Books like Catching Fire by Richard Wrangham

Richard Dawkins’ classic, The Selfish Gene reexamines evolution from the perspective of genes as primary agents, arguing that organisms serve as vehicles for gene replication.

Michael Pollan explores how modern food choices—industrial, organic, and foraged—affect our health and the environment, revealing the complex ties between diet, ecology, and human evolution.

Richard Wrangham argues that the adoption of cooking was the pivotal force in human evolution, shaping our biology, social structures, and modern dietary habits.

"A Square Meal" traces how the Great Depression reshaped American food culture, from government‑led nutrition programs to the rise of processed foods and regional revivals.

An engaging social history of women, food, and cooking in early twentieth‑century America, revealing how past obsessions shape today’s thinking about nourishment and the kitchen.

Explore how everyday meals— from hardtack to home fries—have shaped American history, uncovering the stories behind the food of presidents, first ladies, and ordinary citizens.

This unique book examines food's importance during the massive evolution of Europe following the Middle Ages.

Explore how European and Asian immigrants shaped U.S. cuisine from 1565 to 1920, and try recipes like German Potato Salad, Portuguese Sweetbread, Swedish Meatballs, Matzoh Balls, Fried Rice, and Sukiyaki.

"The forty-year history of the video game industry, the medium has undergone staggering development, fueled not only by advances in technology but also by an insatiable quest for richer play and more meaningful experiences. From the very beginning, with the introduction of the Magnavox Odyssey in 1972, countless individuals became enthralled by a new world opened before them, one in which they could control and create, as well as interact and play. Even in their rudimentary form, video games held forth a potential and promise that inspired a generation of developers, programmers, and gamers to pursue visions of ever more sophisticated interactive worlds. As a testament to the game industry's stunning evolution, and to its cultural impact worldwide, the Smithsonian American Art Museum and curator Chris Melissinos conceived the 2012 exhibition The Art of Video Games. Along with a team of game developers, designers, and journalists, Melissinos selected an initial group of 240 games in four different genres to represent the best of the game world. Selection criteria included visual effects, creative use of technologies, and how world events and popular culture influenced the games. The Art of Video Games offers a revealing look into the history of the game industry, from the early days of Pac-Man and Space Invaders to the vastly more complicated contemporary epics such as BioShock and Uncharted. Melissinos examines each of the eighty winning entries, with stories and comments on their development, innovation, and relevance to the game world's overall growth. Visual images, composed by Patrick O'Rourke, are all drawn directly from the games themselves, and speak to the evolution of games as an artistic medium, both technologically and creatively"--

Traveling to Vietnam, Kenya, India, and the United States, Stephen Le explores how traditional and modern food practices shape diets that honor ancestral nutrition while aiming for sustainability and health.