| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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.) |
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 |
| 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 |
| Paul Ormerod |
Why Most Things Fail |
Fascinating assessment of the flaws in
economics, based on parallels in biology, though limited in conclusions
|
Maths |
| Jennifer Ouellette |
Black Bodies &
Quantum Cats |
Extremely readable collection of articles on
physics. Great fun, but sadly too many errors.
|
Physics |
| 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 |
| 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 |
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 |
| Tony Peake |
Is There Life After Death? |
Interesting attempt to use scientific theory
to pose a mechanism for life outside our normal experience.
|
Overview |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Stephen Pumfrey |
Latitude: The Magnetic Earth |
Good consideration of the impact of the
little-known Elizabethan, William Gilbert
|
Physics, earth
science |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
|
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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
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