The power of venom -- and how it could one day save your life

This amazing autobiography by taxonomist is well-written, inspirational and would make anyone want to study snails! Vermeij is blind, but this was not a deterrent to him becoming a leader in the field of malacology and describing a multitude of snail species. As quoted from the book's description: "His discoveries, based on feeling million-year-old scarred or broken shells, have expanded our picture of how evolution works." The arms race of snail evolution is one of his many contributions to how organisms evolved during predator-prey interactions, which still holds true today and is evidenced in the evolution of venom. I read this book while researching terebrids in the attic of Philippe Bouchet at the Paris Museum of Natural History (Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle) and felt very much like a real malacologist at the time!

This is one of the first books I read as a postdoctoral fellow trying to figure out how nature defends itself. I had just completed my PhD dissertation on peptide chemistry where I was developing chemical synthesis methods to study protein-protein interactions — nothing to do with venom or nature. This book from the Eisner Lab was a wonderful segue to learning about how the wonderful world of chemistry is applied to survival and predation in a natural setting. Although it focuses mostly on small molecules and not peptides, it grabbed my interest from page one with these opening sentences: “The vinegaroon is aptly named. Its defensive spray, ejected when the animal is physically disturbed, contains acetic acid, the sour substance that gives vinegar its flavor.” These lines are accompanied by images of the animal and the chemical structure of acetic acid! Genius!

This beautiful collector's guide fanned my flame for terebrids. Yves is a colleague who I met when I was first learning about terebrids. He and I have described several species of terebrids. But in the beginning it was this beautiful book that hooked me and educated me about these killer snails. Yves's sharp, concise descriptions, together with wonderful images, makes this easy reading for anyone who wants to fall in love with snail shells.

As cofounder of the EdTech learning games company Killer Snails, I was first introduced to Asi's work when he was executive director of Games for Change, a nonprofit that works to highlight social impact games, games that can be used to change human behavior to benefit our world and lives. Asi created the game PeaceMaker, which attempts to mitigate the Israel-Palestine conflict using real-world data and human input. This book traces how gaming has become a phenomenon not just for kids, but also for educators, policymakers and change-makers. It also bridges my desire to see science diplomacy have more impact in the world with the innovation and technology that can happen with gaming. For someone looking to understand the draw, the opportunity and the future of gaming, this is a great lead-in. Game on and level up!