The best science books, as recommended by some of the most eminent academics and public figures in the field. Reading lists on subjects including popular science, physics, applied mathematics, computer science, biology, chemistry and astronomy.
To get inspired by the great minds who brought us this far, don't miss our interviews on the history of science, science and Islam, and Albert Einstein.
We also spoke with Sean Carroll, Helene Guldberg, Paul Falkowski, and Carl Zimmer, to delve into the mysteries and wonders of natural sciences and life on Earth.
For children we have selected the best science books for kids.
If you're more interested in what goes on far beyond the limits of our planet, take a look at our selection of books on astronomy and its history, cosmology, the Sun, meteorites, and other wonders of our Universe.
Every year we discuss the best science books of that year; Professor Maria Fitzgerald discusses the best science books of 2022.
The most recommended scientific books in our interviews include Brian Greene's The Elegant Universe, Richard Dawkins's The Blind Watchmaker, and of course Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species. Other popular recommended science writers include Steven Strogatz, Hannah Fry and Gaia Vince
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1
The Greywacke: How a Priest, a Soldier and a School Teacher Uncovered 300 Million Years of History
by Nick Davidson -
2
Different: What Apes Can Teach Us About Gender
by Frans de Waal -
3
Spike: The Virus vs. The People - the Inside Story
by Jeremy Farrar & with Anjana Ahuja -
4
A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth: 4.6 Billion Years in 12 Chapters
by Henry Gee -
5
Age Proof: The New Science of Living a Longer and Healthier Life
by Rose Anne Kenny -
6
Hot Air: The Inside Story of the Battle Against Climate Change Denial
by Peter Stott
The Best Popular Science Books of 2022: The Royal Society Book Prize, recommended by Maria Fitzgerald
The Best Popular Science Books of 2022: The Royal Society Book Prize, recommended by Maria Fitzgerald
The renowned UCL neuroscientist Professor Maria Fitzgerald, chair of the 2022 Royal Society Book Prize, talks us through the judges’ selection of the best popular science books of the year—including a whistle-stop tour of the history of the Earth, a self-help book offering evidence-based advice on how to live a longer life, and a primatologist’s study of gender among apes.
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1
Heartbreak: A Personal and Scientific Journey
by Florence Williams -
2
Vagina Obscura: An Anatomical Voyage
by Rachel E. Gross -
3
Sounds Wild and Broken
by David George Haskell -
4
An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us
by Ed Yong -
5
The Big Bang of Numbers: How to Build the Universe Using Only Math
by Manil Suri
The Best Literary Science Writing: The 2023 PEN/E.O. Wilson Book Award, recommended by David Hu
The Best Literary Science Writing: The 2023 PEN/E.O. Wilson Book Award, recommended by David Hu
Every year, the judges of the PEN/E.O. Wilson Award highlight the best new literary science writing. The 2023 shortlist consists of five fascinating books on subjects including the science of heartbreak, the sensory worlds of animals, and the development of mathematics. David Hu, a professor of mechanical engineering and a member of this year’s judging panel, talks us through their choices.
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1
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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1
The First Three Minutes
by Steven Weinberg -
2
The Big Picture: On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself
by Sean M Carroll -
3
How the Universe Got Its Spots: Diary of a Finite Time in a Finite Space
by Janna Levin -
4
A Brief History of Time
by Stephen Hawking -
5
Black Holes and Time Warps
by Kip S Thorne
The Best Books on the Big Bang, recommended by Dan Hooper
The Best Books on the Big Bang, recommended by Dan Hooper
Before Einstein, how the universe began was a question for theologians, not scientists. Over a century later, we know much more, but not enough to do more than guess at what happened at the moment of the Big Bang and immediately after. Astrophysicist Dan Hooper, author of At the Edge of Time—a book that explores dark energy, dark matter and other things we don’t yet understand—talks us through books about the Big Bang, and questions whether our entire understanding of the universe is about to be turned upside down.
Favourite Maths Books, especially Geometry, recommended by David Acheson
From Thales’s theorem to the Banach-Tarski paradox, Oxford mathematician David Acheson’s book, The Wonder Book of Geometry, is a lively attempt to bring to life geometry—literally, ‘earth measurement’—and make it accessible to the general public. Here, David recommends some of the books that influenced him, “in the order in which I met them, over a timespan of some 60 years.”
The best books on Quantum Physics and Reality, recommended by Jim Baggott
Quantum physics is deeply confusing and its relation to reality the cause of heated debate among physicists since its discovery. Here, science writer Jim Baggott—who has spent more than three decades thinking about quantum mechanics and written a number of books about it—recommends books for better understanding what it’s about, and explains why how physicists approach it is so crucial to science’s credibility.
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1
Lifespan: Why We Age and Why We Don't Have To
by David A. Sinclair -
2
Eat Like the Animals: What Nature Teaches us About the Science of Healthy Eating
by David Raubenheimer & Stephen Simpson -
3
The Human Advantage: A New Understanding of How Our Brain Became Remarkable
by Suzana Herculano-Houzel -
4
Long for this World: The Strange Science of Immortality
by Jonathan Weiner -
5
Charlatan: America’s Most Dangerous Huckster, the Man who Pursued Him, and the Age of Flimflam
by Pope Brock
The best books on Longevity, recommended by Steven Austad
The best books on Longevity, recommended by Steven Austad
The promises of potions or techniques to achieve longevity have been with us since time immemorial, the outlandishness of some claims matched only by our willingness to believe them. And, yet, today’s scientific research does give some clues on how to live longer and healthier lives. Biologist Steven Austad, Distinguished Professor and Endowed Chair in Healthy Aging Research at the University of Alabama, recommends a range of books that give insight into longevity.
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1
The Last Stargazers: The Enduring Story of Astronomy's Vanishing Explorers
by Emily Levesque -
2
Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art
by James Nestor -
3
The End of Bias, A Beginning: The Science and Practice of Overcoming Unconscious Bias
by Jessica Nordell -
4
The Sleeping Beauties: And Other Stories of Mystery Illness
by Suzanne O'Sullivan -
5
Science Fictions: How Fraud, Bias, Negligence, and Hype Undermine the Search for Truth
by Stuart Ritchie -
6
Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures
by Merlin Sheldrake
The Best Popular Science Books of 2021: The Royal Society Book Prize, recommended by Luke O'Neill
The Best Popular Science Books of 2021: The Royal Society Book Prize, recommended by Luke O'Neill
Every year the Royal Society, the world’s oldest independent scientific academy, awards a prize for the best new popular science book. Here, Luke O’Neill—Professor of Biochemistry at Trinity College, Dublin, and chair of the 2021 judging panel—discusses the latest shortlist: six new popular science books that are topical, accessible and infinitely interesting.
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1
Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs
by Gerald Jay Sussman, Harold Abelson & Julie Sussman -
2
The Algorithm Design Manual
by Steven S. Skiena -
3
The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master
by Andrew Hunt & David Thomas -
4
The Art of Readable Code
by Dustin Boswell & Trevor Foucher -
5
Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace
by Joseph Bizup & Joseph M. Williams
The best books on Computer Science for Data Scientists, recommended by Hadley Wickham
The best books on Computer Science for Data Scientists, recommended by Hadley Wickham
Data science is often said to be built on three pillars: domain expertise, statistics, and programming. Hadley Wickham, Chief Scientist at RStudio and creator of many packages for the R programming language, chooses the best books to help aspiring data scientists build solid computer science fundamentals.
Best Books on the Neuroscience of Consciousness, recommended by Anil Seth
Nearly every human has a sense of self, a feeling that we are located in a body that’s looking out at the world and experiencing it over the course of a lifetime. Some people even think of it as a soul or other nonphysical reality that is yet somehow connected to the blood and bones that make up our bodies. How things seem, however, is quite often an unreliable guide to how things are, says neuroscientist Anil Seth. Here he recommends five key books that led him to his own understanding of consciousness, and explores why it is that what is likely an illusion can be so utterly convincing.
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1
The Double X Economy: The Epic Potential of Empowering Women
by Linda Scott -
2
The Great Pretender
by Susannah Cahalan -
3
Transcendence: How Humans Evolved Through Fire, Language, Beauty, and Time
by Gaia Vince -
4
The Body: A Guide for Occupants
by Bill Bryson -
5
The World According to Physics
by Jim Al-Khalili -
6
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 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.
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The Killer of Little Shepherds: A True Crime Story and the Birth of Forensic Science
by Douglas Starr -
2
Murder and the Making of English CSI
by Ian Burney & Neil Pemberton -
3
The Red Parts: Autobiography of a Trial
by Maggie Nelson -
4
Killer in the Shadows: The Monstrous Crimes of Robert Napper
by Laurence Alison & Marie Eyre -
5
Suspect Identities: A History of Fingerprinting and Criminal Identification
by Simon A. Cole
The best books on Forensic Science, recommended by Jim Fraser
The best books on Forensic Science, recommended by Jim Fraser
Jim Fraser, veteran forensic investigator and author of Murder Under the Microscope, selects five of the best books about forensic science. Forget what you think you know about the subject from crime fiction and television dramas, and bring a healthy scepticism: this line of work can be as much a craft as a science.
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1
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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1
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 -
2
The Story of N: A Social History of the Nitrogen Cycle and the Challenge of Sustainability
by Hugh Gorman -
3
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women
by Kate Moore -
4
Rare Earth Frontiers: From Terrestrial Subsoils to Lunar Landscapes
by Julie Klinger -
5
The Alchemy of Us: How Humans and Matter Transformed One Another
by Ainissa Ramirez
Best Books on the Periodic Table, recommended by Henrik Selin & Noelle Eckley Selin
Best Books on the Periodic Table, recommended by Henrik Selin & Noelle Eckley Selin
The periodic table of the elements has been described as “one of the great intellectual achievements of humankind”. Here, Noelle Eckley Selin of MIT and Henrik Selin of Boston University talk us through some of their favourite books about various chemical elements and explain why they’re vital to understanding the world around us.
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1
Critical Assembly: Poems of the Manhattan Project
by John Canaday -
2
Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie: A Tale of Love and Fallout
by Lauren Redniss -
3
The Four Faces of Nuclear Terrorism
by Center for Nonproliferation Studies -
4
An Indispensable Truth: How Fusion Power Can Save the Planet
by Francis Chen -
5
Energy: A Human History
by Richard Rhodes
Nuclear Books, recommended by Richard Wolfson
Nuclear Books, recommended by Richard Wolfson
In science, the word ‘nuclear’ refers to anything to do with the atomic nucleus, whether you’re using it to generate power or create weapons of mass destruction. Here, physicist and science educator Richard Wolfson recommends five books relating to things nuclear, from a book of graphic nonfiction about the Curie family to how fusion can save the planet.
The best books on Immunology, recommended by John Rhodes
John Rhodes, immunologist and author of The End of Plagues and How to Make a Vaccine, selects five of the best books to help the layperson understand the human immune system in all its fiendish complexity—and explains why the discovery of a successful vaccine is only the initial breakthrough in the long and logistically challenging battle for disease eradication.
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.
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1
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 Artificial Intelligence, recommended by Calum Chace
It could lead us all to immortality or spell the end of the human race. Author Calum Chace picks the best books on Artificial Intelligence or AI.
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.
Books on the Deep Future, recommended by David Farrier
What trace of our lives will we leave, and what stories might they tell about us? In Footprints, David Farrier explores how our generation will be remembered in the traces it leaves behind in myths, stories… and the fossil record. Here he talks to Caspar Henderson about books to help reflect on ‘the deep future.’
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Femmes de la préhistoire
by Claudine Cohen -
2
Femmes, naissance de l'homme: Icônes de la préhistoire
by Alexandre Hurel & Florian Berrouet -
3
L'homme préhistorique est aussi une femme
by Marylène Patou-Mathis -
4
The Invisible Sex: Uncovering the True Role of Women in Prehistory
J. M. Adovasio, Olga Soffer and Jake Page -
5
Our Human Story
by Chris Stringer & Louise Humphrey
The best books on Prehistoric Women, recommended by Thomas Cirotteau
The best books on Prehistoric Women, recommended by Thomas Cirotteau
Thanks to scientific advances, we’re finding out more and more about prehistoric people, including women and their lives during the Upper Paleolithic era. French filmmaker Thomas Cirotteau, director of the documentary and co-author of a book about Lady Sapiens, recommends books to find out more about our female ancestors, who while separated from us by tens of thousands of years, have been brought tantalizingly close by new techniques and discoveries.
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1
Micrographia: The Complete Facsimile of the First Printing of 1665
by Robert Hooke -
2
Stonehenge Decoded
by Gerald S Hawkins -
3
A Brief History of Time
by Stephen Hawking -
4
The Double Helix
by James Watson -
5
The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms with Observations on their Habits
by Charles Darwin
The best books on Popular Science, recommended by Adam Hart-Davis
The best books on Popular Science, recommended by Adam Hart-Davis
Adam Hart-Davis says clear simple writing is the key to an accessible science book. Selects the five books he believes offer the best introduction to Popular Science. Includes works from Darwin, Watson and Hawking
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1
The Moon: A History for the Future
by Oliver Morton -
2
The Second Kind of Impossible: The Extraordinary Quest for a New Form of Matter
by Paul J. Steinhardt -
3
The Snow Leopard Project: And Other Adventures in Warzone Conservation
by Alex Dehgan -
4
The Gendered Brain
by Gina Rippon -
5
Waters of the World
by Sarah Dry
The Best Science Books of 2019, recommended by Barbara Kiser
The Best Science Books of 2019, recommended by Barbara Kiser
It’s been another fabulous year for science books that make important scientific developments accessible to a general audience. Barbara Kiser, Books & Arts Editor at Nature, talks us through her favourite science books of 2019.
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1
Kindred: Neanderthal Life, Love, Death and Art
by Rebecca Wragg Sykes -
2
Evolution's Bite: A Story of Teeth, Diet, and Human Origins
by Peter Ungar -
3
Paleofantasy: What Evolution Really Tells Us about Sex, Diet, and How We Live
by Marlene Zuk -
4
Tales Teeth Tell: Development, Evolution, Behavior
by Tanya M. Smith -
5
Our Human Story
by Chris Stringer & Louise Humphrey
The best books on Anthropology, recommended by Brenna Hassett
The best books on Anthropology, recommended by Brenna Hassett
New techniques have uncovered an enormous amount of information about how humans evolved and new human species continue to pop up on a regular basis. Biological anthropologist Brenna Hassett, author of Growing Up Human, recommends books to learn more about our ancestors and how we became the human beings we are today.
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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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 Science Book Prize: the 2019 shortlist, recommended by Nigel Shadbolt
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.
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The Art of Statistics: Learning from Data
by David Spiegelhalter -
2
Do Dice Play God?: The Mathematics of Uncertainty
by Ian Stewart -
3
Humble Pi: A Comedy of Maths Errors
by Matt Parker -
4
Infinite Powers: The Story of Calculus
by Steven Strogatz -
5
The Creativity Code: Art and Innovation in the Age of AI
by Marcus du Sautoy
The Best Math Books of 2019, recommended by Kit Yates
The Best Math Books of 2019, recommended by Kit Yates
As math becomes increasingly important in our daily lives, eminent mathematicians and statisticians have stepped up to the plate, writing books that are engaging for non-experts—and sometimes even funny. Kit Yates, a mathematical biologist and author of The Math of Life and Death, recommends the best math books of 2019.
The best books on Time, recommended by Carlo Rovelli
Our experience of time is only weakly related to the fundamental realities of physics, says the physicist and best-selling author Carlo Rovelli. Here he selects five works for understanding the nature of time in its truer sense.
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1
Never at Rest: A Biography of Isaac Newton
by Richard S. Westfall -
2
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 Apollo Books, recommended by Christopher Riley
The lesson of the Apollo programme is that anything is possible, says filmmaker and author Christopher Riley. He talks us through the best books (and one documentary) about America’s race with the Soviet Union to put the first man on the Moon.
Space Travel and Science Fiction Books, recommended by Christopher Mason
Space travel may be the stuff of science fiction but some of it is getting closer and closer to becoming reality. What’s more, we have a duty to pursue it, says Christopher Mason, Professor of Genomics, Physiology, and Biophysics at Weill Cornell Medicine and author of The Next 500 Years, a blueprint of how to set about leaving our solar system. Here, he recommends his favourite science fiction about space travel, and an essential philosophy book.
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Maps of Time: An Introduction to Big History
by David Christian -
2
Origins: How The Earth Made Us
by Lewis Dartnell -
3
The Five Ages of the Universe: Inside the Physics of Eternity
by Fred Adams & Gregory Laughlin -
4
Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space
by Carl Sagan -
5
Diaspora
by Greg Egan
The best books on Big History, recommended by Toby Ord
The best books on Big History, recommended by Toby Ord
‘Big history’ looks at history on the timescale of the Earth and the universe, rather than just the short period of time that humanity has been around. Here, Toby Ord, a moral philosopher at Oxford University’s Future of Humanity Institute, recommends books to get a handle on it, and explains why now is a critical time for Homo sapiens.
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1
Beyond Weird: Why Everything You Thought You Knew about Quantum Physics Is Different
by Philip Ball -
2
Hello World: How to Be Human in the Age of the Machine
by Hannah Fry -
3
Inventing Ourselves: The Secret Life of the Teenage Brain
by Sarah-Jayne Blakemore -
4
The Order of Time
by Carlo Rovelli -
5
A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived: The Human Story Retold Through Our Genes
by Adam Rutherford
The Best Science Books to Take on Holiday, recommended by Jim Al-Khalili
The Best Science Books to Take on Holiday, recommended by Jim Al-Khalili
Aah, the holidays! Time to lie on the grass and read the latest novel. Or are you looking for something more demanding? Physicist and popular science author Jim Al-Khalili, who has just written his first sci-fi thriller, Sunfall, suggests some highly readable science books for those who prefer their holiday reads to be nonfiction.
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1
Life of Galileo
by Bertolt Brecht -
2
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 Physics Books for Teenagers, recommended by Kate Lee
What are the best books for getting a teenager into physics? Kate Lee, a physics teacher at St Paul’s Girls School, recommends books about NASA, space travel, and the Big Bang—and puzzles the question of why it is so hard for young women to stay in physics as a profession.
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1
The Simple Science of Flight: From Insects to Jumbo Jets
by Henk Tennekes -
2
Cosmos
by Carl Sagan -
3
In Pursuit of the Unknown: 17 Equations That Changed the World
by Ian Stewart -
4
Power Speed and Form: Engineers in the Making of the Twentieth Century
by David P. Billington and David P. Billington & Jr -
5
Ausgepowert: Das Ende des Olzeitalters als Chance
by Marcel Hänggi
The best books on Engineering, recommended by Ante Shoda
The best books on Engineering, recommended by Ante Shoda
What should a budding engineer—or even an experienced one—read for a better understanding of the science and trade? And how does engineering help make our lives better every day? Ante Shoda, an engineer for Honda Racing in California, recommends the best books for a fundamental understanding of engineering.
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Lost in Math: How Beauty Leads Physics Astray
by Sabine Hossenfelder -
2
The Tangled Tree: A Radical New History of Life
by David Quammen -
3
Chasing New Horizons: Inside the Epic First Mission to Pluto
by Alan Stern & David Grinspoon -
4
The Biological Mind: How Brain, Body, and Environment Collaborate to Make Us Who We Are
by Alan Jasanoff -
5
A Lab of One’s Own: Science and Suffrage in the First World War
by Patricia Fara
The Best Science Books of 2018, recommended by Barbara Kiser
The Best Science Books of 2018, recommended by Barbara Kiser
“As life on Earth is rocked by conflict and environmental crisis, these serene little scientific emissaries remind us of how different it can be when we collaborate selflessly in the getting of knowledge.” Barbara Kiser, veteran science journalist and the books and arts editor at Nature, chooses the best science books of 2018.
The best books on Science and Wonder, recommended by Caspar Henderson
When we see a rainbow or another beautiful spectacle in nature, what is that sense of wonder we are filled with? How can we nurture it? Caspar Henderson, author of A New Map of Wonders (and Five Books science and environment editor) recommends the best books to help us develop our sense of wonder.
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1
A Lab of One’s Own: Science and Suffrage in the First World War
by Patricia Fara -
2
Eve to Evolution: Darwin, Science, and Women's Rights in Gilded Age America
by Kimberly Hamlin -
3
Wally Funk's Race for Space: The Extraordinary Story of a Female Aviation Pioneer
by Sue Nelson -
4
The Woman That Never Evolved
by Sarah Blaffer Hrdy -
5
The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal
by Desmond Morris
The best books on Scientific Differences between Women and Men, recommended by Angela Saini
The best books on Scientific Differences between Women and Men, recommended by Angela Saini
Consideration of differences between men and women has been obscured by centuries of biological essentialism, argues Angela Saini – author of Inferior: How Science Got Women Wrong. Here she discusses five books that examine or demonstrate the misogynistic lens through which female capability has been viewed.
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1
Statistical Evidence: A Likelihood Paradigm
by Richard Royall -
2
Visualize This: The FlowingData Guide to Design, Visualization, and Statistics
by Nathan Yau -
3
Storytelling with Data: A Data Visualization Guide for Business Professionals
by Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic -
4
An Introduction to Statistical Learning: with Applications in R
by Daniela Witten, Gareth James, Robert Tibshirani & Trevor Hastie -
5
Design Thinking: Understanding How Designers Think and Work
by Nigel Cross
The best books on Data Science, recommended by Roger D. Peng
The best books on Data Science, recommended by Roger D. Peng
From complex techniques only used by academic statisticians, data science has risen to extreme popularity in only a few years. Roger D. Peng, Professor of Biostatistics at Johns Hopkins University and founder of one of the largest data science online courses, helps us understand this discipline and recommends the five best books to delve into it.
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1
X and the City: Modeling Aspects of Urban Life
by John A. Adam -
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In Pursuit of the Traveling Salesman: Mathematics at the Limits of Computation
by William J. Cook -
3
Who's #1?: The Science of Rating and Ranking
by Amy N. Langville and Carl D. Meyer -
4
50 Visions of Mathematics
by Sam Parc -
5
In Pursuit of the Unknown: 17 Equations That Changed the World
by Ian Stewart
The best books on Applied Mathematics, recommended by Nick Higham
The best books on Applied Mathematics, recommended by Nick Higham
It can be used to understand everything from bedbugs to traffic jams and helps us take photos and fly planes. Maths professor and author Nick Higham picks five books that show the many wonders of applied maths.
The best books on Existential Risks, recommended by The Centre for the Study of Existential Risk
In the rapidly-emerging field of existential risks, researchers study the mitigation of threats that could lead to human extinction or civilisational collapse. We met with four researchers from The Centre for the Study of Existential Risk at the University of Cambridge, to discuss their recommendations of the best books to get a grasp of this dense subject.
The best books on Transhumanism, recommended by Mark O'Connell
The journalist and author Mark O’Connell explored the nature of transhumanism—the belief that technology will help us evolve beyond our current physical and mental limitations—in his award-winning book To Be A Machine. Here he selects five key books that speak directly to the movement.
The best books on Ice, recommended by Mark Serreze
Ice and humanity have always been close partners, says Mark Serreze, director of the US National Snow and Ice Data Center. But this relationship is changing fast as polar ice melts. Here he selects five books that fed his fascination.
The best books on Honeybees, recommended by Helen Jukes
Humanity has a long history of keeping bees. But what do we really know about them? Beekeeping memoirist Helen Jukes selects five books that examine both the behaviour of bees as individuals and colonies as ‘superorganisms.’
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The Planet in a Pebble: A journey into Earth's deep history
by Jan Zalasiewicz -
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Life on a Young Planet: The First Three Billion Years of Evolution on Earth
by Andrew H Knoll -
3
The Emerald Planet
by D J Beerling -
4
Gaining Ground
by Jennifer Clack -
5
The Cradle of Humanity: How the changing landscape of Africa made us so smart
by Mark Maslin
The best books on Evolution of the Earth, recommended by Andrew Scott
The best books on Evolution of the Earth, recommended by Andrew Scott
How has the Earth changed over time and what role has fire played in those changes? A leading geologist, Andrew Scott, identifies key stages and books to help understand them
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Leonhard Euler: Mathematical Genius in the Enlightenment
by Ronald S. Calinger -
2
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.
The best books on Volcanoes, recommended by David Pyle
Volcanoes not only play a vital role in the Earth’s ecosystem but have fascinated us down the ages. Oxford University volcanologist David Pyle recommends some of his favourite books about volcanoes.
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Heartificial Intelligence: Embracing Our Humanity to Maximize Machines
by John Havens -
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The Technological Singularity
by Murray Shanahan -
3
Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy
by Cathy O'Neil -
4
Moral Machines: Teaching Robots Right From Wrong
by Wendell Wallach and Colin Allen -
5
2001: A Space Odyssey
by Arthur C Clarke
The best books on Ethics for Artificial Intelligence, recommended by Paula Boddington
The best books on Ethics for Artificial Intelligence, recommended by Paula Boddington
Advances in artificial intelligence pose a myriad of ethical questions, but the most incisive thinking on this subject says more about humans than it does about machines, says Paula Boddington, Oxford academic and author of Towards a Code of Ethics for Artificial Intelligence.