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 started emerging, 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. More recent books, like Horizons, emphasize the global contributions to scientific progress.
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.
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Wonders and the Order of Nature 1150-1750
by Lorraine Daston and Katharine Park -
2
Science and the Secrets of Nature: Books of Secrets in Medieval and Early Modern Culture
by William Eamon -
3
Leviathan and the Air-Pump
by Simon Schaffer & Steven Shapin -
4
Probability and Certainty in 17th Century England. A Study of the Relationships between Natural Science, Religion, History, Law and Literature
by Barbara Shapiro -
5
The Business of Alchemy: Science and Culture in the Holy Roman Empire
by Pamela Smith
The best books on The Scientific Revolution, recommended by Vera Keller
The best books on The Scientific Revolution, recommended by Vera Keller
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.
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Ways of Knowing: A New History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
by John Pickstone -
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The Annotated and Illustrated Double Helix
by James Watson -
3
The Scientific Revolution
by Steven Shapin -
4
This New Ocean: The Story of the First Space Age
by William E. Burrows -
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, 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.
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Life of Galileo
by Bertolt Brecht -
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Galileo’s Telescope: A European Story
by Franco Giudice, Massimo Bucciantini and Michele Camerota, translated by Catherine Bolton -
3
Letters to Father: Sister Maria Celeste to Galileo
by Suor Maria Celeste (Virginia Galilei) and Dava Sobel (editor and translator) -
4
On Trial for Reason: Science, Religion, and Culture in the Galileo Affair
by Maurice A. Finocchiaro -
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 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 Scientists, recommended by Jimena Canales
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.
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Never at Rest: A Biography of Isaac Newton
by Richard S. Westfall -
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A Portrait of Isaac Newton
by Frank E. Manuel -
3
Newton and the Origins of Civilization
by Jed Z. Buchwald & Mordechai Feingold -
4
Priest of Nature: The Religious Worlds of Isaac Newton
by Rob Iliffe -
5
Isaac Newton and Natural Philosophy
by Niccolò Guicciardini
The best books on Isaac Newton, recommended by William Newman
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 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 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
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H2O: A Biography of Water
by Phillip Ball -
2
Obsessive Genius: The Inner World of Marie Curie
by Barbara Goldsmith -
3
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 -
4
The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York
by Deborah Blum -
5
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
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.
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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 -
2
Victorian Sensation: The Extraordinary Publication, Reception and Secret Authorship of 'The Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation'
by James Secord -
3
Mathematics in Victorian Britain
by Adrian Rice, Raymond Flood & Robin Wilson -
4
The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage
by Sydney Padua -
5
Middlemarch
by George Eliot
The best books on Ada Lovelace, recommended by Ursula Martin
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 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.
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Leonhard Euler: Mathematical Genius in the Enlightenment
by Ronald S. Calinger -
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A Concise History of Mathematics
by Dirk S. Struik -
3
The History of Mathematics: A Reader
by Jeremy Gray & John Fauvel -
4
The Mathematical Pamphlets of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson and Related Pieces
by Charles Dodgson -
5
Mathematical Models
by H. M. Cundy and A. P. Rollett.
The best books on The History of Mathematics, recommended by Robin Wilson
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.
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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 Way and the Word: Science and Medicine in Early China and Greece
by Geoffrey Lloyd & Nathan Sivin -
3
The Lost Age of Reason: Philosophy in Early Modern India, 1450–1700
by Jonardon Ganeri -
4
Atoms and Alchemy: Chymistry and the Experimental Origins of the Scientific Revolution
by William Newman -
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
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 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 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 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.
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Faith, Reason, and the Plague in Seventeenth Century Tuscany
by Carlo Cippolla -
2
Clearing the Plains: Disease, Politics of Starvation, and the Loss of Aboriginal Life
by James Daschuk -
3
The Making of a Tropical Disease: A Short History of Malaria
by Randall Packard -
4
American Pandemic: The Lost Worlds of the 1918 Influenza Epidemic
by Nancy Bristow -
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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
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.
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Smell in Eighteenth-Century England: A Social Sense
by William Tullett -
2
Sara Baartman and the Hottentot Venus: A Ghost Story and a Biography
by Clifton Crais and Pamela Scully -
3
The Origins of Sex: A History of the First Sexual Revolution
by Faramerz Dabhoiwala -
4
Sleep in Early Modern England
by Sasha Handley -
5
The Smile Revolution in Eighteenth Century Paris
by Colin Jones
The best books on The Body, recommended by Karen Harvey
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.
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The Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for God
by Carl Sagan -
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The Atheist's Guide to Reality: Enjoying Life without Illusions
by Alex Rosenberg -
3
God in the Age of Science?: A Critique of Religious Reason
by Herman Philipse -
4
Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon
by Daniel Dennett -
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
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.
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The Warfare Between Science and Religion: The Idea That Wouldn't Die
Edited by Jeff Hardin, Ronald L Numbers, and Ronald A Binzley -
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Science and Religion: Some Historical Perspectives
by John Hedley Brooke -
3
Science, Technology & Society in Seventeenth Century England
by Robert K Merton -
4
Theology and the Scientific Imagination
by Amos Funkenstein -
5
The Empirical Stance
by Bas van Fraassen
The best books on The History of Science and Religion, recommended by Peter Harrison
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.