I was going to recommend The Ants by E.O. Wilson, but I just looked it up on Amazon and it's $130 now.Looking for some heavy non-fiction for my Dad. No autobiographies. Prefers the sciences or sciences related for the most part. Reads textbooks for fun so the heavier the better.
He's probably already read Gödel, Escher, Bach.
How the Mind Works by Steven Pinker would be a good choice. (I liked Consciousness Explained by Dan Dennett better, but How the Mind Works seems more Christmas gifty because it's thicker.)
Bought this one recently but haven't started it yet. Will be eager to read your full review.
You might be right. I was talking about The Goldfinch.