| Paul J. Nahin |
Time Travel: a writer's guide |
Useful if slightly dated guide to the science
of time travel for writers with lots of examples from science fiction.
 |
Physics |
| Paul J. Nahin |
When Least is Best |
Maths history of minima with not enough history and far too many equations.
 |
Maths |
| Andrew Nahum |
Frank Whittle: Invention of the Jet |
Unsatisfactory attempt to tell the story of the struggle to produce a
working jet engine |
Technology,
biography |
| Daniel Nettle |
Happiness |
The science of happiness - a fascinating
analysis of what happiness is and how we react to it
 |
Human science |
| Daniel Nettle |
Personality |
Using a series of quasi-Jungian personality
type measures, psychologist Daniel Nettle looks at how our personalities
differ and why we may have evolved this way.
|
Human science |
| Sue Nelson & Richard
Hollingham |
How to Clone the Perfect Blonde |
Eight fascinating applications of science,
beautifully explained, but let down a little by childish humour
|
Overview |
| Reviel Netz &
William Noel |
The Archimedes
Codex |
Fascinating combination of the story of the
uncovering of a hidden manuscript copy of Archimedes' books and an
explanation of what's special about the content.
|
Maths |
| Henry Nicholls |
Lonesome George |
The attempts to mate the sole known tortoise
from Pinta Island in the Galapagos is used to introduce the islands
themselves, and a touch of Darwin
|
Biology |
| Derrick Niederman |
Number Freak |
Goes through every number from 1 to 200 trying
to find interesting things to say about it. A bit like counting sheep.
|
Maths |
| Dennis Noble |
The Music of Life |
An attempt to put right the misunderstanding
generated by the selfish gene metaphor, let down by a confusing musical
alternative
|
Biology |
| Martin Nowak &
Roger Highfield |
Super Cooperators |
Interesting extension to evolution, adding
cooperation to mutation and selection as shaping 'forces' - not the best
written book, but some good points.
|
Biology |
| Chris Nunn |
De La Mettrie's Ghost - The Story of Decisions |
Enjoyably written but patchy exploration of
the scientific basis for free will and how we choose to act
|
Psychology, human
science |
| Hans C. Ohanian |
Einstein's Mistakes |
Brilliantly different exposition of Einstein's
work, only slightly let down by smugness and at least one error.
|
Physics |
| Kieron O'Hara |
Trust: from Socrates to spin |
Trust dissected in a book explores the
psychology and sociology of this key to scientific advance
|
Biology |
| Mick O'Hare (Ed.) |
How to Fossilise Your Hamster |
Building on their Q&A books, now an
experiments book from the New Scientist's reliable Last Word column. |
Overview |
| Mick O'Hare (Ed.) |
Why are Orangutans Orange? |
The latest in New Scientist's reliable Last
Word column originated books gets extra oomph by being based on reader's
photos of odd things they've seen.. |
Overview |
| Mick O'Hare (Ed.) |
Why Can't Elephants Jump? |
Weird science question and answer book from
the New Scientist's Last Word column. The format is getting a bit stale now. |
Overview |
| Mick O'Hare (Ed.) |
Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze |
One of the better "weird science question and
answer" books from the New Scientist's reliable Last Word column. |
Overview |
|
Randy Olson |
Don't be Such a Scientist |
Excellent book on how
scientists can communicate better and learn from the movies, but not really
for a general audience.
|
Overview |
| Paul Ormerod |
Why Most Things Fail |
Fascinating assessment of the flaws in
economics, based on parallels in biology, though limited in conclusions
|
Maths |
| David Orrell |
Economyths |
Stunning dissection of economics that shows
how it's based on totally inappropriate misapplication of scientific tools
without understand the scientific method. Masterly..
 |
Maths |
| David M. Oshinsky |
Polio: An American Story |
A masterful job of bringing to life the
struggles to develop a vaccine against polio. Not as US-centric as the title
suggests. |
Human Science |
| Jennifer Ouellette |
Black Bodies &
Quantum Cats |
Extremely readable collection of articles on
physics. Great fun, but sadly too many errors.
|
Physics |
| Jennifer Ouellette |
The Calculus
Diaries |
Interesting idea to take a personal tour of
the applications of calculus. But the bits the worked best were about
probability and the calculus was often a trifle dull.
|
Maths |
| Ra Page (Ed.) |
Litmus |
A collection of short stories, each
illustrating a key moment in science, each with an explanatory essay. Worthy
idea, but not great.
|
Overview |
| Stephanie Pain
(Ed.) |
Farmer Buckley's
Exploding Trousers |
An informative collection of short of
histories of strange, unexpected and unlikely developments in the history of
science and technology. |
Technology |
| Douglas Palmer |
Earth: in 100
groundbreaking discoveries |
Despite the format, some interesting writing
shines through and excellent photos make this an interesting exploration of
the Earth's development |
Earth science |
| Douglas Palmer |
Seven Million
Years |
This exploration of the whole sweep of human
evolution only truly comes alive when covering the life and work of Louis
Leakey |
Human science |
| Richard Panek |
The 4% Universe |
A useful and detailed history of the discovery
of the existence of dark matter and dark energy, which make up 96% of the
universe. |
Cosmology |
| Vivienne Parry |
The Truth About
Hormones |
The truth about hormones, certainly, but sadly
it's a pretty dull read |
Human science |
| Andrew Parker |
Seven Deadly
Colours |
Superb description of nature's mechanisms for
producing colour and colour's impact on the eye, a little let down by poor
physics |
Biology |
| Paul Parsons (Ed.) |
30 Second
Theories |
An attempt to cover all of science in 50
snippets. A curate's egg of a book that leaves you wanting more.
|
Overview |
| Paul Parsons |
Science 1001 |
Lovely idea of covering all of science in 1001
readable short articles, and very well written. But it's hard to see how it
will be used.
|
Overview |
| Paul Parsons |
The Science of
Doctor Who |
The world's longest running SF TV show comes
under the "Science of" spotlight in an enjoyable and tantalising book
|
TV |
| Gregory S. Paul |
Dinosaurs: a field guide |
Detailed and technically excellent book on
dinosaurs and their skeletons, but hard to see quite who it is aimed at.
|
Biology |
| Tony Peake |
Is There Life After Death? |
Interesting attempt to use scientific theory
to pose a mechanism for life outside our normal experience.
|
Overview |
| Fred Pearce |
The Climate Files |
Excellent analysis of the 'climategate' leaked
emails, doubts about climate science, climate sceptics and the reality of
global warming. |
Earth science |
| F. David Peat |
Einstein's Moon |
Good simple explanation of quantum theory
coupled with rather fuzzy exploration of what reality is
|
Physics |
| George Pendle |
Strange Angel |
The totally bizarre and fascinating story of
the life and horrible death of rocket science and occult enthusiast John
Whiteside Parsons |
Biography |
| Roger Penrose |
The Road to Reality |
Remarkable tour-de-force exploration of
physics and its mathematical basis, but almost totally incomprehensible!
|
Physics, maths |
| John Perry & Jack
Challoner |
Giant Leaps |
Light and surprisingly good collaboration
between the Science Museum and the tabloid newspaper, The Sun, covering our
greatest scientific advances.
|
Overview |
| Peter Pesic |
Sky in a Bottle |
Shows how the apparently simple question "why
is the sky blue?" has challenged thinkers over the years, and follows their
ideas and experiments (with some to try)
|
Physics |
| Andrew J. Petto &
Laurie R. Godfrey |
Scientists Confront Intelligent Design and
Creationism |
Despite being a collection of academic essays,
this is surprisingly readable explanation of what creationism and
intelligent design are, and why they mistakenly take on evolution.
|
Biology |
|
CLIFFORD PICKOVER |
Biography |
|
|
| Clifford Pickover |
The Zen of Magic Squares, Circles & Stars |
You'll either love or be bored to tears by
this exploration of all that is magical squares - it's mathematical marmite
|
Maths |
| Patricia Pierce |
Jurassic Mary |
Detailed insight into the life of Mary Anning,
one of the great Victorian fossil hunters whose name is largely hidden
because she was a working class woman
|
Biography |
| Alexis Mari Pietak |
Life as Energy |
Interesting idea of paralleling the way
physics has models working at both quantum and macro levels in biology, but
ruined by New Age feel.
|
Biology |
| Orrin H. Pilkey &
Rob Young |
The Rising Sea |
Impressive and telling description of how sea
level can be expected to rise and what it's impact will be on humans,
wildlife and land masses.
|
Earth science |
| Stephen Pincock |
The Intelligence Equation |
100 short pieces on things that might increase
or decrease your brainpower.
|
Human science |
| Steven Pinker |
How the Mind Works |
Exploration of thought and
the mechanisms behind it |
Psychology, human
science |
| Philip Plait |
Bad Astronomy |
Misapprehensions and the
even more fascinating facts in astronomy
|
Astronomy, sceptics |
| Martin Plimmer &
Brian King |
Beyond Coincidence |
Great opportunity to explain apparently spooky coincidences that gives way
to amazement
|
Maths, sceptics |
| John Polkinghorne
(Ed.) |
Meaning in Mathematics |
Good idea of having a collection of essays on
the philosophy of mathematics, but some are more approachable than others.
|
Maths |
| Henry Pollack |
A World without Ice |
Powerful message about the dangers of losing more and more ice as global
warming continues, with an assessment of its impact on the environment.
|
Earth science |
| Justin Pollard |
Boffinology |
Fun set of stories behind scientific discoveries and the scientists who made
them. Very readable, often surprising and entertaining.
|
Overview |
| William Poundstone |
Prisoner's Dilemma |
Interesting biography of John von Neumann plus
introduction to game theory and its cold war significance
|
Maths |
| Terry Pratchett,
Ian Stewart & Jack Cohen |
Science of
Discworld |
Clever mix of Pratchett's fantasy and science
covering the "construction" of the earth. Not the best in the series, but
good |
Overview |
| Terry Pratchett,
Ian Stewart & Jack Cohen |
Science of
Discworld II |
Clever idea, mixing Pratchett's fantasy and
science, but this instalment on the mind is by far the worst
|
Human Science |
| Terry Pratchett,
Ian Stewart & Jack Cohen |
Science of
Discworld III: Darwin's Watch |
The highly entertaining and original combo of
Discworld fantasy and scientific precision is aimed at evolution. A few
quibbles but great |
Biology |
|
Diana Preston |
Before the Fall-out: From Marie Curie to
Hiroshima |
Moving and human account of the discoveries
that would lead to the nuclear bomb, and of those involved in its first use.
|
Physics |
|
Joel Primack & Nancy Ellen Abrams |
The View from the Centre of the Universe |
Superbly brilliant idea of the need for a new
cosmological myth to ground us in the universe, only slightly let down by
so-so writing
|
Cosmology |
|
David Prothero |
Catastrophes! |
Really takes the reader into the experience of
living through natural disasters with personal accounts, plus good
exploration of the science behind them.
|
Earth science |
| Stephen Pumfrey |
Latitude: The Magnetic Earth |
Good consideration of the impact of the
little-known Elizabethan, William Gilbert
|
Physics, earth
science |
| David Quamman |
Natural Acts |
Collection of beautifully crafted short pieces
on science and nature, especially good on unexpected animal topics. |
Biology, overview |
| Alistair I. M. Rae |
Quantum Physics: A Beginner's Guide |
Worthy if dull introduction that is
reminiscent of a university lecture. Strangely omits some key aspects of
quantum physics. |
Physics |
| V. S. Ramachandran
& Sandra Blakeslee |
Phantoms in the Brain |
The workings of the brain cleverly explored
through mental problems and the effects of brain damage
|
Human science |
| Jenny Randles |
Breaking the Time Barrier |
Intriguing ride on the mind storms of
inventors who think they've built time machines, and the real physics that
hints at time travel, but more like TV popsci than popular science
|
Physics |
| Dave Reay |
Climate Change Begins at Home |
Why climate change is a problem and what we as
individuals can do about it, without jargon or being preachy
|
Earth science,
technology |
| Gregory L. Reece |
Weird Science and Bizarre Beliefs |
Should be a great book about strange
scientific ideas and related science fiction, but in fact is dull and
rambling.
|
Overview |
| Martin Rees |
Just Six Numbers |
In an elegant and enjoyable book that should
be just as famous as A Brief History of Time, Martin Rees explores how six
fundamental constants have shaped the universe |
Cosmology |
| Martin Rees |
Our Cosmic Habitat |
A clear and well-written
guide to the universe from the Astronomer Royal
|
Cosmology, astronomy |
| Eugenie Samuel
Reich |
Plastic Fantastic |
The gripping story of the biggest known fraud
in physics, but could have been told better.
|
Physics |
| Jacqueline
Reynolds & Charles Tanford |
Nature's Robots:
A History of Proteins |
Accessible history of science textbook on
proteins and their discovery, but not really popular science
|
Biology |
| Jeffrey T.
Richelson |
Defusing
Armageddon |
Very dull story of NEST, the organization that
deals with nuclear incidents.
|
Technology |
|
MATT RIDLEY |
Biography |
|
|
| Matt Ridley |
Francis Crick |
A very readable and insightful biography of
one of the key figures in the discovery of the structure of DNA - much more
than retelling a well-known story
|
Biography |
| Matt Ridley |
Genome |
Already classic exploration of human genetics
via 23 genes - excellent |
Human science |
| Matt Ridley |
Nature via Nurture |
A superbly balanced picture of the ages-old
debate between nature and nurture, and the latest thinking to emerge from
genetic science |
Human science |
| Matt Ridley |
The Rational Optimist |
Not really science, more a political polemic,
but a wonderful exploration of why things are better than they used to be
thanks to trade and the interaction of ideas - a great counter to doom
mongers. |
Human science |
| Gary Rimmer |
Number Freaking [How to Make a Camel Smoothie] |
Entertaining book of strange statistics. The
format (guess the answer from three) gets a little tedious
|
Maths |
| Mary Roach |
Packing for Mars |
Not a lot of science and technology but a
fascinating and often hilarious at what the experience of space travel is
like for real astronauts.
|
Technology |
| Andrew Robinson |
Genius - a very short introduction |
A pocket 'very short introduction' book on
the nature of genius - frustrating because it's such a subjective concept.
|
Human science |
| Andrew Robinson |
The Last Man Who Knew Everything |
The first modern biography of the polymath
Thomas Young whose strong contributions to physics, engineering and more
make him a fascinating if enigmatic character.
|
Biography |
| Richard Robinson |
Why the Toast Always Falls Butter Side Down |
Subtitled The Science of Murphy's Law,
a witty and light exploration of how our brains fool us to make everything
seem to go wrong |
Human science |
| Lucy Rogers |
It's ONLY Rocket Science |
Fact-packed survey of space technology and
science, but no narrative, so rather a dull read.
|
Technology |
| Simon Rogers (ed.) |
How Slow Can You Waterski? |
... and other puzzling questions. Yes, it's
another collection of mini-science articles, but this is one of the better
ones, culled from the Guardian |
Overview |
| Mark Ronan |
Symmetry and the Monster |
Fascinating and rarely touched on mathematical
subject of group theory and symmetry, but could have been told better
|
Mathematics |
| Michael R. Rose |
The Long Tomorrow |
Excellent description by evolutionary
biologist Michael Rose of his work on aging in fruit flies, put into the
context of his life and the possibilities for understanding human aging.
|
Biology |
| Steven Rose |
The 21st Century Brain |
Rose gives us a detailed and powerful study of
our brains and where they came from - it's just not awfully readable
|
Human science |
| Nick Rosen |
How to Live Off-grid |
Only scores 3 stars because it's not popular
science but a good combination of a travel book around off-grid homes and
advice to those who want to unplug.
|
Technology |
| William Rosen |
The Most Powerful Idea in the World |
Engaging and detailed history of the people,
technology and particularly the ideas (and the nature of invention) that
made the industrial revolution happen.
|
Technology |
| Bruce Rosenblum &
Fred Kuttner |
Quantum Enigma |
Not so much physics as metaphysics in this
exploration of the interpretations of quantum theory and their implications
(if any) for consciousness. Good if you're interested in quantum
interpretations.
|
Physics |
| Lawrence Rosenblum |
See What I'm Saying |
Exploration of the way our different senses
can supplement and supplant each other combining fascinating stories with
enlightening exercises.
|
Human science |
| David A. Rothery |
Planets - a very short introduction |
Despite the limitations of the compact pocket
format, this proves a surprisingly readable and informative summary of the
planets and their moons.
|
Astronomy |
| Frank Ryan |
Metamorphosis |
Fascinating theory of the origins of animals
with a very different larval form (think caterpillar and butterfly) with
lots of detail on the nature of metamorphosis.
|
Biology |
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