For months in early 1980, scientists, journalists, and nearby residents listened anxiously to rumblings from Mount St. Helens in southwestern Washington State. Still, no one was prepared when a cataclysmic eruption blew the top off of the mountain, laying waste to hundreds of square miles of land and killing fifty-seven people. Steve Olson interweaves vivid personal stories with the history, science, and economic forces that influenced the fates and futures of those around the volcano. Eruption delivers a spellbinding narrative of an event that changed the course of volcanic science, and an epic tale of our fraught relationship with the natural world.

“Humble, challenging, and inspiring…. For Graffin, the appeal of both worlds was that, at their best, they challenged authority, dogma and given truths and opened up space for the anarchic process of creativity.”  — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Anarchy Evolution sets out to draw connections between evolution, naturalist thought and punk, an undertaking that might sound rife with the potential to be reachy―or preachy. But Graffin and Olson manage to weave the seemingly disparate concepts together into a satisfying narrative.”  —L A Weekly

Count Down: Six Kids Vie for Glory at the World’s Toughest Mathematics Competition is a narrative account of the 2001 International Mathematical Olympiad, which was held at George Mason University just outside Washington, D.C. It follows the six members of the U.S. team, their coach, and their guide (who was a team member several years ago), describing the qualities that led the Olympians to be among the best high-school-aged mathematical problem solvers in the world. More broadly, Count Down explores the following question: How does anyone learn how to do something extremely well?

“Olson captures the personalities of these young geniuses and shows that they are more complex, more interesting, and more fun than stereotypes suggest. . . . Thoroughly engaging reading.” — Library Journal

Nominated for the 2002 National Book Award.  Winner of the Science in Society Award from the National Association of Science Writers.

Mapping Human History: Genes, Race, and Our Common Origins uses the genetic differences found in people today to reconstruct the last 150,000 years of human history. By revealing the biological roots of our similarities and differences, it offers new ways of thinking about race, ethnicity, ancestry, and language.