|
2011 REVIEWS |
|
Brain Bugs |
Dean Buonomano |
Excellent look at the human brain's foibles
and glitches, where it simply gets things wrong and where it's programmed
for a prehistoric world.  |
Human Science |
|
Build Your Own Time Machine [How to Build a
Time Machine] |
Brian Clegg |
A tantalising exploration of the physics of
time travel and the different possibilities for making it happen, including
the everyday time travel that special relativity already brings. |
Physics |
|
The Disappearing Spoon |
Sam Kean |
Instead of plodding through the periodic table
this delightful book on elements has random but highly entertaining
excursions into the people and events that are associated with the elements.
|
Chemistry |
|
Discoverers of the Universe |
Michael Hoskin |
Excellent biography of William Herschel and
his sister Caroline with just the right balance of their lives and their
remarkable scientific achievements. |
Astronomy,
biography |
|
The Edge of Physics |
Anil Ananthaswamy |
Great science-as-travel-writing, visiting the
places where some of today's most exciting science is under way. |
Cosmology, physics |
|
From Eternity to Here |
Sean Carroll |
The book A Brief History of Time should have
been - really does explore time and the significance of entropy to
cosmology. Excellent book. |
Physics, cosmology |
|
The God Species |
Mark Lynas |
In a fascinating book, Lynas examines the
'boundaries' where humans need to set limits to avoid ecological disasters,
from climate change to toxic chemicals. |
Earth sciences |
|
The Hidden Reality |
Brian Greene |
Nine different options of parallel universes
explored with Greene's usual elan and plenty of background science. |
Physics, cosmology |
|
Incognito |
David Eagleman |
Hugely readable exploration of the way our
brains handle sensory input and make decisions, showing how (relatively)
little influence the conscious mind has.
|
Human science |
|
Inflight Science |
Brian Clegg |
A celebration of the wonder of powered flight
that covers the science of flying but is mostly about the science observed
through the aircraft window. |
Overview |
|
Spider Silk |
Leslie Brunetta & Catherine L. Craig |
The origins and nature of spiders, everything
you want to know about silk and webs and more in this study of the life and
loves of the arachnids. |
Biology |
|
2010 REVIEWS |
|
1089 and all that |
David Acheson |
Very entertaining and occasionally surreal
take on maths, making the subject ridiculously appealing in a pocket-sized
volume
|
Maths |
|
Boffinology |
Justin Pollard |
Fun set of stories behind scientific discoveries and the scientists who made
them. Very readable, often surprising and entertaining.
|
Overview |
|
The Canon |
Natalie Angier |
The basics of all science in an accessible and
surprisingly full little book. |
Overview |
|
The Climate Files |
Fred Pearce |
Excellent analysis of the 'climategate' leaked
emails, doubts about climate science, climate sceptics and the reality of
global warming. |
Earth science |
|
Dazzled and Deceived |
Peter Forbes |
Excellent book on the fascinating topic of
mimicry and camouflage, covering both the natural world and military
attempts. Great insights into evolutionary mechanisms. |
Biology,
technology |
|
Economyths |
David Orrell |
Stunning dissection of economics that shows
how it's based on totally inappropriate misapplication of scientific tools
without understand the scientific method. Masterly..
|
Maths |
|
A Grand and Bold Thing |
Ann Finkbeiner |
Wonderfully told story of the effort to
produce the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and how it has transformed astronomy.
Excellent popular science writing.
|
Astronomy |
|
The Lives of Ants |
Laurent Keller &
Elisabeth Gordon |
Well written and endlessly fascination
exploration of the lives of ants in all their strange and wonderful ways.
|
Biology |
|
Microcosm |
Carl Zimmer |
Fascinating study of the bacterium E. coli
with plenty of lessons for the understanding of life as a whole, and our
attitude to human genetic material.
|
Biology |
|
Neutrino |
Frank Close |
Small but totally fascinating book on the hunt
for this most elusive of quantum particles. Superb insight into the way real
science works.
|
Physics |
|
Physics of the Impossible |
Michio Kaku |
Remarkable span of ideas, pulling together
everything from robots and phasers to time travel and teleportation. Looks
at why they are currently impossible and how they make become possible in
the future. |
Physics |
|
Through the Language Glass |
Guy Deutscher |
Absolutely cracking book on linguistics and
whether it can reveal anything about human perception. A great read.
|
Human science |
|
2009 Reviews |
|
13 Things that don't make sense |
Michael Brooks |
A fun and informative read on 13 anomalies of
science that surprises and delights in equal measures.
|
Overview |
|
Atomic: the first war of physics |
Jim Baggott |
Riveting and detailed history of the
development of nuclear weapons in Germany, the UK, the US and Russia.
Fascinating in its depth and the lost possibilities for alternatives to
nuclear proliferation. |
Overview |
|
Before the Big Bang |
Brian Clegg |
The latest ideas on how the universe began,
the limitations of the Big Bang theory and more in excellent popular history
of how humans understand the universe. |
Cosmology |
|
Decoding the Heavens |
Jo Marchant |
The twists and turns of the story of a
remarkable 2,000 year old mechanical computer and how it was decoded. |
Technology |
|
Ecologic |
Brian Clegg |
Moves green issues away from knee-jerk
emotional responses and bogeymen to uncover greenwash and establish what
really is effective for the environment. |
Earth science |
|
Heatstroke |
Anthony Barnosky |
Excellent exploration of the impact of climate
change on species, and how the present global warming could devastate
nature. |
Earth science,
biology |
|
Science: a four thousand year history |
Patricia Fara |
Magnificent and very readable account of all of science, putting it into its
social and political context.
|
Overview |
|
We need to talk about Kelvin |
Marcus Chown |
Uses everyday observations to plunge into
quantum theory, thermodynamics and cosmology. Great fun and very readable. |
Physics, cosmology |
|
2008 REVIEWS |
|
Bad Science |
Ben Goldacre |
Funny and devastatingly accurate exposure of
the way bad science is used to sell products and fool the press.
|
Overview |
|
Before the
Fall-out: From Marie Curie to Hiroshima |
Diana Preston |
Moving and human account of the discoveries
that would lead to the nuclear bomb, and of those involved in its first use.
|
Physics |
|
The Buzz about Bees |
Jürgen Tautz |
A delightful surprise when what appears to be
a textbook proves to be a fascinating, beautifully illustrated exploration
of these remarkable superorganisms.
|
Biology |
|
Cosmic Imagery: key images in the history of
science |
John D. Barrow |
Barrow often tries to pull together art and
science and here succeeds well in an exploration of archetypes of scientific
imagery. |
Overview |
|
Dry Store Room No. 1: the secret life of the
Natural History Museum |
Richard Fortey |
A passionate tour of this British institution,
taking in the exhibits and the people who work there and reflecting on the
changes that are under way. |
Biology |
|
Einstein: His Life and Universe |
Walter Isaacson |
Perhaps the best of the Einstein biographies -
really seeks to get the man behind the legend, and does well at explaining
the physics. |
Biography |
|
Giant Leaps |
John Perry & Jack
Challoner |
Light and surprisingly good collaboration
between the Science Museum and the tabloid newspaper, The Sun, covering our
greatest scientific advances.
|
Overview |
|
Physics for Future Presidents |
Richard A. Muller |
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 |
|
Polio: An American Story |
David M. Oshinsky |
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 |
|
Trick or Treatment |
Simon Singh &
Edzard Ernst |
Superb analysis of alternative medicine,
showing how early trials were unscientific and new data proves most to be no
different from a placebo. Very readable - excellent. |
Human science |
|
The Trouble with Physics |
Lee Smolin |
Absorbing exploration of the problems with
string theory and how it has become an ineffective panacea.
|
Physics |
|
2007 REVIEWS |
|
10 Questions Science Can't Answer (Yet) |
Michael Hanlon |
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 |
|
After Dolly |
Ian Wilmut & Roger Highfield |
Excellent combination of a history of the
development of the first animal clone, Dolly the sheep, with an exploration
of the ethics and practicality of cloning by one of the team behind Dolly's
birth. |
Biology |
|
The Chilling Stars |
Nigel Calder &
Herik Svensmark |
Controversial but fascinating theory that much
of the Earth's climate change through history has been caused by the impact
of cosmic rays. |
Cosmology, Earth
Science |
|
Digging up the Dead |
Druin Burch |
Riveting, if occasionally stomach churning
biography of the top surgeon from around 1800, Astley Cooper. Highly
recommended. |
Human Science |
|
The Equation that Couldn't be Solved |
Mario Livio |
Brilliant popular maths coverage of group
theory and symmetry, throwing in a quick history of algebra. Highly
approachable with excellent historical context.
|
Mathematics |
|
The Long Tomorrow |
Michael R. Rose |
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 |
|
Max Perutz and the Secret of Life |
Georgina Ferry |
A delightful surprise to find out about this
pioneering molecular biologist, supported by excellent writing. |
Biology, Biography |
|
The Tiger that Isn't |
Michael Blastland
& Andrew Dilnot |
Brilliant excursion into the way we misuse and
misunderstand numbers and statistics, and how to see around it. |
Maths |
|
The Time Traveller |
Ronald Mallett & Bruce Henderson |
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 |
|
2006 REVIEWS |
|
Being Me |
Pete Moore |
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 |
|
Broken Genius |
Joel Shurkin |
Exceedingly well-told biography of William
Shockley, physics Nobel prize winner and founder of Silicon Valley whose
reputation was ruined by his social theories.
|
Biography |
|
Children of the Sun |
Alfred W. Crosby |
A sweeping and inspiring trip through
humanity's relationship with energy, from simple agriculture to nuclear
power. Style not to everyone's taste, but magnificent. |
Overview |
|
The Egypt Code |
Robert Bauval |
Don't be put off by the new-agey title: this
is a real thriller of an exploration of the relationship between Ancient
Egyptian buildings and stellar observation. |
Archaeology,
astronomy |
|
Francis Crick |
Matt Ridley |
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 |
|
Genesis |
Robert M. Hazen |
Wonderfully personal exploration of the
possible origin of life from both experiment and field work, with engaging
description of how experimental science works |
Biology |
|
The God Effect |
Brian Clegg |
Remarkable exploration of quantum
entanglement, a bizarre effect that has amazing applications. Excellent
explanation of the science |
Physics |
|
Just Six Numbers |
Martin Rees |
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 |
|
The Long Tail |
Chris Anderson |
A simple, brilliant idea - the Internet can
transform retail by offering almost unlimited choice, exploring the tail of
the sales distribution |
Technology |
|
A Mind of Its Own |
Cordelia Fine |
A short and wonderfully readable introduction
to the many ways our brains deceive us, illustrated throughout by
psychological experiments
|
Human science |
|
No Two Alike |
Judith Rich Harris |
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 |
|
Quantum Theory Cannot Hurt You [The Quantum Zoo] |
Marcus Chown |
The best introduction to quantum physics and
relativity we've seen with some superb examples and great explanation |
Physics |
|
2005 REVIEWS |
|
Ancient Americans [1491] |
Charles C. Mann |
Superb revelation of the remarkable
prehistoric cultures of the Americas - full of surprises and eminently
readable |
Human science |
|
A Devil's Chaplain |
Richard Dawkins |
Collection of essays from our foremost
spokesperson for neo-Darwinian thinking. Superb and challenging (in a
positive sense). |
Overview |
|
E=mc2 |
David Bodanis |
Great historical storytelling, if a little
sketchy on the science in this biography of an equation, reviewed on
E=mc2's
100th birthday |
Physics |
|
The Eternal Child |
Clive Bromhall |
Stunningly effective theory of how the human
ape became more like an infant to survive in large groups, and its impact on
our bodies and behaviours
|
Human science |
|
The Gecko's Foot |
Peter Forbes |
Wonderful examples of the potential for nature to inspire
remarkable new technology, particularly at the nano level.
Highly recommended |
Biology,
technology |
|
The Knife Man |
Wendy Moore |
Unexpectedly impressive life of John Hunter,
surgeon, dissector and inspiration for Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde |
Human Science |
|
The Little Book of Scientific Principles,
Theories and Things |
Surendra Verma |
A delightful collection of 175 vignettes,
illuminating scientific theories and the people who devised them. Highly
recommended |
Overview |
|
The Long Summer |
Brian Fagan |
Well-written and engrossing study of the way
the climate changes between 18,000BC and the present time have influenced
human civilization |
Human Science |
|
Mathematics with Love |
Mary Stopes-Roe |
Delightful correspondence and maths lessons
between Barnes Wallis, inventor of the bouncing bomb and his sweetheart |
Maths, technology |
|
The Oxford Dictionary of Scientific Quotations |
W. F. Bynum and
Roy Porter |
Absolutely brilliant collection of quotations
from scientists and about science. An absolutely must-have reference.
|
Overview |
|
Q&A: Cosmic Conundrums and Everyday Mysteries
of Science |
Robert Matthews |
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 |
|
Signor Marconi's Magic Box |
Gavin Weightman |
Gripping story of the young Marconi's race
against time to be the first to achieve long distance radio communication.
Excellent stuff |
Technology |
|
Space Race |
Deborah Cadbury |
Engaging and sometimes horrifying story of the
origins and realities of the race to space and the moon from both sides of
the iron curtain |
Technology |
|
Strange Angel |
George Pendle |
The totally bizarre and fascinating story of
the life and horrible death of rocket science and occult enthusiast John
Whiteside Parsons |
Biography |
|
2004 AND
OLDER REVIEWS - CLASSICS! |
|
Big Bang |
Simon Singh |
The answer to the ultimate question of the
universe - where did it come from? - beautifully put in context
|
Cosmology |
| A Brief History of Infinity |
Brian Clegg |
The people and paradoxes in
the quest to think the unthinkable
|
Maths |
| A Brief History of Time |
Stephen Hawking |
The one that started it all
- and much more readable than you might think |
Cosmology, physics |
| Chaos |
James Gleick |
The remarkable development
of chaos theory |
Maths |
| The Collapse of Chaos |
Jack Cohen and Ian Stewart |
Combines chaos theory and
complexity theory to boggle the mind |
Maths |
|
Constant Touch |
John Agar |
Superb history of the mobile phone -
technology, sociology, politics, the works!
|
Technology |
|
Cosmos |
Carl Sagan |
The book of the classic TV series on the
universe from one of the best US science popularizers.
|
Astronomy |
| The Demon Haunted World |
Carl Sagan |
An eloquent plea for reason
and the scientific method instead of wide-eyed acceptance |
Sceptics, overview |
|
The Double Helix |
James D. Watson |
Forget the tendency to disregard this book
because it's not politically correct - it's a wonderful personal account of
the discovery of the structure of DNA
|
Biology, physics |
|
Einstein's Refrigerator
[A Matter of Degrees] |
Gino Segre |
Excellent exploration of temperature, heat and cold,
taking in a trip through much of science |
Physics,
overview |
|
Eureka! The Birth of Science |
Andrew Gregory |
Although it's arguable the ancient Greeks
didn't do science, they certainly laid the foundations: this book is
essential reading |
Overview |
|
The Fabric of the Cosmos |
Brian Greene |
Great exploration of the nature of space, time
and matter, starting with relativity and quantum theory and reaching out to
the universe |
Physics, cosmology |
| Fermat's Last Theorem |
Simon Singh |
The history and the final
solution of this knotty mathematical problem |
Maths |
|
The Fly in the Cathedral |
Brian Cathcart |
Brilliant story of the race to crack open the
atomic nucleus: a must! |
Physics |
|
Genome |
Matt Ridley |
Already classic exploration of human genetics
via 23 genes - excellent |
Human science |
| How the Mind Works |
Steven Pinker |
Exploration of thought and
the mechanisms behind it |
Psychology, human science |
|
In
the Beginning was the Worm |
Andrew Brown |
Delightful introduction to the first creature
to have its genome sequenced - and the scientists who did it
|
Biology |
|
Introducing
Time |
Craig
Callender & Ralph Edney |
Occasionally bizarre but very effective pocket
illustrated tour of the concept of time, giving more than many longer books.
|
Physics |
|
A Matter of Degrees
[Einstein's Refrigerator] |
Gino Segre |
Excellent exploration of temperature, heat and cold,
taking in a trip through much of science |
Physics,
overview |
|
Meta Math! The Quest for
Omega |
Gregory Chaitin |
Fascinating description of a
real modern mathematician's thinking, coupled with insights into the nature
of maths. |
Maths |
|
Mutants |
Armand Leroi |
Truly remarkable book that uses human mutation
to explain how we are all formed while avoiding the voyeurism of the freak
show |
Human science |
| The Selfish Gene |
Richard Dawkins |
Evolutionary biology from its foremost protagonist |
Biology |
| Surely you are Joking, Mr
Feynman |
Richard Feynman |
Wonderful anecdotes from
the great physicist |
Biography, physics |
| The Universe Next Door |
Marcus Chown |
Strange concepts at the
edge of scientific theories |
Overview, physics |
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