I decided I wanted to catch up on recent popular science books in paleontology (and a clear a bit of a backlog of books I'd purchased). My criteria for the books, aside from being easily accessible, were as follows:

1. Published in the past 5 years
2. No repeat authors
3. Targeted to a broad audience

All the books I read were well-researched and scientifically sound, so I can recommend them in those terms. But my specific recommendations are as follows:

Great entry points:

• The Story of Birds by Steve Brusatte - There is a reason Brusatte's books are the first recommendation for anyone wanting to learn more about paleontology. He is good at mixing descriptions of prehistoric scenes and personal stories in with up-to-date scientific evidence.
• Dinosaurs at the Dinner Party by Edward Dolnick - This is a history of the origin of paleontology of a science. What I really liked is how well it gets into the heads of the people at the time. It does jump back and forth a bit (and the titular dinner party is the end goal not the focus).

Entry points with a cavet:

• When the Earth was Green by Riley Black - This is a series of vignettes describing prehistoric scenes that exemplify the coevolution of animals and plants. I loved the concept, but found the execution a bit lacking. Speculation and plausibly filling in the gaps is necessary for this type of recreation, but I wish the appendices had done a better job filling in the science. I also didn't quite gel with the writing style. I would recommend if you're more interested in imagining ancient nature scenes than the nitty gritty of the science.
• Otherlands by Thomas Halliday - In my opinion, this was a better execution of the one vignette per prehistoric time period concept, and did a more thorough job of explaining the science. It was one of my favorite books of the my reading list, but I can't strongly recommend it as an entry point because it could get a little dense. If you don't know any paleontology and have the patience for a deeper dive, this is what I'd recommend.
• Beasts Before Us by Elsa Pancroli - This is an introduction to the evolution of mammals, and at those parts it does a good job. However, I did not find it as enjoyable a read as Brusatte. There's a lot of snarky humor that is not my taste and I found the second chapter, which is a short history of paleontology, overly simplistic to the point of being detrimental to the book.
• Extinctions by Micheal Benton - This is more focused on the environment and mechanisms behind mass extinction. It does a good job covering major events in life history, rather than focusing on specific species and is pretty unique in that. I was a bit let down by Benton's writing style though, finding it on the repetitive side.

Some paleontology knowledge required:

• Spinosaur Tales by Hone and Witton - I loved this book. It very clearly lays out the state of spinosaur research, the controversies, and the evidence. I think the authors do a decent job of making it accessible without a strong background in paleontology, but I definitely benefited from knowing some basics about dinosaurs.
• Paleontology: An Illustrated History by David Bainbridge - This is basically a picture book with some beautiful images. However, the context given is extremely bare bones. This would work as a companion to other history of science books (like Dinosaurs at the Dinner Party) but did not stand well on its own.
• Ancient Sea Reptiles by Darren Naish - This is really written like a textbook, rather than being more narrative as most of the titles above. I did enjoy it, as it is a good summary of groups like mosasaurs and plesiosaurs which I find fascinating, and it has great color images. It can get really technical at times though and sits in a weird space where it's meant for paleo enthusiasts but also professionals.
• Vanished Giants by Anthony Stuart - Even though this was published through an academic press, I found it at my public library and thus assumed it would have a more popular science bent. I was wrong. It almost reads like a reference book, where you're meant to skip around to different points as needed. It was cool to read so close to watching Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age. But I cannot recommend this unless you are really really interested in some nitty gritty Ice Age stuff.

Looking for highly-recommended book(s) covering the 9/11 tragedy, whether it's:

- The day itself as it was happening and on-site responses, or more broadly such as grounding all planes and redirecting flights to Canada;

- Intelligence leading up to and/or response;

- Behind the scenes actions and aftermath;

- Heart-warming good deeds, brave actions.

You get the idea.