Freeman Dyson's 6 favorite books by his female colleagues

The writer, Princeton professor, and theoretical physicist recommends works by Mary Doria Russell, Octavia E. Butler, and more

Freeman Dyson
(Image credit: Nadine Rupp/Getty Images)

The Left Side of History by Kristen Ghodsee (Duke Univ., $24). Kristen, an anthropologist at Bowdoin College, explores 20th-century history through the eyes of World War II resistance fighters in Bulgaria. History looks very different if you fought for national liberation and human progress under the banner of communism.

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler (Grand Central, $15). Octavia's 1993 novel is classified as science fiction but is more concerned with theology. Her main character is a black woman who survives apocalyptic disasters and founds a new religion in California. I once spent a day with Octavia entertaining a crowd of Chicago inner-city schoolchildren. I answered the science questions; she answered all the others. She was the star of the show.

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