Asimov's New Guide to Science

“Now, it was written in 1984, so it is of course not up to date. But it begins from the beginning, so that’s still a lot of human curiosity and ingenuity to cover. This is my favourite thing about it – he walks you through each topic in order of discovery, explaining what the question or problem or prevailing belief was, and how the breakthroughs came about. “ Read more...

Five Lesser-Known Books by Sci Fi Greats

Sylvia Bishop

“It essentially covers all of science. It is 900 pages long, and it was as complete a guide to the sciences as one could buy in 1984, which is when it came out….Even though I have access to forty ensuing years of science popularisations, I come back to this book a lot, because he really was something special when it came to explaining things to people. I was struck by this fact – that despite the fact that I have access to all kinds of resources to write a book about science, Asimov was still the best explainer when it came to this material.” Read more...

The Best Isaac Asimov Books

Alec Nevala-Lee, Biographer

“Asimov was one of the first real prolific science popularisers…It’s very much written for the layman. You have to bear in mind that it’s outdated. It was first published back in 1972. I know, however, that it’s been republished. I’ve seen it recently on bookshelves in bookstores. For me, it’s still well worth having a look at. If you just want a broad introduction—on the understanding that the world of science has moved on quite a bit since those days—then it’s a really good place to start.” Read more...

Jim Baggott on Writing about Physics

Jim Baggott, Science Writer