Oxygen: The Molecule that Made the World by Nick Lane
This is an extremely interesting and well written book about oxygen - how oxygen spurred the evolution of life, the functioning of oxygen in biological systems, aging, how oxygen relates to everyday life (besides breathing), amongst others. The nice thing about this book is that the author assumes his readers are intelligent and so doesn't simplify his writing or the concepts so much that it practically turns into gibberish.
NOTE:
The author's view of junk DNA is a bit dated - the book was published in 2002 and research on junk DNA has advanced since then. Some other information might also be dated, but that is simply how science and science writing work. If you are intelligent enough to read this book, you should also be intelligent enough not to swallow everything you read - hook, line and sinker.
OTHER RELATED RECOMMENDED BOOKS:
* The Emerald Planet: How Plants Changed Earth's History by David Beerling
* Why We Get Sick: The New Science of Darwinian Medicine by Randolph M. Nesse, George C. Williams
* Under a Green Sky: Global Warming, the Mass Extinctions of the Past, and What They Can Tell Us About Our Future by Peter D. Ward
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