Support Us
 
Search
MENUMENU
  • Nonfiction
        • Art
          • Architecture
          • Art History
          • Design & Illustration
          • Fashion & Style
          • Modern and Contemporary Art
          • Photography
        • Business
          • How to Invest
          • Leadership
          • Marketing
        • Economics
          • Behavioural Economics
          • Development Economics
          • Economic History
          • Finance
          • Financial Crisis
          • Globalisation & Inequality
          • World Economies
        • Environment
          • Climate Change
          • Environmental Ethics
        • Food & Cooking
          • The Best Cookbooks
          • Food & History of Food
          • Wine & Drinks
        • Health & Lifestyle
          • Death & Dying
          • Education
          • Family & Relationships
          • Happiness
          • Sex & Sexuality
        • History
          • Ancient History (up to 500)
          • History by Country
          • Historical Figures
          • Military History
          • Medieval History (500-1400)
          • Modern History (1800-1945)
        • Language
          • Grammar & Punctuation
          • Learning Languages
          • Linguistics
        • Law
        • Literary Nonfiction
          • Biography
          • Essays
          • Memoir
          • Artists' Biographies
          • Travel
          • True Crime
        • Music & Drama
          • Classical Music & Opera
          • Film & Cinema
          • Music
          • Theatre
        • Nature
          • Dinosaurs & the Prehistoric World
          • The Earth
          • Plants, Trees & Flowers
        • Philosophy
          • Ancient Philosophy
          • Ethics & Moral Philosophy
          • Great Philosophers
          • Social & Political Philosophy
        • Politics & Society
          • Conflict & War
          • Feminism
          • Foreign Policy & International Relations
          • Human Rights
          • Terrorism
        • Psychology
          • Mental Health
          • Neuroscience
          • Psychoanalysis
          • Psychology Research
          • Self Help
        • Religion
          • Best Atheist Books
          • Buddhism
          • Christian
          • Islamic
          • Jewish
          • Religious History
        • Science
          • Astronomy
          • Biology
          • Geoscience
          • Maths & Statistics
          • Moon Landing
          • Popular Science
          • Physics
        • Sports, Games & Hobbies
          • Football (Soccer)
          • Gardening
          • Hobbies
          • Sport & Sporting Culture
        • Technology
          • Artificial Intelligence
          • Computing
          • Digital Age
          • History of Technology
          • Internet
  • Fiction & Literature
        • Classic English Literature
        • Contemporary Fiction
          • NEW Fiction
        • Literary Criticism
        • Literary Figures
        • Classical Studies
        • Romance
        • Comics & Graphic Novels
        • Fairy Tales & Mythology
        • Crime Novels
        • Mystery
        • Historical Fiction
        • Horror
        • Humour
        • Memoir
        • Poetry
        • Science Fiction
        • Short Stories
        • Thrillers
        • Fantasy
  • World
        • Africa
          • Egypt
          • Ghana
          • Nigeria
          • Rwanda
          • South Africa
          • Zimbabwe
        • Americas
          • Latin America
            • Argentina
            • Brazil
            • Chile
            • Cuba
            • Mexico
          • United States
          • Canada
        • Arctic & Antarctica
        • Asia
          • Afghanistan
          • Burma
          • China
          • India
          • Japan
          • Korea
          • Pakistan
          • Bangladesh
          • Sri Lanka
          • Singapore
          • Vietnam
        • Australia
        • Europe
          • Belgium
          • Britain
          • France
          • Germany
          • Greece
          • Ireland
          • Italy
          • Netherlands
          • Norway
        • Middle East
          • Iran
          • Iraq
          • Israel
          • Syria
          • Turkey
          • Yemen
        • Russia & FSU
          • Azerbaijan
          • Georgia
          • Russia
          • Ukraine
  • Kids
        • Search by Age
          • Ages 3-5
          • Ages 6-8
          • Ages 9-12
          • Young Adult
        • Search by Topic
          • Science Books for Kids
          • Politics and Philosophy
          • Economics Books for Kids (Fiction)
          • History
          • Nature and Environment
          • Happiness & Mental Health
          • Family & Pets
        • Best New Children's Books
        • High School Teachers Recommend Books by Subject
        • Novels & Novelists
        • By Kids for Kids
  • Best Books of 2020
        • Politics
        • Biography
        • Memoirs and Autobiography
        • Cookbooks
        • Business
        • Philosophy
        • Fiction
          • Crime Fiction
          • Science Fiction
          • Historical Fiction
          • Romance
          • Mysteries
          • Thrillers
        • Nonfiction
        • Art
        • Economics
        • History
        • Science
        • Self Help
        • Audiobooks
        • Poetry
        • Kids Books
        • Kids Science
  • New Books
        • All new books
        • History
        • Philosophy
        • Science
        • Mathematics
        • Physics
        • Fiction
        • Biographies
        • Economics
        • Paperbacks
        • New Editions (of old books)
        • Our in-house reviews (nonfiction)
        • Our in-house reviews (fiction)
        • Gifts for Book Lovers
  • Audiobooks
    • Actors Read Great Books
    • Best Audiobooks for Kids
    • Books Narrated by Their Authors
    • Best Audiobook Thrillers
    • Best History Audiobooks
  • Book Awards
    • Booker Prize
    • Baillie Gifford Prize
    • Royal Society
    • Wolfson Prize
    • Walter Scott Prize
    • Arthur C Clarke Prize
    • Audie Awards
    • Nobel Prize
  • Experts

History of Mathematics & Science

    The best books on The History of Science and Religion, recommended by Peter Harrison

  • Read
    The best books on The History of Science and Religion - The Warfare Between Science and Religion: The Idea That Wouldn't Die Edited by Jeff Hardin, Ronald L Numbers, and Ronald A Binzley

    1

    The Warfare Between Science and Religion: The Idea That Wouldn't Die
    Edited by Jeff Hardin, Ronald L Numbers, and Ronald A Binzley

  • Read
    The best books on The History of Science and Religion - Science and Religion: Some Historical Perspectives by John Hedley Brooke

    2

    Science and Religion: Some Historical Perspectives
    by John Hedley Brooke

  • Read
    The best books on The History of Science and Religion - Science, Technology & Society in Seventeenth Century England by Robert K Merton

    3

    Science, Technology & Society in Seventeenth Century England
    by Robert K Merton

  • Read
    The best books on The History of Science and Religion - Theology and the Scientific Imagination by Amos Funkenstein

    4

    Theology and the Scientific Imagination
    by Amos Funkenstein

  • Read
    The best books on The History of Science and Religion - The Empirical Stance by Bas van Fraassen

    5

    The Empirical Stance
    by Bas van Fraassen

The best books on The History of Science and Religion, recommended by Peter Harrison

Have science and religion been fundamentally at war throughout history? Are they incompatible? Has religion always held back scientific progress? These views may seem intuitive but few historians would defend them. Professor Peter Harrison looks at the complexity of science-religion interactions, including the cases of Galileo and Darwin, and considers how we frame the debate.

    The best books on The History of Philosophy, recommended by Justin E. H. Smith

  • Read
    The best books on The History of Philosophy - The Veil of Isis: An Essay on the History of the Idea of Nature by Pierre Hadot

    1

    The Veil of Isis: An Essay on the History of the Idea of Nature
    by Pierre Hadot

  • Read
    The best books on The History of Philosophy - The Way and the Word: Science and Medicine in Early China and Greece by Geoffrey Lloyd & Nathan Sivin

    2

    The Way and the Word: Science and Medicine in Early China and Greece
    by Geoffrey Lloyd & Nathan Sivin

  • Read
    The best books on The History of Philosophy - The Lost Age of Reason: Philosophy in Early Modern India, 1450–1700 by Jonardon Ganeri

    3

    The Lost Age of Reason: Philosophy in Early Modern India, 1450–1700
    by Jonardon Ganeri

  • Read
    The best books on The History of Philosophy - Atoms and Alchemy: Chymistry and the Experimental Origins of the Scientific Revolution by William Newman

    4

    Atoms and Alchemy: Chymistry and the Experimental Origins of the Scientific Revolution
    by William Newman

  • Read
    The best books on The History of Philosophy - Native Pragmatism: Rethinking the Roots of American Philosophy by Scott L. Pratt

    5

    Native Pragmatism: Rethinking the Roots of American Philosophy
    by Scott L. Pratt

The best books on The History of Philosophy, recommended by Justin E. H. Smith

Today, we think of scientists and philosophers as distinct, but it wasn’t always this way. Back when the Royal Society was founded in the 1660s, figures like Newton, Descartes and Boyle all thought of themselves as ‘natural philosophers’. Justin E. H. Smith, professor of philosophy at the Université de Paris, introduces us to what he sees as the real history of philosophy.

    The best books on The History of Mathematics, recommended by Robin Wilson

  • Read
    The best books on The History of Mathematics - Leonhard Euler: Mathematical Genius in the Enlightenment by Ronald S. Calinger

    1

    Leonhard Euler: Mathematical Genius in the Enlightenment
    by Ronald S. Calinger

  • Read
    The best books on The History of Mathematics - A Concise History of Mathematics by Dirk S. Struik

    2

    A Concise History of Mathematics
    by Dirk S. Struik

  • Read
    The best books on The History of Mathematics - The History of Mathematics: A Reader by Jeremy Gray & John Fauvel

    3

    The History of Mathematics: A Reader
    by Jeremy Gray & John Fauvel

  • Read
    The best books on The History of Mathematics - The Mathematical Pamphlets of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson and Related Pieces by Charles Dodgson

    4

    The Mathematical Pamphlets of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson and Related Pieces
    by Charles Dodgson

  • Read
    The best books on The History of Mathematics - Mathematical Models by H. M. Cundy and A. P. Rollett.

    5

    Mathematical Models
    by H. M. Cundy and A. P. Rollett.

The best books on The History of Mathematics, recommended by Robin Wilson

Why should we be interested in the history of mathematics? Mathematics, like painting, music, literature, has a long history, says Robin Wilson. Indeed, it’s longer than most, since the first writing is believed to be numerical. Mathematics is also multicultural, with its historical origins in Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

    The best books on Astronomy, Physics and People, recommended by Andrew Lawrence

  • Read
    The best books on Astronomy - Bang! by Brian May, Patrick Moore, and Chris Lintott

    1

    Bang!
    by Brian May, Patrick Moore, and Chris Lintott

  • Read
    The best books on Astronomy - Norton’s Star Atlas and Reference Handbook by Ian Ridpath (editor)

    2

    Norton’s Star Atlas and Reference Handbook
    by Ian Ridpath (editor)

  • Read
    The best books on Astronomy - Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos by Dennis Overbye

    3

    Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos
    by Dennis Overbye

  • Read
    The best books on Astronomy - Quantum Man by Lawrence M Krauss

    4

    Quantum Man
    by Lawrence M Krauss

  • Read
    The best books on Astronomy - Pathfinders by Jim Al-Khalili

    5

    Pathfinders
    by Jim Al-Khalili

The best books on Astronomy, Physics and People, recommended by Andrew Lawrence

The astronomy professor says the process of scientific discovery can be slow and messy – but that reading about some of the extraordinary personalities involved brings the history alive

    The best books on The Origins of Curiosity, recommended by Philip Ball

  • Read
    The best books on The Origins of Curiosity - Wonders and the Order of Nature by Lorraine Daston and Katharine Park

    1

    Wonders and the Order of Nature
    by Lorraine Daston and Katharine Park

  • Read
    The best books on The Origins of Curiosity - Science and the Secrets of Nature by William Eamon

    2

    Science and the Secrets of Nature
    by William Eamon

  • Read
    The best books on The Origins of Curiosity - The History of Magic and Experimental Science by Lynn Thorndike

    3

    The History of Magic and Experimental Science
    by Lynn Thorndike

  • Read
    The best books on The Origins of Curiosity - The Age of Wonder by Richard Holmes

    4

    The Age of Wonder
    by Richard Holmes

  • Read
    The best books on The Origins of Curiosity - The Rosicrucian Enlightenment by Frances Yates

    5

    The Rosicrucian Enlightenment
    by Frances Yates

The best books on The Origins of Curiosity, recommended by Philip Ball

Modern science emerged only when it became acceptable to ask any question about anything – and that required erosion of traditional hierarchies, says the science writer

About

We ask experts to recommend the five best books in their subject and explain their selection in an interview.

This site has an archive of more than one thousand interviews, or five thousand book recommendations. We publish at least two new interviews per week.

Five Books participates in the Amazon Associate program and earns money from qualifying purchases.

Newsletter Contact us Privacy Policy Terms of Service

© Five Books 2021