December 9, 2022

Q&A: Kenneth D. Frank in Conversation with Robyn Massey about Sex in City Plants, Animals, Fungi, and More

From the garden in the back of his downtown rowhouse, Kenneth D. Frank observed the cornucopia of organisms that interacted and mated before his eyes. These observations made him wonder: how does the city interfere with these organismal orgies? In...

August 3, 2022

Daniel Graham in Conversation with Lindsey Bell About An Internet in Your Head

The metaphor of the brain as a computer has defined the neuroscience field for much of the modern era. Whether we realize it or not, we think of our brains as computers. But as neuroscientists increasingly reevaluate their assumptions about...

March 4, 2022

Stephanie D. Preston in Conversation with Robyn Massey About The Altruistic Urge

From the Good Samaritan to Wesley Autry, who jumped in front of a train to save another, stories of altruism fascinate people for many reasons. We are struck by these self-sacrificing acts, and moved by such heroism. Why do ordinary...

February 25, 2022

Andy Secher in Conversation with Robyn Massey about Travels with Trilobites

For thirty years before delving more fully into the Paleozoic world of trilobites, Andy Secher was a key behind-the-scenes figure in the rock and roll industry. He was not only the long-time editor of the popular and influential hard rock...

February 18, 2022

Anne Skomorowsky in Conversation with Robyn Massey about The Carriers

A tiny mutation on the X chromosome is a relatively common but still little-known genetic condition that can shape a family’s history. Passed down from a “carrier” parent to a child, fragile X syndrome is the most common inherited cause...

February 14, 2022

Richard Ambron in Conversation with Robyn Massey About The Brain and Pain

For forty years, Richard Ambron directed a neuroscience lab at the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University. This experience makes him uniquely qualified to explain not only how pain happens, but also how to think about and...

February 4, 2022

Stephen Ross in Conversation with Robyn Massey on Chimpanzee Memoirs

Chimpanzees fascinate people for many reasons. The apes’ resemblance to humanity, as seen in their use of tools and their complex social lives, can awe us. But what moves someone to dedicate their lives to chimpanzees? In this conversation, Stephen...

February 2, 2022

Joseph L. Graves and Alan Goodman in Conversation with Olivia Treynor on Racism, Not Race

Joseph L. Graves and Alan Goodman’s new book, Racism, Not Race, breaks down crucial myths about race in a highly readable format. Dissecting everything from junk science on athletic ability to the real reasons different populations are more vulnerable to...

December 6, 2021

Announcing the Columbia University Press Spring 2022 Catalog

Click on the down arrow above to download a PDF of our Spring 2022 catalog. Dear Readers, Close to two years have now passed since the pandemic imposed new limits on all of us. Many of Columbia’s authors have responded...

November 3, 2021

Announcing Our 2021-2022 Science Catalog

Letter from the editor: Thank you for picking up the Columbia University Press science catalog and for supporting our mission to share scientific knowledge. As we live through a second  year of this pandemic, I’ve found a lot of comfort...

July 23, 2021

Five Extraordinary Discoveries That Will Change the Way You Look at Fossils Forever

By Dr. Dean R. Lomax

Fossils allow us to picture the forms of life that inhabited the earth eons ago. But we long to know more: How did these animals actually behave? From dinosaurs fighting to their deaths to elephant-sized burrowing ground sloths, Locked in Time: Animal...

January 13, 2021

Talking Alzheimer’s Research with Nonexperts

By Han Yu

Accomplished popular science. Yu delivers an expert account of the groundbreaking research that revealed the genetics and biochemistry of [Alzheimer’s] disease. —Kirkus In today’s featured SFN post, Han Yu introduces us to her forthcoming book, Mind Thief: The Story of...