In the Field, Among the Feathered: A History of Birders and Their Guides

  • Thomas R. Dunlap
Oxford University Press 256 pp. $34.95 (2011)

Birdwatching may be an amateur science, but it retains close links to ornithology and conservation. In the century since twitching emerged as a suburban hobby, the one constant has been the field guide. Historian and birder Thomas Dunlap trains his binoculars on its evolution in the United States. His meticulous chronicle reveals how the collective urge to spot Nashville warblers or bald eagles ultimately jump-started the US eco-movement, and why the hobby is one of the great unfolding stories of crowd-sourced nature study.

People Will Talk: The Surprising Science of Reputation

  • John Whitfield
Wiley 272 pp. £17.99 (2011)

Reputation is central to our lives, says science writer John Whitfield, yet we are not entirely aware of it. He draws on philosophy, sociology, economics and animal-behaviour experiments to punch through the surface of this powerful and perplexing phenomenon. At base, he finds, it rests on how we trust others and how we persuade others to trust us. An individual's concern for his or her reputation can be a fulcrum that tips them towards either brutal or altruistic behaviour — so ultimately, says Whitfield, the way in which society uses reputation determines whether that society thrives or fails.

Da Vinci's Ghost: The Untold Story of the World's Most Famous Drawing

  • Toby Lester
Profile/Free Press 263 pp. £16.99/$26.99 (2011/2012)

Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man — poised within a circle and a square — is arguably history's most iconic image. Writer Toby Lester offers the absorbing story of this Renaissance rendering. Touching on anatomy, medicine, geography, mathematics, philosophy and aesthetics, he explores the idea that the body, geometry and mystic reality are linked. Its progenitor was Roman architect Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, who posited that human proportions echo the cosmos and should set the form for architecture and for all civilization.

Time Travel and Warp Drives: A Scientific Guide to Shortcuts through Time and Space

Allen Everett and Thomas Roman. University of Chicago Press 280 pp. $30 (2011)

Physicist Allen Everett and mathematician Thomas Roman boldly go into the big speculations that lie at the root of 'frontier science', such as time travel. Through clear explanations and judiciously deployed basic algebra, they lay out the science behind the weirder possibilities offered by the characteristics of space-time. Travelling backwards in time, for instance, can be linked theoretically to moving faster than the speed of light. Warp bubbles, anyone?

Panda: Back from the Brink

  • Zhou Mengqi
Saraband 192 pp. £25 (2011)

The one-note diet, monochrome markings and long association with fertility treatments in captivity lend the giant panda an unreal air. But these animals are resilient: against all the odds, they total an estimated 2,000 individuals. This tribute to the beauty of the beast is informed by leading conservationists, but centres on stunning shots by photographer Zhou Mengqi. Backed by advice from panda experts Zhang Zhihe, Zhang Hemin and Hu Jinchu, Mengqi tracked his elusive subjects through the mountains of Sichuan for years.