Looking for a good book(s) on the sciences

The one non-textbook, not-too-technical (but still rich in detail), beautifully-written book on evolution that I consistently recommend is E.O. Wilson's superlative The Diversity of Life. As a plus, it was written by the guy that coined the term "biodiversity", so presumably he knows whereof he speaks. For a slightly more focused, slightly more technical discussion, Humoshi's suggestion of Mayr's What Evolution IS is excellent for providing you the basics of the ToE.

I had a hard time getting through this book. In fact, I've had it for two years and am only about 2/3 of the way through. Probably because I'm such a crappy philosopher, I keep getting way lost in what he's trying to convey.As an aside, do you know of any field guides/keys to neotropical Scarabaeoidea? I haven't been able to find a comprehensive one.