David Farrier Nature’s Genius Evolution’s lessons for a changing planet 288pp. Canongate. £20. In David Farrier’s latest book, he warns us that humanity is endangering every facet of life on Earth thr

Yossi Yovel The Genius Bat Understanding our most mysterious mammal 336pp. Oneworld. £20. Philosophy begins with wonder, according to Plato and Aristotle. As for philosophy, so, and more so, for biolo

C. Thi Nguyen The Score How to stop playing someone else’s game 368pp. Allen Lane. £25. Games and metrics are cousins of a sort. They both give us targets to pursue, often in the form of numerical sco

CThi Nguyen is a gamer. Many people are gamers—artists, technologists, business leaders, even certain journalists—but many others still hold their noses at the term, as though there’s something overwh

Our round-up of the funny, fascinating and unusual stories this fortnight

Do you hum when getting dressed? Whistle on your daily commute? Do you sing (tunefully or otherwise) in the shower? Are you musical? Musicality is a human trait, and it’s universal, spanning all cultu