In-depth history of psychiatric hubris, from the early days of mental institutions and anatomical research all the way up to the modern attempts to cast mental disorders as biomedical in origin. This book is not the polemic I expected (or wanted, frankly, although it does contain some recommendations in the afterword), but it’s still good reading to understand the fraught history of the psychiatry experiment.
Infinite Powers: How Calculus Reveals the Secrets of the Universe
She Has Her Mother's Laugh: The Powers, Perversions, and Potential of Heredity
Fascinating book, filled with lively anecdotes that provide a good historical understanding of genetic inheritance. I especially appreciated the chapters on the science of race and racism. See also my blog post on phenylketonuria.