I recently finished The Ends of the World by Peter Brannen and enjoyed it so much. It's about the various mass extinctions that have taken place throughout the earth's history. I also really enjoyed Plagues Upon the Earth, about the impact of infectious disease on human history. Both books were sort of pop science — enjoyable and engaging for a non-scientist to read, but still smart and accurate.
Any other suggestions in that general vein? I'd love to read about human or animal evolution, maybe plagues or natural disasters, the earth's history, etc. The intersection of natural history and anthropology is especially fascinating to me. I have read Sapiens already and didn't love it.
I'd also be really interested in coffee table books with gorgeous illustrations to go along with content — I was eyeballing "Earth: Over 4 Billion Years in the Making" which is a tie in to the BBC Earth series.
by lascriptori