The history of vaccines is fascinating, and we highly recommend all the books discussed in this interview with Seth Mnookin, author of The Panic Virus and Professor of Science Writing at MIT. These are gripping reads that tell the story of vaccines, medicine’s greatest life-saver, and the risks people took to find them.

Welcome to life in the Anthropocene, a new epoch in the history of life where the impact of humanity on the Earth system is so great, we need a new term for it. Author and journalist Caspar Henderson offers a rich reading list to help ourselves and our children grow up in the Anthropocene.

Philip Plait urges us to remember that “science isn’t an encyclopedia of facts to memorise. It’s alive.” The astronomer and author of the acclaimed Bad Astronomy blog discusses books that can’t help but light the fire of interest in all things astronomical. He looks at how we can date the age of the universe, the danger of solar flares, and why Pluto is no longer classed as a planet.

Modern Western societies often seem to be intolerant of silence. Why should this be? And is there any alternative? The author of “A Book of Silence” explains

It’s fashionable today to liken humans to animals but the developmental psychologist says it’s more interesting to study the ways in which we’re remarkably different from other creatures

The travel writer casts his net over books about the sea and comes up with a haul including Moby Dick and a naval history of Britain.

The science writer and award-winning blogger Carl Zimmer discusses the strangeness of life, from viruses to manipulative flatworms

Insects outnumber us, outweigh us, and without them ecosystems would collapse. In short, we live on their planet. The entomologist explains why we should value bugs more – even, or especially, the carrion beetles and dung feeders

Think of Darwinian natural selection and you may think of selfish or competitive behaviour, but this is far from the whole story, says economist Paul Seabright.

Paul Kingsnorth, co-founder of the Dark Mountain project, urges the need for uncivilisation: the process of getting beyond our human assumptions, such as the myth of unfailing linear progress. It is about looking at humanity in the wider context of the whole planet, and the imminent ecological crisis.

Robert Macfarlane, author of an acclaimed trilogy of books about landscape and human thought tells us about the intrepid, sometimes misanthropic writers who inspired his own investigation of wilderness. He chooses some of his favourite books of nature-writing.

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 author of True Wealth suggests how we can rethink our patterns of consumption and approach our relationship with nature in a new, less damaging, way

We’re in a “dual energy crisis”, says the author of Clean Energy Nation, and not doing enough about it. He tells us what we must do if we’re to overcome our dependence on oil and limit the damaging effects of climate change

The chief executive of Good Energy says we need to think big if we want to cut our use of high-carbon energy. She tells us about the intersection between business, politics and doing the right thing

Paleoanthropologist Tim White tells us about his work investigating the origins of homo sapiens and explains what a 4.4 million-year-old skeleton he found in Africa tells us about our common past.

Theoretical cosmologist Sean Carroll recommends five books about space, time and the universe that even the science-shy can understand and enjoy

Space historian Andrew Chaikin tells us about five books that capture the thrill and achievement of our venturing into the great beyond. He picks the best books on space exploration.

The novelist Hari Kunzru explains his fascination with the Mojave desert – a mysterious, forgotten place full of secret military sites where the silence feels like a physical weight on one’s ears

The Australian environmental philosopher discusses man’s interaction with the oceans – from whaling voyages and dynamite fishing to sea gypsies and the flourishing business of piracy

Former Wired contributing editor and MIT Science Journalism Fellow, Bob Johnstone, explains why the Germans lead the world in solar energy and how financial innovation is changing the game in the US. He picks the best books on solar power.

One of the Natural History Museum’s experts in meteoritics, Dr Caroline Smith says the meteorites that land on earth predate our planet by about 150 million years and it’s not surprising that they land here

It makes us feel sexy, it makes us feel healthy and it can even make us feel more inspired. No wonder we’re in thrall to the power of the sun, says Richard Cohen

Phil Richardson, co-founder of the Bat Conservation Trust www.bats.org.uk, says bats are remarkably like us in many ways. They are social animals with complex lives

Birds are everywhere. They capture our imagination and make us wish that we, too, could soar away. Jonathan Elphick eloquently recommends the best books on the wonders of birds.

Palaeontologist and dinosaur specialist Paul Barrett says many of the 1,200 known species of dinosaur were far more complex than we once thought. Some were brightly feathered, many were at least partly warm-blooded

Palaeontologist Richard Fortey says it took tiny organisms two billion years of work to oxygenate the planet sufficiently for our kind of life, including trilobites, dinosaurs and ourselves, to evolve

Internationally known ecologist says plants are grievously overlooked, because no life on earth would exist without them – essential reading on plants

The Professor of Astro-Physics at Oxford University selects five seminal books on the workings of the universe. Explains that to appreciate the true beauty of science is to understand its simplicity and universality

Geoscience professor and NASA adviser James Kasting talks us through the scientific possibilities for life beyond earth. He recommends books by both ‘optimists. and ‘pessimists.’

Editor of the website China Dialogue, Isabel Hilton says the evidence of environmental disaster in China is dramatic. She discusses six of the most influential books on environmentalism in China.

The English countryside on a sunny summer's day is one of the most beguiling places in the world to be. But how has it changed since the Black Death? Is there still a meaningful difference between urban and rural society? Rural historian Paul Brassley talks us through the best books to get a fuller understanding of England's green and pleasant land.

The respected author and veteran journalist gives illuminating interview on volcanic eruptions. Discusses wonderful literary works from authors including Jules Vernes, Edward Lytton and Paddy Leigh Fermor

Just as no one can study political science without a basic understanding of human history, or study a modern animal without a basic understanding of evolution, so no one can understand climate change without understanding the Earth’s history, argues the Princeton geology professor.

The author, plantsman and rhododendron expert selects his favourite books on botanical exploration and explains his passion for plant hunting

Historian of garden design Penelope Hobhouse says creating a garden is not about pulling out weeds – it’s about fulfilling man’s need for organisation and security

The respected author and prominent Hispanist examines the history and people of The Andes. Selects and reviews five great reads, including classics from Isherwood and Hemming

Discussion of the lesser-known subject of guerilla gardening – the illicit cultivation of someone else’s land. A fascinating and historical topic, and eclectic book selections include a history of Google

What drives people’s passion for birds and birdwatching? For Jeremy Mynott, it’s as much about us as it is about them. He recommends the best books on birds and birdwatching.

People see in pirates what they want to see, says historian and author Adrian Tinniswood. He recommends five fascinating books about pirates.

Karen has been studying the hippos in Zimbabwe full-time since 1993. In this interview she talks sustainable conservation and selects five excellent books as further reading including Born Free and The Little Prince

The acclaimed author discusses the Polar Regions. She says an African In Greenland is the best book ever written on Greenland – the story of a man from Togo who went there in the 1960s

The policy director for the Optimum Population Trust, the environmental think-tank, discusses books on Global Warming. Includes a volume on the wildlife of Borneo alongside DH Lawrence’s The Rainbow