The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot; Crown Publishers

“Documents the story of how scientists took cells from an unsuspecting descendant of freed slaves and created a human cell line that has been kept alive indefinitely, enabling discoveries in such areas as cancer research, in vitro fertilization, and gene mapping.”
Robin’s Note: This is a gripping bestseller for a reason: while the summary here emphasizes the scientific side of the story, the engaging part is the story of Henrietta Lacks herself.  The complications of scientific research, racial prejudice, medical ethics, and a personal relationship with the Lacks family drove Skloot to write an astounding, affecting work.

Being, Kevin Brooks; The Chicken House

“After having a routine exam that turns out to be anything but routine, Robert learns about the mechanical parts and plastic casings that make up his being, forcing him to flee the only world he has ever known and go on a dangerous search to find out who (and what) he is.”
Robin’s Note: Kevin Brooks has a lot of fun skating along the edge of what’s possible in this book.  What would happen if you woke up and weren’t quite human anymore?  He doesn’t concentrate on the science but instead on the confusion – how can you find out what you are now, and why would anyone do this?  The chase starts almost immediately, and doesn’t let up.

Ender's Game (Ender, Book 1), Orson Scott Card; Tor Science Fiction

“A veteran of years of simulated war games, Ender believes he is engaged in one more computer war game when in truth he is commanding the last fleet of Earth against an alien race seeking the complete destruction of Earth.”
Robin’s Note: If you haven’t already read Ender’s Game, it’s a classic for many reasons: a brilliant idea executed in clear but eloquent language.  The idea of using children to fight a war is not unheard of, of course, but Card takes the whole idea and tells if from the point of view of a reluctant child strategist whose brilliance makes him a target for his peers and his enemies.

Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode The Internet Out Of Idaho, Jon Katz; Villard

“Jesse and Eric were roommates in the tiny town of Caldwell, Idaho, nineteen-year-old working class kids eking out a living with their seven-dollar-an-hour jobs selling and fixing computers. College was never in the cards. Their families had been torn apart by divorce and hard times, separation and illness. They had almost no social lives, and little to look forward to. Geeks is the story of how Jesse and Eric—and others like them—used technology to try and change their lives and alter their destiny.”
Robin’s Note: This is an intriguing memoir about two guys who became part of the dotcom boom in the 1990s, and gives a strong portrait of the time and place that allowed them to escape their fate trapped in a small town with no community outside message boards.  The rise of the internet and internet business is featured in this book, and it’s fascinating to see how much the world has changed since in terms of both the Internet and in terms of the opportunities technology still brings.

The Perfect Store: Inside EBay, Adam Cohen; Little, Brown

“Adam Cohen, the only journalist to get full access to eBay, tells the remarkable story of its rise and how it formed one of the most passionate communities in cyberspace.”
Robin’s Note: This title is great for anyone interested in business, and in particular how some of the brand name companies we all recognize today got their start.  This title, about EBay as a company and as an online mecca for collectors, combines company history with a look into how Ebay brands itself successfully.  Particularly interesting is the way that EBay has cultivated the reputation of being built around community despite behavior that may make its “community” more constructed than naturally occurring.