AP Biology Summer Reading List
Please select one of the following books to read and write a 2-3 page paper discussing the
items included at the end of the list.

The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic--and How It Changed Science,
Cities, and the Modern World by Steven Johnson. Copyright 2007. ISBN# 978-1594482694
Summary: It's the summer of 1854, and London is just emerging as one of the first modern cities in the
world. But lacking the infrastructure-garbage removal, clean water, sewers-necessary to support its
rapidly expanding population, the city has become the perfect breeding ground for a terrifying disease no
one knows how to cure. As the cholera outbreak takes hold, a physician and a local curate are spurred to
action-and ultimately solve the most pressing medical riddle of their time.
In a triumph of multidisciplinary thinking, Johnson illuminates the intertwined histories of the spread of
disease, the rise of cities, and the nature of scientific inquiry, offering both a riveting history and a
powerful explanation of how it has shaped the world we live in.

The Violinist’s Thumb: And Other Lost Tales of Love, War, and Genius, as Written by Our Genetic
Code by Sam Kean. Copyright 2012. ISBN# 978-0316182317
Summary: In The Violinist’s Thumb, Sam Kean explores the wonders of the magical building block of
life: DNA. There are genes to explain crazy cat ladies, why other people have no fingerprints, and why
some people survive nuclear bombs. Genes illuminate everything from JFK's bronze skin (it wasn't a tan)
to Einstein's genius. They prove that Neanderthals and humans bred thousands of years more recently
than any of us would feel comfortable thinking. They can even allow some people, because of the
exceptional flexibility of their thumbs and fingers, to become truly singular violinists. Kean's vibrant
storytelling once again makes science entertaining, explaining human history and whimsy while showing
how DNA will influence our species' future.

Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons: The History of the Human Brain as Revealed by True Stories of
Trauma, Madness, and Recovery by Sam Kean. Copyright 2014. ISBN# 978-0316182348
Summary: Early studies of the functions of the human brain used a simple method: wait for misfortune to
strike-strokes, seizures, infectious diseases, lobotomies, horrendous accidents-and see how the victim
coped. In many cases survival was miraculous, and observers could only marvel at the transformations
that took place afterward, altering victims' personalities. An injury to one section can leave a person
unable to recognize loved ones; some brain trauma can even make you a pathological gambler,
pedophile, or liar. But a few scientists realized that these injuries were an opportunity for studying brain
function at its extremes. With lucid explanations and incisive wit, Sam Kean explains the brain's secret
passageways while recounting forgotten stories of common people whose struggles, resiliency, and deep
humanity made modern neuroscience possible.

Killer Germs by Barry Zimmerman and David Zimmerman. Copyright 2002. ISBN# 978-0071409261
Summary: Everything readers ever wanted to know about deadly viruses, killer parasites, flesheating microbes, and other life-threatening beasties but were afraid to ask
What disease, known as "the White Death" has killed 2 billion people, and counting? What fatal disease
lurks undetected in air conditioners and shower heads, waiting to become airborne? How do you catch
flesh-eating bacteria? Killer Germs takes readers on a fascinating (sometimes horrifying) journey into the
amazing world of viruses, bacteria, protozoa, fungi, and worms and explores the roles they have played in
shaping the course of human history. From biblical plagues, to the AIDS crisis, to supergerms of the
future, this updated and revised edition of the original covers the whole gamut of diseases that have
threatened humanity since its origins. It also includes a new chapter on the history of bioterrorism and the
deplorable role it has played and is likely to play in the phenomenal diversity of diseases.

The Forest Unseen: A Year's Watch in Nature by David George Haskell. Copyright 2013. ISBN#
978-0143122944
Summary: Written with remarkable grace and empathy, The Forest Unseen is a grand tour of nature in
all its profundity. Biologist David George Haskell uses a one-square-meter patch of old-growth Tennessee
forest as a window onto the entire natural world. Visiting it almost daily for one year to trace nature's path
through the seasons, he brings the forest and its inhabitants to vivid life. Beginning with simple
observations--a salamander scuttling across the leaf litter, the first blossom of spring wildflowers--Haskell
spins a brilliant web of biology, ecology, and poetry, explaining the science binding together ecosystems
that have cycled for thousands--sometimes millions--of years.

The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee. Copyright 2010.
ISBN# 978-1439170915
Summary: Physician, researcher, and award-winning science writer, Siddhartha Mukherjee examines
cancer with a cellular biologist’s precision, a historian’s perspective, and a biographer’s passion. The
result is an astonishingly lucid and eloquent chronicle of a disease humans have lived with—and perished
from—for more than five thousand years. The story of cancer is a story of human ingenuity, resilience,
and perseverance, but also of hubris, paternalism, and misperception. Mukherjee recounts centuries of
discoveries, setbacks, victories, and deaths, told through the eyes of his predecessors and peers, training
their wits against an infinitely resourceful adversary that, just three decades ago, was thought to be easily
vanquished in an all-out “war against cancer.” The book reads like a literary thriller with cancer as the
protagonist. From the Persian Queen Atossa, whose Greek slave may have cut off her diseased breast,
to the nineteenth-century recipients of primitive radiation and chemotherapy to Mukherjee’s own leukemia
patient, Carla, The Emperor of All Maladies is about the people who have soldiered through fiercely
demanding regimens in order to survive—and to increase our understanding of this iconic disease.

Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond. Copyright 1997. ISBN#
978-0393317558
Summary: Jared Diamond convincingly argues that geographical and environmental factors shaped the
modern world. Societies that had had a head start in food production advanced beyond the huntergatherer stage, and then developed religion --as well as nasty germs and potent weapons of war --and
adventured on sea and land to conquer and decimate preliterate cultures. A major advance in our
understanding of human societies, Guns, Germs, and Steel chronicles the way that the modern world
came to be and stunningly dismantles racially based theories of human history.

Spillover: Animal Infections and the Human Pandemic by David Quammen. Copyright 2013. ISBN#
978-0393346619
Summary: Ebola, SARS, Hendra, AIDS, and countless other deadly viruses all have one thing in
common: the bugs that transmit these diseases all originate in wild animals and pass to humans by a
process called spillover. In this gripping account, David Quammen takes the reader along on this
astonishing quest to learn how, where from, and why these diseases emerge and asks the terrifying
question: What might the next big one be?

DNA: The Secret of Life by James D. Watson. Copyright 2004. ISBN# 978-0099451846
Summary: James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA and author of the international
bestseller The Double Helix, tells the story of the amazing molecule since its discovery fifty years ago,
following modern genetics from his own Nobel prize-winning work in the fifties to today's Dolly the sheep,
designer babies and GM foods. Professor Watson introduces the science of modern genetics, along with
its history and its implications, in this magnificent guide to one of the most triumphant achievements of
human science.

Rosalind Franklin: The Dark Lady of DNA by Brenda Maddox. Copyright 2003. ISBN# 9780060985080
Summary: In 1962, Maurice Wilkins, Francis Crick, and James Watson received the Nobel Prize, but it
was Rosalind Franklin's data and photographs of DNA that led to their discovery. Brenda Maddox tells a
powerful story of a remarkably single-minded, forthright, and tempestuous young woman who, at the age
of fifteen, decided she was going to be a scientist, but who was airbrushed out of the greatest scientific
discovery of the twentieth century.
1. After selecting a book and reading it, please submit the following in a well-written paper:
a. Introductory paragraph, including a thesis or purpose for the book
b. Evidence of the author’s credibility and background
c. What is the author’s tone (attitude toward the subject) and who is the intended audience?
d. Connection to prior knowledge (at least five things)
e. Give at least 5 ways the book relates to relevant, real-world issues.
f. What further study would you like to pursue after reading this book? To whom would you
recommend it?
g. In what ways is this book now considered “outdated?” Give at least two descriptive examples to
support your claim.
h. Summary paragraph that includes what you feel is the ”quotation of the book.”
i. Bibliography of any sources in addition to this book written in proper MLA format:
Last name, first name. Book Title. Publishing Place: Publisher, Year of Publication.
j. This should be emailed to me by July 29, 2016. If you do not hear back from me within 24 hours
of submission, this indicates that your email did not go through, so it may be wise to submit it a
few days prior to the due date.