| Katie Hafner & Matthew Lyon |
Where Wizards Stay Up Late |
Engaging history of the early days of what
would become the Internet  |
Technology |
| Tony Hallam |
Catastrophes and Lesser Calamities |
A worth attempt to include all the options to
explain prehistoric mass extinctions that's sadly rather dull
|
Earth science |
| Mike Hally |
Electronic Brains |
The early days of electronic computer are
uncovered around the world - US, UK, Australia and USSR - in an engaging
little book  |
Technology |
| Michael Hanlon |
10 Questions Science Can't Answer (Yet) |
A truly thought-provoking and fascinating
exploration of areas of science that aren't fully understood, from dark
matter to why so many people are fat. |
Overview |
| Michael Hanlon |
The Science of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the
Galaxy |
The wacky world of Douglas Adams opened up to
the scientific spotlight. Sometimes too brisk, but otherwise good
|
Overview |
| Mark Hanson &
Peter D. Gluckman |
Mismatch |
Gets its three stars for the excellent idea -
the mismatch between humans and environment - but the delivery is poor.
|
Human science |
| David Harel |
Computers Ltd |
Interesting meta-math exploration of the
limits of computers. Four star for computing fans, otherwise
|
Technology |
| Judith Rich Harris |
No Two Alike |
A real page turner as the author explores how
personalities differ, with a style that owes as much to a murder mystery as
a science book |
Human science |
| Adam Hart-Davis &
Paul Bader |
The Cosmos: A
Beginner's Guide |
A beautifully illustrated book from a BBC TV
series that's really more about the equipment we use to study it than the
cosmos.
|
Cosmology |
| Adam Hart-Davis |
Just Another Day |
Excellent concept of going through a composite
everyday life and exploring the science and technology. A lot of the author
in it, so a book you'll love or hate.
|
Overview |
| Adam Hart-Davis |
Why does a ball bounce? |
The UK's favourite TV boffin explains 101
phenomena - much too short, but still great fun
|
Overview |
| Marc D. Hauser |
Moral Minds |
A detailed exploration of the science of
morality, with some excellent content but let down by being over-long and
not taking into account some obvious questions.
|
Human science |
| Thomas
Häusler |
Viruses vs Superbugs |
An intriguing but frightening look at one
alternative to antibiotics - will phages save us as killer bacteria become
resistant?
|
Human science |
| Mark Haw |
Middle World |
Dull looking book, which is a shame because
it's a brilliant, very readable tour of the nanoscale from Brownian motion
to biological machines.
|
Physics |
|
STEPHEN HAWKING |
Biography |
|
|
| Stephen Hawking |
A Brief History of Time |
The one that started it all
- and much more readable than you might think |
Cosmology, physics |
| Stephen Hawking
(with Leonard Mlodinow) |
A Briefer History of Time |
Attempt to make Brief History more
approachable - good content, but suffers from übergloss
|
Cosmology, physics |
| Stephen Hawking |
The Universe in a Nutshell |
Workings of the universe,
well illustrated, for lay readers |
Cosmology, physics |
| Robert M. Hazen |
Genesis |
Wonderfully personal exploration of the
possible origin of life from both experiment and field work, with engaging
description of how experimental science works |
Biology |
| Sandra Hempel |
The Medical Detective [The Strange Case of the
Broad Street Pump] |
Fascinating medical history of the attempts to
discover how cholera spread, and John Snow's detective work to trace the
origins of the Broad Street outbreak
|
Human science |
| John Henry |
Knowledge is Power |
Flawed but interesting exploration of the work
of Francis Bacon
 |
Overview |
| Robert Henson |
The Rough Guide to Climate Change |
An excellent introduction to the whys and
wherefores of global warming: mix of politics and science, hence relatively
low score
|
Earth science |
| Nick Herbert |
Faster Than Light |
Age and so-so writing pull down the rating for
this book, but still has good insights on getting around the light barrier
|
Physics |
| Nick Herbert |
Quantum Reality |
Stodgy and impenetrable trip around the
metaphysics underlying quantum theory
|
Physics |
| Fukagawa Hidetoshi
& Tony Rothman |
Sacred
Mathematics |
Remarkable
historical idea of geometry problems displayed in Japanese temples - but all
seems a bit pointless.
|
Maths |
| J. Allan Hobson |
Dreaming |
Dream and sleep science hauled out of the Freudian dark ages with an
excellent introduction
|
Human sciences |
| Douglas Hofstadter |
Gödel, Escher, Bach |
Linking the music of Bach,
the art of Escher and the maths of Gödel to illustrate human thought
|
Psychology, overview |
| Richard Hollingham & Sue
Nelson |
How to Clone the Perfect Blonde |
Eight fascinating applications of science,
beautifully explained, but let down a little by childish humour
|
Overview |
| Mark L. Brake &
Neil Hook |
Different Engines |
Interesting topic - the interplay between
science and science fiction - with some good points, but not hugely
readable, and some glaring omissions.
|
Overview |
| Jim Horne |
Sleepfaring: A journey through the science of
sleep |
Wonderfully readable tour of the science of
sleep. Sags just a little in the middle, but overall excellent
|
Biology |
| Michael Hoskin |
The History of
Astronomy |
Part of the "very short introduction" series.
Best on ancient history, but fine up to 1800s.
|
Astronomy |
| Jeff Hughes |
The Manhattan Project: Big Science and the
Atom Bomb |
The Manhattan Project is just an example in
this slightly disappointing story of the growth of megascience
|
Overview |
| Jay Ingram |
The Velocity of Honey |
23 fun excursions into the science of the everyday from falling toast to
skipping stones
|
Overview |
| Walter Isaacson |
Einstein: His Life and Universe |
Perhaps the best of the Einstein biographies -
really seeks to get the man behind the legend, and does well at explaining
the physics. |
Biography |
| Lucy Jago |
The Northern Lights |
Kristian Birkeland, the
Norwegian scientist who first uncovered the secret of the Northern Lights
|
Biography, physics |
| Dairmuid Jeffreys |
Aspirin: The Remarkable Story of a Wonder Drug |
The story of aspirin from quinine substitute
to heart medicine. Excellent background; truly fascinating
|
Chemistry, human
sciences |
| George Johnson |
Miss Leavitt's
Stars |
Not the biography the title suggests - sadly
little is known of Miss Leavitt - but a good, brief introduction to
measuring the size of the universe
|
Astronomy |
| George Johnson |
The Ten Most
Beautiful Experiments |
Engaging look at ten real desktop experiments
through history. You can dispute if he's got the best, but certainly makes
them highly readable. |
Overview |
| Richard A. L,
Jones |
Soft Machines |
Interesting book on one aspect of
nanotechnology (nano machines), but more of a good textbook than popsci
|
Technology,
biology |
| Steve Jones |
Coral |
The parts of this far-ranging book about coral
are good, but the asides take up far too much of it.. |
Biology |
| Steve Jones |
The Single Helix |
One hundred light and enjoyable newspaper
columns, collected to give an excellent dip into pretty well every area of
science. |
Overview |
| James Kakalios |
The Physics of Superheroes |
One of the better 'science of'/'physics of'
books, using the exploits of superheroes to explore everything from
mechanics to electromagnetism.. |
Physics |
| Michio Kaku |
Parallel Worlds |
Fascinating ideas on parallel universes,
cosmology and string theory only slightly let down by oversimplification and
mixed writing. |
Cosmology, physics |
| Eric R. Kandel |
In Search of Memory |
Excellent account of the work of the Nobel
Prize winner Kandel, putting his studies of the cellular nature of memory
into the context of his life.. |
Biology |
| Robert Kanigel |
The Man Who Knew Infinity |
Biography of 20th century
mathematical genius, Srinivasa Ramanujan |
Biography, maths |
| Robert Kaplan |
The Nothing that Is |
An enjoyable tour around
that most significant gap in our counting system, zero |
Maths |
| Robert & Ellen Kaplan |
The Art of the Infinite |
Good idea of explaining why mathematics is
worthy of passion that singularly fails to deliver
|
Maths |
| Martin Kemp |
Seen | Unseen |
A thick, glossy attempt to find parallels in
the way scientists and artists perceive the world - not entirely successful.
|
Overview |
| Brian King &
Martin Plimmer |
Beyond Coincidence |
Great opportunity to explain apparently spooky coincidences that gives way
to amazement
|
Maths, sceptics |
| Lawrence M. Krauss |
The Physics of Star Trek |
How much can real science
make the wonders of Star Trek possible? |
TV, physics |
| Ray Kurzweil |
The Singularity is Near |
Futurologist Ray Kurzweil argues that in the
next 40 years Human 2.0 will emerge from a combination of human and
technology. Interesting subject, clumsily addressed..
|
Human sciences |
| Nick Lane |
Oxygen |
Not, as it may seem a book on the element, but
on its complex relationship with life. Great content but very hard work for
the reader.
|
Biology, human
sciences |
| Nick Lane |
Power, Sex, Suicide |
It sounds like a political thriller, but it's a
fascinating if fat exploration of the role of mitochondria, the invader
power packs of complex life. |
Biology |
| John Langdon |
Wordplay |
Clever graphic designs that can be read in
more than one direction, as used by Dan Brown - but the "science" is weak to
say the least
|
Overview |
| Robert M. Laughlin |
A Different Universe |
An argument for a different kind of physics,
that is more dependent on emergent properties, rather than bottom up.
Interesting but not entirely convincing.
|
Physics |
| Alistair Lax |
Toxin |
A readable combination of history of the
discovery of the role of bacteria and their toxins and the science behind it
|
Biology |
| Eric Lax |
The Mo[u]ld on Doctor Florey's Coat |
The true story of the development of
penicillin - both fascinating and very different from the myth
|
Biology, biography |
| Leon Lederman &
Dick Teresi |
The God Particle |
In-depth and often funny look at the history
of particle physics and the development of the standard model, viewed by an
insider.
|
Physics |
| Armand Leroi |
Mutants |
Truly remarkable book that uses human mutation
to explain how we are all formed while avoiding the voyeurism of the freak
show |
Human science |
| Mark Leyner &
Billy Goldberg |
Why Do Men Have Nipples? |
Delightful answers to all those silly
questions people want to ask doctors, only missing perfect because of the
painfully unfunny sections in between the Q&A
|
Human science |
| Mario Livio |
The Equation that Couldn't be Solved |
Brilliant popular maths coverage of group
theory and symmetry, throwing in a quick history of algebra. Highly
approachable with excellent historical context.
|
Mathematics |
| Seth Lloyd |
Programming the Universe |
An attempt to make quantum theory and quantum
computers more approachable by using information theory just makes things
harder
|
Physics |
| Charles Lockwood |
The Human Story |
Well-illustrated introductory guide to the
stages of evolution from pre-human to Homo sapiens using the fossil record.
|
Human science |
| Michael Lockwood |
The Labyrinth of Time |
Attempt to explore the universe through a
better understanding of time that doesn't quite make it
|
Physics, cosmology |
| James F. Luhr |
Earth |
One of DK's highly illustrated books that sits
between a reference and a coffee table book - fascinating if not true
popular science |
Earth science |
| Matthew Lyon &
Katie Hafner |
Where Wizards Stay Up Late |
Engaging history of the early days of what
would become the Internet |
Technology |
| Mark Lynas |
Six Degrees: our future on a hotter planet |
An important book - graphically tells of the
impact of one to six degrees of temperature rise on the planet. Gets a
little repetitious, but still important.
|
Earth sciences |
| Ronald Mallett &
Bruce Henderson |
The Time
Traveller |
Moving and highly readable story of a
physicist's mission to build a time machine to visit his dead father - just
finishes a bit too soon. |
Physics |
| Robert Malone |
Ultimate Robot |
Highly illustrated and fun guide to robots as
cultural icons - could do with more on the science though
|
Technology |
| Charles C. Mann |
Ancient
Americans/1491 |
Superb revelation of the remarkable
prehistoric cultures of the Americas - full of surprises and eminently
readable |
Human science |
| Michael Marmot |
Status Syndrome |
Brilliant research on the way social standing
affects health and life expectancy, but so-so book
|
Human science |
| Ben Marsden |
Watt's Perfect Engine |
Interesting story of James Watt, particularly
focussing on steam engines - but not a lot of science
|
Technology |
| Robert Matthews |
25 Big Ideas |
Condensed book style makes this introduction
to the key areas of modern science useful but a little dry
|
Overview |
| Robert Matthews |
Q&A: Cosmic
Conundrums and Everyday Mysteries of Science |
Lots of fun and some significant surprises in
this selection of answers to the scientific questions we'd all like to ask,
but haven't
|
Overview |
| Brian May, Patrick Moore,
Chris Lintott |
Bang! The Complete History of the Universe |
A superbly illustrated introduction to the
basics of cosmology, for all ages, though we think it works best for younger
readers. |
Astronomy,
cosmology |
| J.P. McEvoy & Oscar Zarate |
Introducing Quantum Theory |
Wacky
but good illustrated introduction to the concepts of
quantum theory
|
Physics |
| Christopher
McGowan |
The Rainhill Trials |
Pure technology, but a fascinating insight
into the men and machines that brought railways into being
|
Technology |
| Bill McGuire |
Seven Years to Save the Planet |
Excellent analysis of the threats we
face from climate change, and how they will change our world, but poor,
over-simplistic solutions.
|
Earth science |
| Bill McGuire |
Surviving Armageddon |
Good, short book on the possible disasters
facing the earth and how we can overcome them
|
Earth science |
| Andrew Meharg |
Venomous Earth |
Interesting exploration of arsenic's duel role
as poison and medicine, fascinating on poisonous wallpaper
|
Chemistry |
| Rebecca Mileham |
Powering Up |
Thought-provoking exploration of the effects
computer games have on us. Sometimes over-enthusiastic, but mostly good.
|
Technology |
| Arthur I. Miller |
Empire of the Stars |
The battle over the nature of white dwarf
stars and the emergence of black holes in the life of Chandrasekhar, well
told but long |
Cosmology,
biography |
| Steven Mithen |
After the Ice |
Huge history of humanity between 20,000 and
5,000 BC with neat "observer" style
|
Human science |
| Steven Mithen |
The Singing Neanderthals |
Interesting study of the origins of music,
that gets a little lost along the way
|
Human science |
| Simon Mitton |
Conflict in the Cosmos/Fred Hoyle: A Life in
Science |
Biography of brilliant astronomer and huge
character, Fred Hoyle. Fascinating, but could have been better
|
Biography,
astronomy |
|
PATRICK MOORE |
Biography |
|
|
| Patrick Moore |
The Autobiography |
A remarkable combination of stories from life
an opinions on the world from the UK's best known astronomer and TV
eccentric |
Biography,
astronomy |
| Patrick Moore,
Brian May, Chris Lintott |
Bang! The Complete History of the Universe |
A superbly illustrated introduction to the
basics of cosmology, for all ages, though we think it works best for younger
readers. |
Astronomy,
cosmology |
| Patrick Moore |
Eyes on the Universe |
Enjoyable if rather compact guide to the history
of the telescope |
Astronomy |
|
PETE MOORE |
Biography |
|
|
| Pete Moore |
Being Me |
A remarkable and very different book that
looks into what it means to be human, using interviews to open up human
characteristics. Science-based, but goes wider too.
|
Human science |
| Pete Moore |
Enhancing Me |
Although using a restrictive definition of enhancement, a thought-provoking
look at how humans can be made more than human.
|
Human Science,
technology |
| Pete Moore |
The Forensics Handbook |
A useful mini-encyclopedia of the practices and
technology of police forensics, but lacks narrative and the science
|
Human Science |
| Pete Moore |
Little Book of Big Ideas: Science |
Nice collection of quick summaries of the
achievements of key individuals in science, clearly written, but highly
oversimplified |
Overview |
| Pete Moore |
The New Killer Germs |
Very effective if depressing account of our
battle against bacteria and viruses, and how things are likely to get worse
in the future |
Human science |
| Wendy Moore |
The Knife Man |
Unexpectedly impressive life of John Hunter,
surgeon, dissector and inspiration for Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde |
Human Science |
| Michael Morange |
A History of Molecular Biology |
Molecular biology, explaining biological
functions at the molecular level, has transformed the science. An
interesting book, but not enough on the people.
|
Biology |
| Charles Morris |
The Surgeons |
By turns gory and over-awed, but still a
dramatic account of the author's stint with New York heart surgeons.
|
Human Science |
| Iwan Rhees Morus |
Michael Faraday and the Electrical Century |
Combines skimpy biography of Faraday with
interesting insights into early attitudes to electricity
|
Biography, physics |
| James Muirden |
The Cosmic Verses |
Astonishingly effective history of our ideas
on the universe, all in verse - certainly could have been much worse.
|
Cosmology |
| Richard A. Muller |
Physics for Future Presidents |
One of the cleverest concepts we've ever come
across - the physics you ought to know if you are going to be US president -
and wonderfully delivered too. |
Physics |
| Mary Mulvihill |
Ingenious Ireland |
An enjoyable guidebook of Irish scientific and
technological wonders - rating reflects reference use, not contents
|
Overview |
| Toby Murcott |
The Whole Story: Alternative Medicine on Trial |
This should be a brilliant book, as alternative
medicine is crying out for a proper investigation. Still good, but not
really popular science
|
Human science |
| Mary Mycio |
Wormwood Forest |
An engrossing personal experience of the
contaminated zone from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, revealing the amazing
spread of wildlife since the accident
|
Biology |
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