Jo Marchant

We still understand very little about the workings of the brain, and yet we dismiss the tricks it can play on us as undeserving of the same sympathy as physical illness. Neurologist and author Suzanne O’Sullivan recommends the best books on psychosomatic illness.

Public understanding of radiation needs to improve if people are to properly assess its benefits and risks argues author and academic, Timothy Jorgensen. From the discovery of radio to a cancer cluster in New Jersey, he chooses highly readable books illuminating different aspects of radiation.

What do molecules in a cell have in common with lions in the Serengeti? They all follow rules, says scientist and author Sean B Carroll. He chooses the best books on biology, from the death of the dodo to the discovery of DNA.

In 2015 Gaia Vince became the first woman to win the Royal Society’s science book of the year prize for her book, Adventures in the Anthropocene. She spent two years on the road investigating how communities across the world are coping with climate change. Here, she shares the five best books on climate change and the Anthropocene – the geological epoch of man.

What makes for good science writing? The longtime Guardian science editor, Tim Radford, chooses his five favourite science books.

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.  

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.’

Without them, plants and animals wouldn’t exist and even the Earth’s geology would be different. Paul Falkowski recommends the best books on microbes.