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History Books » History of Science

Browse book recommendations:

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What books to read about the history of science? We've turned to a number of historians of science to recommend must-read books. For a general list of good history of science books, Matthew Cobb, a historian of science and Professor of Zoology at the University of Manchester, picked some of his favourites, from the ancient world to the space race.

In terms of more specific topics in the history of science, our book recommendations focus on a number of key episodes/periods/themes:

The Scientific Revolution in the 17th century, when modern science as we know it started emerging in the West, and natural philosophers—like Galileo and Isaac Newton—came to believe not only that the Earth and other planets revolved around the sun, but also figured out and calculated the forces that enable them to do so.

The 19th century and the discovery by Charles Darwin of evolution by natural selection.

The paradigm change in the 20th century with the discovery of relativity by Albert Einstein, while working as clerk in the Swiss patent office (if you want to learn about relativity specifically, this book is recommended)

We also have an interview devoted to chemistry, including a recommendation of a book to read about the Polish-French physicist Marie Curie, the only person to win a Nobel prize in two different sciences.

We also have some topics in the history of medicine that are particularly relevant at the moment: about the development of vaccines, the lessons of previous global pandemics, about viruses and more.

    The best books on The History of Science, recommended by Matthew Cobb

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    The best books on The History of Science - Ways of Knowing: A New History of Science, Technology, and Medicine by John Pickstone

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    Ways of Knowing: A New History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
    by John Pickstone

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    The best books on The History of Science - The Annotated and Illustrated Double Helix by James Watson

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    The Annotated and Illustrated Double Helix
    by James Watson

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    The best books on The History of Science - The Scientific Revolution by Stephen Shapin

    3

    The Scientific Revolution
    by Stephen Shapin

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    The best books on The History of Science - This New Ocean: The Story of the First Space Age by William E. Burrows

    4

    This New Ocean: The Story of the First Space Age
    by William E. Burrows

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    The best books on The History of Science - Galen and the World of Knowledge by Christopher Gill (Editor)

    5

    Galen and the World of Knowledge
    by Christopher Gill (Editor)

The best books on The History of Science, recommended by Matthew Cobb

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 best books on Galileo Galilei, recommended by Paula Findlen

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    The best books on Galileo Galilei - Life of Galileo by Bertolt Brecht

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    Life of Galileo
    by Bertolt Brecht

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    The best books on Galileo Galilei - Galileo’s Telescope: A European Story by Franco Giudice, Massimo Bucciantini and Michele Camerota, translated by Catherine Bolton

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    Galileo’s Telescope: A European Story
    by Franco Giudice, Massimo Bucciantini and Michele Camerota, translated by Catherine Bolton

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    The best books on Galileo Galilei - Letters to Father: Sister Maria Celeste to Galileo by Suor Maria Celeste (Virginia Galilei) and Dava Sobel (editor and translator)

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    Letters to Father: Sister Maria Celeste to Galileo
    by Suor Maria Celeste (Virginia Galilei) and Dava Sobel (editor and translator)

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    The best books on Galileo Galilei - On Trial for Reason: Science, Religion, and Culture in the Galileo Affair by Maurice A. Finocchiaro

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    On Trial for Reason: Science, Religion, and Culture in the Galileo Affair
    by Maurice A. Finocchiaro

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    The best books on Galileo Galilei - Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems by Galileo Galilei & Stillman Drake (trans.)

    5

    Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems
    by Galileo Galilei & Stillman Drake (trans.)

The best books on Galileo Galilei, recommended by Paula Findlen

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.

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

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    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

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

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    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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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    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 Science and Islam, recommended by Amira Bennison

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    The best books on Science and Islam - Science and Islam by Ehsan Masood

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    Science and Islam
    by Ehsan Masood

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    The best books on Science and Islam - Islamic Science and the Making of the European Renaissance by George Saliba

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    Islamic Science and the Making of the European Renaissance
    by George Saliba

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    The best books on Science and Islam - Greek Thought, Arabic Culture by Dimitri Gutas

    3

    Greek Thought, Arabic Culture
    by Dimitri Gutas

  • Read
    The best books on Science and Islam - Medieval Islamic Medicine by Peter E Pormann and Emilie Savage-Smith

    4

    Medieval Islamic Medicine
    by Peter E Pormann and Emilie Savage-Smith

  • Read
    The best books on Science and Islam - The Classical Heritage in Islam by Franz Rosenthal

    5

    The Classical Heritage in Islam
    by Franz Rosenthal

The best books on Science and Islam, recommended by Amira Bennison

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.

    The best books on The Early History of Astronomy, recommended by Dava Sobel

  • Read
    The best books on The Early History of Astronomy - The Book Nobody Read by Owen Gingerich

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    The Book Nobody Read
    by Owen Gingerich

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    The best books on The Early History of Astronomy - The Copernican Question by Robert S Westman

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    The Copernican Question
    by Robert S Westman

  • Read
    The best books on The Early History of Astronomy - Sidereus Nuncius by Galileo Galilei

    3

    Sidereus Nuncius
    by Galileo Galilei

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    The best books on The Early History of Astronomy - Galileo at Work by Stillman Drake

    4

    Galileo at Work
    by Stillman Drake

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    The best books on The Early History of Astronomy - The Sleepwalkers by Arthur Koestler

    5

    The Sleepwalkers
    by Arthur Koestler

The best books on The Early History of Astronomy, recommended by Dava Sobel

Best-selling science writer, Dava Sobel, recommends books about the men whose painstaking work changed our understanding of Earth’s place in the universe.

    The best books on Astronomers, recommended by Stuart Clark

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    The best books on Astronomers - The Edge of Physics by Anil Ananthaswamy

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    The Edge of Physics
    by Anil Ananthaswamy

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    The best books on Astronomers - Galileo’s Daughter by Dava Sobel

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    Galileo’s Daughter
    by Dava Sobel

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    The best books on Astronomers - Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos by Dennis Overbye

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    Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos
    by Dennis Overbye

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    The best books on Astronomers - Afterglow of Creation by Marcus Chown

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    Afterglow of Creation
    by Marcus Chown

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    The best books on Astronomers - The Northern Lights by Lucy Jago

    5

    The Northern Lights
    by Lucy Jago

The best books on Astronomers, recommended by Stuart Clark

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

    The best books on Isaac Newton, recommended by William Newman

  • Read
    The best books on Isaac Newton - Never at Rest: A Biography of Isaac Newton by Richard S. Westfall

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    Never at Rest: A Biography of Isaac Newton
    by Richard S. Westfall

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    The best books on Isaac Newton - A Portrait of Isaac Newton by Frank E. Manuel

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    A Portrait of Isaac Newton
    by Frank E. Manuel

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    The best books on Isaac Newton - Newton and the Origins of Civilization by Jed Z. Buchwald & Mordechai Feingold

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    Newton and the Origins of Civilization
    by Jed Z. Buchwald & Mordechai Feingold

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    The best books on Isaac Newton - Priest of Nature: The Religious Worlds of Isaac Newton by Rob Iliffe

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    Priest of Nature: The Religious Worlds of Isaac Newton
    by Rob Iliffe

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    The best books on Isaac Newton - Isaac Newton and Natural Philosophy by Niccolò Guicciardini

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    Isaac Newton and Natural Philosophy
    by Niccolò Guicciardini

The best books on Isaac Newton, recommended by William Newman

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.

    The best books on Evolution, recommended by Jerry Coyne

  • Read
    The best books on Evolution - On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin

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    On the Origin of Species
    by Charles Darwin

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    The best books on Evolution - Charles Darwin by Janet Browne

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    Charles Darwin
    by Janet Browne

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    The best books on Evolution - The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins

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    The Blind Watchmaker
    by Richard Dawkins

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    The best books on Evolution - The Mismeasure of Man by Stephen Jay Gould

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    The Mismeasure of Man
    by Stephen Jay Gould

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    The best books on Evolution - Evolution: What the fossils say and why it matters by Donald Prothero

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    Evolution: What the fossils say and why it matters
    by Donald Prothero

The best books on Evolution, recommended by Jerry Coyne

Evolutionary biologist Jerry Coyne tells us why Darwin is still essential reading and sifts the vast amount of more recent writing on evolution for books that are both inspiring to scientists and accessible to general readers. He picks the best books on evolution.

    The Best Chemistry Books, recommended by Michelle Francl

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    The Best Chemistry Books - H2O: A Biography of Water by Phillip Ball

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    H2O: A Biography of Water
    by Phillip Ball

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    The Best Chemistry Books - Obsessive Genius: The Inner World of Marie Curie by Barbara Goldsmith

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    Obsessive Genius: The Inner World of Marie Curie
    by Barbara Goldsmith

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    The Best Chemistry Books - The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements by Sam Kean

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    The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements
    by Sam Kean

  • Read
    The Best Chemistry Books - The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum

    4

    The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York
    by Deborah Blum

  • Read
    The Best Chemistry Books - Why Does Asparagus Make Your Wee Smell?: And 57 other curious food and drink questions by Andy Brunning

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    Why Does Asparagus Make Your Wee Smell?: And 57 other curious food and drink questions
    by Andy Brunning

The Best Chemistry Books, recommended by Michelle Francl

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.

    The best books on Viruses, recommended by Dorothy H. Crawford

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    The best books on Viruses - The Coming Plague by Laurie Garrett

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    The Coming Plague
    by Laurie Garrett

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    The best books on Viruses - Plagues and Peoples by William McNeill

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    Plagues and Peoples
    by William McNeill

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    The best books on Viruses - The African Aids Epidemic: A History by John Iliffe

    3

    The African Aids Epidemic: A History
    by John Iliffe

  • Read
    The best books on Viruses - No Time to Lose: A Life In Pursuit Of Deadly Viruses by Peter Piot

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    No Time to Lose: A Life In Pursuit Of Deadly Viruses
    by Peter Piot

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    The best books on Viruses - The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution by Richard Dawkins & Yan Wong

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    The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution
    by Richard Dawkins & Yan Wong

The best books on Viruses, recommended by Dorothy H. Crawford

Many of us have developed a new fascination for viruses and virology during the global COVID-19 crisis. Here, Dorothy Crawford, professor of medical microbiology and the author of Viruses: A Very Short Introduction, selects five of the best books on viruses for the general reader.

    The best books on Pandemics, recommended by Christian W. McMillen

  • Read
    The best books on Pandemics - Faith, Reason, and the Plague in Seventeenth Century Tuscany by Carlo Cippolla

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    Faith, Reason, and the Plague in Seventeenth Century Tuscany
    by Carlo Cippolla

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    The best books on Pandemics - Clearing the Plains: Disease, Politics of Starvation, and the Loss of Aboriginal Life by James Daschuk

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    Clearing the Plains: Disease, Politics of Starvation, and the Loss of Aboriginal Life
    by James Daschuk

  • Read
    The best books on Pandemics - The Making of a Tropical Disease: A Short History of Malaria by Randall Packard

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    The Making of a Tropical Disease: A Short History of Malaria
    by Randall Packard

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    The best books on Pandemics - American Pandemic: The Lost Worlds of the 1918 Influenza Epidemic by Nancy Bristow

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    American Pandemic: The Lost Worlds of the 1918 Influenza Epidemic
    by Nancy Bristow

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    The best books on Pandemics - Epidemic Invasions: Yellow Fever and the Limits of Cuban Independence, 1878–1930 by Mariola Espinosa

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    Epidemic Invasions: Yellow Fever and the Limits of Cuban Independence, 1878–1930
    by Mariola Espinosa

The best books on Pandemics, recommended by Christian W. McMillen

With coronavirus causing widespread panic, we would do well to educate ourselves about the history of pandemics and disease. University of Virginia historian and associate dean Christian W. McMillen, author of Pandemics: A Very Short Introduction, recommends the best introductions to the subject.

    The Best Vaccine Books, recommended by Seth Mnookin

  • Read
    The Best Vaccine Books - Polio: An American Story by David Oshinsky

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    Polio: An American Story
    by David Oshinsky

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    The Best Vaccine Books - Vaccine: The Controversial Story of Medicine's Greatest Lifesaver by Arthur Allen

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    Vaccine: The Controversial Story of Medicine's Greatest Lifesaver
    by Arthur Allen

  • Read
    The Best Vaccine Books - The Cutter Incident: How America's First Polio Vaccine Led to the Growing Vaccine Crisis by Paul Offit

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    The Cutter Incident: How America's First Polio Vaccine Led to the Growing Vaccine Crisis
    by Paul Offit

  • Read
    The Best Vaccine Books - Microbe Hunters by Paul de Kruif

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    Microbe Hunters
    by Paul de Kruif

  • Read
    The Best Vaccine Books - The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic by Steven Johnson

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    The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic
    by Steven Johnson

The Best Vaccine Books, recommended by Seth Mnookin

November 9th, 2020: We’ve just heard the news that Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine is 90% effective, at least in the short-term, raising the possibility that the coronavirus pandemic may finally be brought to an end. The history of vaccines is an absolutely fascinating one, and we highly recommend all the books discussed in this 2013 interview with Seth Mnookin, author of The Panic Virus and Professor of Science Writing at MIT. These are all gripping reads that tell the story of vaccines, medicine’s greatest life-saver, and the risks people took to find them.

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

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

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

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

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    A Concise History of Mathematics
    by Dirk S. Struik

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

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    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

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    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 Ada Lovelace, recommended by Ursula Martin

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    The best books on Ada Lovelace - In Byron's Wake: The Turbulent Lives of Lord Byron's Wife and Daughter: Annabella Milbanke and Ada Lovelace by Miranda Seymour

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    In Byron's Wake: The Turbulent Lives of Lord Byron's Wife and Daughter: Annabella Milbanke and Ada Lovelace
    by Miranda Seymour

  • Read
    The best books on Ada Lovelace - Victorian Sensation: The Extraordinary Publication, Reception and Secret Authorship of 'The Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation' by James Secord

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    Victorian Sensation: The Extraordinary Publication, Reception and Secret Authorship of 'The Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation'
    by James Secord

  • Read
    The best books on Ada Lovelace - Mathematics in Victorian Britain by Adrian Rice, Raymond Flood & Robin Wilson

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    Mathematics in Victorian Britain
    by Adrian Rice, Raymond Flood & Robin Wilson

  • Read
    The best books on Ada Lovelace - The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage by Sydney Padua

    4

    The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage
    by Sydney Padua

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    The best books on Ada Lovelace - Middlemarch by George Eliot

    5

    Middlemarch
    by George Eliot

The best books on Ada Lovelace, recommended by Ursula Martin

Ada Lovelace has become an iconic figure for women in science and is often credited with the invention of modern computing. But, as Ursula Martin—mathematician, computer scientist and Lovelace biographer—explains, all of that is a bit overblown. The Lovelace myth obscures the truth about a woman who was certainly a very brilliant mathematician, but who was also often frustrated in her scientific ambitions, in poor health and unhappy.

    The best books on Albert Einstein, recommended by Andrew Robinson

  • Read
    The best books on Albert Einstein - Albert Einstein: A Biography by Albrecht Folsing

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    Albert Einstein: A Biography
    by Albrecht Folsing

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    The best books on Albert Einstein - Einstein 1905: The Standard of Greatness by John S. Rigden

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    Einstein 1905: The Standard of Greatness
    by John S. Rigden

  • Read
    The best books on Albert Einstein - The Born-Einstein Letters,1916-1955 by Albert Einstein and Max Born

    3

    The Born-Einstein Letters,1916-1955
    by Albert Einstein and Max Born

  • Read
    The best books on Albert Einstein - The Einstein File by Fred Jerome

    4

    The Einstein File
    by Fred Jerome

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    The best books on Albert Einstein - Einstein on Politics by David Rowe and Robert Schulmann

    5

    Einstein on Politics
    by David Rowe and Robert Schulmann

The best books on Albert Einstein, recommended by Andrew Robinson

Andrew Robinson, author of a biography of Albert Einstein, picks and talks through the five best Albert Einstein books and discusses the life and times of the ‘unique genius.’

    The best books on The History of Medicine and Addiction, recommended by Louise Foxcroft

  • Read
    The best books on The History of Medicine and Addiction - Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn

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    Structure of Scientific Revolutions
    by Thomas Kuhn

  • Read
    The best books on The History of Medicine and Addiction - Mind-Forg’d Manacles by Roy Porter

    2

    Mind-Forg’d Manacles
    by Roy Porter

  • Read
    The best books on The History of Medicine and Addiction - Tormented Hope by Brian Dillon

    3

    Tormented Hope
    by Brian Dillon

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    The best books on The History of Medicine and Addiction - Fat is a Feminist Issue by Susie Orbach

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    Fat is a Feminist Issue
    by Susie Orbach

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    The best books on The History of Medicine and Addiction - Emperors of Dreams by Mike Jay

    5

    Emperors of Dreams
    by Mike Jay

The best books on The History of Medicine and Addiction, recommended by Louise Foxcroft

The historian prescribes reading on medical practices of the past, from treatments of madness and non-existent disease, to drug use and the origins of hypochondria.

    The best books on The Body, recommended by Karen Harvey

  • Read
    The best books on The Body - Smell in Eighteenth-Century England: A Social Sense by William Tullett

    1

    Smell in Eighteenth-Century England: A Social Sense
    by William Tullett

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    The best books on The Body - Sara Baartman and the Hottentot Venus: A Ghost Story and a Biography by Clifton Crais and Pamela Scully

    2

    Sara Baartman and the Hottentot Venus: A Ghost Story and a Biography
    by Clifton Crais and Pamela Scully

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    The best books on The Body - The Origins of Sex: A History of the First Sexual Revolution by Faramerz Dabhoiwala

    3

    The Origins of Sex: A History of the First Sexual Revolution
    by Faramerz Dabhoiwala

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    The best books on The Body - Sleep in Early Modern England by Sasha Handley

    4

    Sleep in Early Modern England
    by Sasha Handley

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    The best books on The Body - The Smile Revolution in Eighteenth Century Paris by Colin Jones

    5

    The Smile Revolution in Eighteenth Century Paris
    by Colin Jones

The best books on The Body, recommended by Karen Harvey

We assume that many of our bodily functions—sleeping and smiling, for example—are ‘natural’ and culturally invariant. But their characteristics and expression are heavily influenced by their cultural milieu. Professor Karen Harvey explains how attitudes to the body in the 18th century were radically rethought in the light of changing scientific and cultural views of its nature and function.

    The best books on The Incompatibility of Religion and Science, recommended by Jerry Coyne

  • Read
    The best books on The Incompatibility of Religion and Science - The Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for God by Carl Sagan

    1

    The Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for God
    by Carl Sagan

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    The best books on The Incompatibility of Religion and Science - The Atheist's Guide to Reality: Enjoying Life without Illusions by Alex Rosenberg

    2

    The Atheist's Guide to Reality: Enjoying Life without Illusions
    by Alex Rosenberg

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    The best books on The Incompatibility of Religion and Science - God in the Age of Science?: A Critique of Religious Reason by Herman Philipse

    3

    God in the Age of Science?: A Critique of Religious Reason
    by Herman Philipse

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    The best books on The Incompatibility of Religion and Science - Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon by Daniel C Dennett

    4

    Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon
    by Daniel C Dennett

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    The best books on The Incompatibility of Religion and Science - A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom by Andrew Dickson White

    5

    A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom
    by Andrew Dickson White

The best books on The Incompatibility of Religion and Science, recommended by Jerry Coyne

Embracing a scientific worldview excludes the possibility of also believing in God, says evolutionary biologist Jerry Coyne. He picks five non-accommodationist books.

    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

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    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

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    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.

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