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Royal Society Book Prizes

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.

    The Best Science Books for Kids: the 2020 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize, recommended by Mike Kendall

  • Read
    The Best Science Books for Kids: the 2020 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize - Astrophysics for Young People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson & with Gregory Mone

    1

    Astrophysics for Young People in a Hurry
    by Neil deGrasse Tyson & with Gregory Mone

  • Read
    The Best Science Books for Kids: the 2020 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize - Cats React to Science Facts by Izzi Howell

    2

    Cats React to Science Facts
    by Izzi Howell

  • Read
    The Best Science Books for Kids: the 2020 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize - In the Key of Code by Aimee Lucido

    3

    In the Key of Code
    by Aimee Lucido

  • Read
    The Best Science Books for Kids: the 2020 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize - How to Win a Nobel Prize by Barry Marshall, Bernard Caleo (illustrator) & with Lorna Hendry

    4

    How to Win a Nobel Prize
    by Barry Marshall, Bernard Caleo (illustrator) & with Lorna Hendry

  • Read
    The Best Science Books for Kids: the 2020 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize - Gut Garden: A journey into the wonderful world of your microbiome by Katie Brosnan

    5

    Gut Garden: A journey into the wonderful world of your microbiome
    by Katie Brosnan

  • Read
    The Best Science Books for Kids: the 2020 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize - Everyday Journeys Of Ordinary Things by Libby Deutsch & Valpuri Kerttula (illustrator)

    6

    Everyday Journeys Of Ordinary Things
    by Libby Deutsch & Valpuri Kerttula (illustrator)

The Best Science Books for Kids: the 2020 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize, recommended by Mike Kendall

To find the best science books for kids, the judges of the Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize look for books that are not only accurate but also entertaining. Mike Kendall, Professor of Geophysics at Oxford University and chair of this year’s judging panel, talks us through the six fabulous books that made the 2020 shortlist (the final winner will be chosen by the real experts: more than 13,000 kids).

    The Best Science Books of 2020: The Royal Society Book Prize, recommended by Anne Osbourn

  • Read
    The Best Science Books of 2020: The Royal Society Book Prize - The Double X Economy: The Epic Potential of Empowering Women by Linda Scott

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    The Double X Economy: The Epic Potential of Empowering Women
    by Linda Scott

  • Read
    The Best Science Books of 2020: The Royal Society Book Prize - The Great Pretender by Susannah Cahalan

    2

    The Great Pretender
    by Susannah Cahalan

  • Read
    The Best Science Books of 2020: The Royal Society Book Prize - Transcendence: How Humans Evolved Through Fire, Language, Beauty, and Time by Gaia Vince

    3

    Transcendence: How Humans Evolved Through Fire, Language, Beauty, and Time
    by Gaia Vince

  • Read
    The Best Science Books of 2020: The Royal Society Book Prize - The Body: A Guide for Occupants by Bill Bryson

    4

    The Body: A Guide for Occupants
    by Bill Bryson

  • Read
    The Best Science Books of 2020: The Royal Society Book Prize - The World According to Physics by Jim Al-Khalili

    5

    The World According to Physics
    by Jim Al-Khalili

  • Read
    The Best Science Books of 2020: The Royal Society Book Prize - Explaining Humans: What Science Can Teach Us about Life, Love and Relationships by Camilla Pang

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    Explaining Humans: What Science Can Teach Us about Life, Love and Relationships
    by Camilla Pang

The Best Science Books of 2020: The Royal Society Book Prize, recommended by Anne Osbourn

The Royal Society is the world’s oldest independent scientific academy, dedicated to promoting excellence in science—and that includes an annual prize for the best popular science book. Here Professor Anne Osbourn, Fellow of the Royal Society and chair of this year’s judging panel, talks us through the six books that made the 2020 shortlist—and what makes them intriguing, accessible and exciting.

    The Royal Society Science Book Prize: the 2019 shortlist, recommended by Nigel Shadbolt

  • Read
    The Royal Society Science Book Prize: the 2019 shortlist - Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez

    1

    Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men
    by Caroline Criado Perez

  • Read
    The Royal Society Science Book Prize: the 2019 shortlist - Six Impossible Things: The ‘Quanta of Solace’ and the Mysteries of the Subatomic World by John Gribbin

    2

    Six Impossible Things: The ‘Quanta of Solace’ and the Mysteries of the Subatomic World
    by John Gribbin

  • Read
    The Royal Society Science Book Prize: the 2019 shortlist - The Remarkable Life of the Skin by Monty Lyman

    3

    The Remarkable Life of the Skin
    by Monty Lyman

  • Read
    The Royal Society Science Book Prize: the 2019 shortlist - Clearing the Air: The Beginning and End of Air Pollution by Tim Smedley

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    Clearing the Air: The Beginning and End of Air Pollution
    by Tim Smedley

  • Read
    The Royal Society Science Book Prize: the 2019 shortlist - The Second Kind of Impossible: The Extraordinary Quest for a New Form of Matter by Paul J. Steinhardt

    5

    The Second Kind of Impossible: The Extraordinary Quest for a New Form of Matter
    by Paul J. Steinhardt

  • Read
    The Royal Society Science Book Prize: the 2019 shortlist - Infinite Powers: The Story of Calculus by Steven Strogatz

    6

    Infinite Powers: The Story of Calculus
    by Steven Strogatz

The Royal Society Science Book Prize: the 2019 shortlist, 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.

    The Best Science Books for Kids: the 2019 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize, recommended by Sheila Rowan

  • Read
    The Best Science Books for Kids: the 2019 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize - 100 Things to Know About Numbers, Computers & Coding Alex Frith (illustrated by Federico Mariani and Parko Polo)

    1

    100 Things to Know About Numbers, Computers & Coding
    Alex Frith (illustrated by Federico Mariani and Parko Polo)

  • Read
    The Best Science Books for Kids: the 2019 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize - The Bacteria Book: The Big World of Really Tiny Microbes by Steve Mould

    2

    The Bacteria Book: The Big World of Really Tiny Microbes
    by Steve Mould

  • Read
    The Best Science Books for Kids: the 2019 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize - The Element in the Room: Investigating the Atomic Ingredients that Make Up Your Home Mike Barfield (illustrated by Lauren Humphrey)

    3

    The Element in the Room: Investigating the Atomic Ingredients that Make Up Your Home
    Mike Barfield (illustrated by Lauren Humphrey)

  • Read
    The Best Science Books for Kids: the 2019 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize - Kid Scientists: True Tales of Childhood from Science Superstars David Stabler (illustrated by Anoosha Syed)

    4

    Kid Scientists: True Tales of Childhood from Science Superstars
    David Stabler (illustrated by Anoosha Syed)

  • Read
    The Best Science Books for Kids: the 2019 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize - Planetarium: Welcome to the Museum Raman Prinja (illustrated by Chris Wormell)

    5

    Planetarium: Welcome to the Museum
    Raman Prinja (illustrated by Chris Wormell)

  • Read
    The Best Science Books for Kids: the 2019 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize - Making With States of Matter by Anna Claybourne

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    Making With States of Matter
    by Anna Claybourne

The Best Science Books for Kids: the 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.

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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.

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