies of Neanderthals (using the full genome map) and other species, and recent archeological digs to unveil his new theory. He shows how the most sensational recent fossil findings fit with his model, and he questions previous concepts (including his own) of modernity and how it evolved.

Lone Survivors will be the definitive account of who and what we were, and will change perceptions about our origins and about what it means to be human.

[2naSalit]

17. I plan to read that one!

I saw him too, he was on Colbert. Having received a degree in Anthropology, I am waaaay interested in reading that.

[madmom]

18. My daughter is studying anthropology, that's why it caught my attention. I thought

it might make a nice Christmas present for her.

[pscot]

19. Europe Between the Oceans, by Barry Cunliffe

http://www.amazon.com/Europe-Between-Oceans-9000-BC-AD/dp/0300170866

Everything you need to know about European pre-history in a handsome package.


Women's Work, by Elizabeth Wayland Barber
20,000 years of weaving

http://www.amazon.com/Womens-Work-First-Years-Society/dp/0393313484/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1353257514&sr=1-1&keywords=women%27s+work+the+first+20.000+years+women.+cloth.+and+society+in+early+times