Time, space, energy, matter: such fundamental concepts have been explored by inspiring scientists for millennia. At Five Books, we interview experts and physicists to discuss notions and get them to recommend books on all aspects of physics that will, with any luck, unpack their scientific as well as philosophical meanings. We also take a look at the people behind those discoveries, such as Albert Einstein, and women in science.
Two of the most recommended physics books across all our interviews on the subject are Albert Einstein and Max Born's Letters, and Graham Farmelo's book on Paul Dirac, The Strangest Man.
We've also made a list of all the books by or about winners of the Nobel Prize in Physics recommended on Five Books, as well as new physics books coming out. Many are related to quantum mechanics, as scientists work to reconcile quantum phenomena with relativity.
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1
The First Three Minutes
by Steven Weinberg -
2
The Big Picture: On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself
by Sean M Carroll -
3
How the Universe Got Its Spots: Diary of a Finite Time in a Finite Space
by Janna Levin -
4
A Brief History of Time
by Stephen Hawking -
5
Black Holes and Time Warps
by Kip S Thorne
The Best Books on the Big Bang, recommended by Dan Hooper
The Best Books on the Big Bang, recommended by Dan Hooper
Before Einstein, how the universe began was a question for theologians, not scientists. Over a century later, we know much more, but not enough to do more than guess at what happened at the moment of the Big Bang and immediately after. Astrophysicist Dan Hooper, author of At the Edge of Time—a book that explores dark energy, dark matter and other things we don’t yet understand—talks us through books about the Big Bang, and questions whether our entire understanding of the universe is about to be turned upside down.
The best books on Time, recommended by Carlo Rovelli
Our experience of time is only weakly related to the fundamental realities of physics, says the physicist and best-selling author Carlo Rovelli. Here he selects five works for understanding the nature of time in its truer sense.
Physics Books that Inspired Me, recommended by Jim Al-Khalili
The World According to Physics, theoretical physicist Jim Al-Khalili’s latest book, is his “ode to physics”. Here, he talks us through the books that inspired his passion for physics, in an updated interview with Five Books.
The best books on Quantum Physics and Reality, recommended by Jim Baggott
Quantum physics is deeply confusing and its relation to reality the cause of heated debate among physicists since its discovery. Here, science writer Jim Baggott—who has spent more than three decades thinking about quantum mechanics and written a number of books about it—recommends books for better understanding what it’s about, and explains why how physicists approach it is so crucial to science’s credibility.
The Best Physics Books for Teenagers, recommended by Kate Lee
What are the best books for getting a teenager into physics? Kate Lee, a physics teacher at St Paul’s Girls School, recommends books about NASA, space travel, and the Big Bang—and puzzles over the question of why it is so hard for young women to stay in physics as a profession.
The best books on Albert Einstein, recommended by Andrew Robinson
Andrew Robinson, author of a biography of Albert Einstein, picks and talks through the five best Albert Einstein books and discusses the life and times of the ‘unique genius.’
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1
Critical Assembly: Poems of the Manhattan Project
by John Canaday -
2
Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie: A Tale of Love and Fallout
by Lauren Redniss -
3
The Four Faces of Nuclear Terrorism
by Center for Nonproliferation Studies -
4
An Indispensable Truth: How Fusion Power Can Save the Planet
by Francis Chen -
5
Energy: A Human History
by Richard Rhodes
Nuclear Books, recommended by Richard Wolfson
Nuclear Books, recommended by Richard Wolfson
In science, the word ‘nuclear’ refers to anything to do with the atomic nucleus, whether you’re using it to generate power or create weapons of mass destruction. Here, physicist and science educator Richard Wolfson recommends five books relating to things nuclear, from a book of graphic nonfiction about the Curie family to how fusion can save the planet.
The best books on String Theory, recommended by Steven Gubser
What is string theory, and why should we bother finding out? Princeton physics professor Steven Gubser, author of The Little Book of String Theory, explains.
Jim Baggott on Writing about Physics
Contemporary physics is so complex that no single physicist can be said to have a decent grasp of the full picture. This makes communicating physics a formidable challenge. Acclaimed popular science writer, Jim Baggott, talks us through this challenge by discussing his favourite physics books.
The best books on Cosmology, recommended by Marcus Chown
From Kepler’s astronomy to Richard Feynman’s quantum electrodynamics, Marcus Chown launches us into the world of cosmology.