History of Science

In the 20th century, the United States emerged as a leading centre of experimental physics, with a lot more going on than just the Manhattan project and the use of atomic energy in warfare. Science writer Mark Wolverton, author of Splinters of Infinity, recommends some of his favourite books about the history of physics, with a focus on the 20th century and the United States. (For books about classical physics, browse all our physics book recommendations).

Environmental history is the study of the relationship between society and the natural world—both in terms of human impacts on the environment, and the constraints placed upon cultures by the landscapes they live in. Here, John R. McNeill, a pioneer of the field, recommends five of the best environmental history books with ambition, engaging prose, and heft.

The scientific revolution is often seen as having transformed the way we think and ushered in the modern world, but in highlighting the work of a few key individuals, it has distorted the reality of how science advances in society and how it interacts with truth. Here, Vera Keller, Professor of History at the University of Oregon, challenges popularly held assumptions about the scientific revolution and explains how its meaning, significance and importance have been disputed and misunderstood.

The best books on the history of science—from the ancient world to the space race, recommended by Matthew Cobb, Professor of Zoology at the University of Manchester and author of a number of history and history of science books. His book on neuroscience, The Idea of the Brain, was shortlisted for the 2020 Baillie Gifford Prize, Britain's most prestigious nonfiction book award.  

The trial of Galileo by the Roman Inquisition was one of the most public confrontations between the new science emerging in the 17th century and the Catholic Church but, nearly 400 years later, there's still a lot of scope to argue what it was about. Here historian of science Paula Findlen, a professor at Stanford University, explains the endless fascination of Galileo Galilei, the Renaissance man who turned a telescope to the sky and took the world by storm, and recommends the best books to start learning more about him.

Five fascinating books about scientists, selected by historian of science Jimena Canales. She explains how the scientific persona has been constructed throughout history and explores the implicit assumptions about agency, subjectivity, and causality that underlie scientific biographies.

John Maynard Keynes famously cast Isaac Newton not as the first scientist of the age of reason, but the last of the magicians. How should we interpret the million words he wrote, in secret, on alchemy? What should we make of Newton's heretical religious views? William Newman talks us through the best books for a better understanding of the complex man who was one of the greatest physicists of all time.

Islamic scientific discoveries underpinned much of the European Renaissance and the Islamic world inspired Europe as much as Greece and Rome did, says Cambridge professor Amira Bennison. She recommends the best books to get a better understanding of the Islamic contribution to modern science.

Can’t tell your nebula from your black hole? The New Scientist writer introduces us to some of the wonders of the universe and tells the stories of astronomers who discovered them

Chemistry plays a vital role in our understanding of life, the universe and the chances of a better future, says Michelle Francl. She chooses five of the best books on the topic—from a biography of water to a portrait of one of the greatest chemists of all time.