The Royal Society has been awarding a science book prize since 1988. The prize is awarded to a book that makes popular science writing “compelling and accessible to the public”.
In 2019 Five Books interviewed Nigel Shadbolt, Principal of Jesus College, Oxford and Professorial Research Fellow in the university’s Department of Computer Science. Shadbolt was the chair of the judging panel for the Royal Society Book Prize in 2019. The winning book was Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez, but Shadbolt talks us through all the books that made the short list.
The Royal Society also has a prize for science writing for young people, won in 2019 by Raman Prinja for Planetarium: Welcome to the Museum. The chair of the judging panel for the society’s young people’s book prize was the physicist and astronomer Sheila Rowan. She talks us through 2019's six-book short list.
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1
Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men
by Caroline Criado Perez -
2
Six Impossible Things: The ‘Quanta of Solace’ and the Mysteries of the Subatomic World
by John Gribbin -
3
The Remarkable Life of the Skin
by Monty Lyman -
4
Clearing the Air: The Beginning and End of Air Pollution
by Tim Smedley -
5
The Second Kind of Impossible: The Extraordinary Quest for a New Form of Matter
by Paul J. Steinhardt -
6
Infinite Powers: The Story of Calculus
by Steven Strogatz
The Royal Society Prize Science Books, 2019, recommended by Nigel Shadbolt
The Royal Society Prize Science Books, 2019, recommended by Nigel Shadbolt
“Science is a profoundly human endeavour. The stories of triumph and success in science, alongside the failures and despair, are compelling.” From a data-driven account of air pollution to a book that makes calculus fun, 2019 has been a great year for science books. Nigel Shadbolt, chair of judges, discusses the six books shortlisted for the 2019 Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book Prize.
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1
100 Things to Know About Numbers, Computers & Coding
Alex Frith (illustrated by Federico Mariani and Parko Polo) -
2
The Bacteria Book: The Big World of Really Tiny Microbes
by Steve Mould -
3
The Element in the Room: Investigating the Atomic Ingredients that Make Up Your Home
Mike Barfield (illustrated by Lauren Humphrey) -
4
Kid Scientists: True Tales of Childhood from Science Superstars
David Stabler (illustrated by Anoosha Syed) -
5
Planetarium: Welcome to the Museum
Raman Prinja (illustrated by Chris Wormell) -
6
Making With States of Matter
by Anna Claybourne
The Best Science Books for Kids: 2019 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize, recommended by Sheila Rowan
The Best Science Books for Kids: 2019 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize, recommended by Sheila Rowan
If you’re looking for the best books to get kids excited about science, the Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize is a great place to start. Physicist and astronomer Sheila Rowan, chair of this year’s judging panel, talks us through the fabulous books that made this year’s shortlist.
