October books: Her Space, Her Time; Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground; We, the Data; and more

Explore some of our most anticipated new releases for October

This month: inspiring stories of long-overlooked women physicists and astronomers; a richly illustrated, encyclopedic deep dive into the history of roleplaying games; a rallying call for extending human rights beyond our physical selves; and more. Explore these books and a selection of our other new and soon-to-be-released titles below.


Her Space, Her Time: How Trailblazing Women Scientists Decoded the Hidden Universe by Shohini Ghose

Women physicists and astronomers from around the world have transformed science and society, but the critical roles they played in their fields are not always well-sung. Her Space, Her Time, authored by award-winning quantum physicist Shohini Ghose, brings together the stories of these remarkable women to celebrate their indelible scientific contributions. Engaging, accessible, and timely, Her Space, Her Time tells a collective tale of scientific innovation, inspirational leadership, and overcoming invisibility that will leave a lasting impression on any reader curious about the rule-breakers and trendsetters who illuminated our understanding of the universe.

Her Space, Her Time is a captivating book that honors and highlights a wonderful selection of women who broke boundaries and challenged conventions in science and society.” —Donna Strickland, University of Waterloo; co-recipient of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics

You may also like Carbon Queen: The Remarkable Life of Nanoscience Pioneer Mildred Dresselhaus by Maia Weinstock


Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground: A Guide to Tabletop Roleplaying Games from D&D to Mothership by Stu Horvath

When Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson released Dungeons & Dragons in 1974, they created the first roleplaying game of all time. Little did they know that their humble box set of three small digest-sized booklets would spawn an entire industry practically overnight. In Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground, Stu Horvath explores how the hobby of roleplaying games, commonly known as RPGs, blossomed out of an unlikely pop culture phenomenon and became a dominant gaming form by the 2010s. Going far beyond D&D, this heavily illustrated tome covers more than three hundred different RPGs that have been published in the last five decades.

“Horvath’s love for the genre shines through every entry in this immaculately researched tome. It’s exhaustive but not exhausting; you’ll keep reading for pleasure long after you’ve found the info you came for.” —Steve Jackson, perpetrator of Munchkin

You may also like Game Wizards: The Epic Battle for Dungeons & Dragons by Jon Peterson


We, the Data: Human Rights in the Digital Age by Wendy H. Wong

Our data-intensive world is here to stay, but does that come at the cost of our humanity in terms of autonomy, community, dignity, and equality? In We, the Data, Wendy H. Wong argues that we cannot allow that to happen. Exploring the pervasiveness of data collection and tracking, Wong reminds us that we are all stakeholders in this digital world, who are currently being left out of the most pressing conversations around technology, ethics, and policy. This book clarifies the nature of datafication and calls for an extension of human rights to recognize how data complicate what it means to safeguard and encourage human potential.

“In accessible and inspired prose, Wong makes a powerful case for putting human rights at the center of our public conversations about datafication, big data, and AI.” —Catherine D’Ignazio, MIT; coauthor of Data Feminism

You may also like Data Feminism by Catherine D’Ignazio and Lauren F. Klein


An Anthology of Blackness: The State of Black Design edited by Terresa Moses and Omari Souza

An Anthology of Blackness examines the intersection of Black identity and practice, probing why the design field has failed to attract Black professionals, how Eurocentric hegemony impacts Black professionals, and how Black designers can create an anti-racist design industry. Contributing authors and creators demonstrate how to develop a pro-Black design practice of inclusivity, including Black representation in designed media, anti-racist pedagogy, and radical self-care. Through autoethnography, lived experience, scholarship, and applied research, these contributors share proven methods for creating an anti-racist and inclusive design practice.

You may also like Decolonizing Design: A Cultural Justice Guidebook by Elizabeth (Dori) Tunstall


Dis… Miss Gender? edited by Anne Bray

Discuss. Discover. Disrupt. We dis– a lot in English, particularly with regard to women and queer people. Our understanding of gender is changing, and with it, so are our questions. Dis…Miss Gender? provides thoughtfully considered contributions from an intrepid group of a hundred artists and writers who explore contemporary concepts of gender. Anchored by lavish illustrations and original essays from prominent gender theorists, including Karen Tongson, Amelia Jones, and Tiffany E. Barber, plus commentary from artists, viewers, and organizations committed to equity and justice, this provocative book is the culmination of a five-year initiative by Anne Bray.

“What a fantastic book! If you wonder what today’s gender bending is all about, this mix of art, activism, manifesto, confrontation, and celebration will keep you spellbound with every gorgeous page.” —Suzanne Lacy, University of Southern California

You may also like Rethinking Gender: An Illustrated Exploration by Louie Läuger


Inside the Star Factory: The Creation of the James Webb Space Telescope, NASA’s Largest and Most Powerful Space Observatory by Chris Gunn and Christopher Wanjek

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, the world’s largest orbiting astronomy observatory, is now nearly a million miles from Earth, probing the first stars and galaxies, documenting the structure and evolution of the universe, and searching for signs of life in other solar systems. In a series of extraordinary photographs, Inside the Star Factory tells the story of the Webb Telescope from conception to launch—a marvel of ingenuity and engineering that entailed more than 100 million people hours over a span of thirty years.

“This book is the only one you’ll need on the engineering marvel that JWST truly is. From the people behind the instrument to the telescope itself, I got lost in every image of the story.” —Becky Smethurst, University of Oxford; author of A Brief History of Black Holes

You may also like Cosmic Clouds 3-D: Where Stars Are Born by David J. Eicher and Brian May


Notebooks of a Wandering Monk by Matthieu Ricard

Matthieu Ricard began his spiritual transformation at the age of twenty-one, in Darjeeling, India, when he met Tibetan teacher Kangyur Rinpoche, who deeply impressed the young man with his extraordinary quality of being. In Notebooks of a Wandering Monk, Ricard tells the simple yet extraordinary story of his journey and the remarkable men and women who inspired him along the way, including Kangyur Rinpoche, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, and the fourteenth Dalai Lama, as well as great luminaries such as Desmond Tutu, Jane Goodall, and a number of leading scientists.

“Matthieu Ricard, scientist-turned-monk, brilliantly documents his remarkable years of dedication to spiritual pursuits.” —Daniel Goleman, coauthor of Why We Meditate

You may also like Beyond the Self: Conversations between Buddhism and Neuroscience by Matthieu Ricard and Wolf Singer

Read a conversation with the author in the New York Times Magazine.


Our Ancient Lakes: A Natural History by Jeffrey McKinnon

Most lakes are less than 10,000 years old and short-lived, but there is a much smaller number of ancient lakes, tectonic in origin and often millions of years old, that are scattered across every continent but Antarctica: Baikal, Tanganyika, Victoria, Titicaca, and Biwa, to name a few. Often these lakes are filled with a diversity of fish, crustaceans, snails, and other creatures found nowhere else in the world. In Our Ancient Lakes, Jeffrey McKinnon introduces the remarkable living diversity of these aquatic bodies to the general reader and explains the surprising, often controversial, findings that the study of their faunas is yielding about the formation and persistence of species.

“McKinnon reveals the secret, almost magical, biology of the earth’s ancient lakes with clarity

and an undisguised sense of wonder.” —Steven N. Austad, University of Alabama at Birmingham; author of Methuselah’s Zoo

You may also like Methuselah’s Zoo: What Nature Can Teach Us about Living Longer, Healthier Lives by Steven N. Austad


A Theory of Everyone: The New Science of Who We Are, How We Got Here, and Where We’re Going by Michael Muthukrishna

Playing on the phrase ‘a theory of everything’ from physics, Michael Muthukrishna’s ambitious, original, and deeply hopeful book A Theory of Everyone draws on the most recent research from across the sciences, humanities, and the emerging field of cultural evolution to paint a panoramic picture of who we are and what exactly makes human beings different from all other forms of life on the planet. Casting a bold and wide net, Muthukrishna’s book is a must-read for anyone interested in a better future for ourselves and for generations to come.

“Mind expanding – this book will change your view of the world forever. Michael Muthukrishna is one of our greatest and most creative thinkers.” —Matthew Syed, author of Rebel Ideas

You may also like Human Frontiers: The Future of Big Ideas in an Age of Small Thinking by Michael Bhaskar


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