|
Schrödinger's Kittens |
John Gribbin |
Sequel to In Search of
Schrodinger's Cat. Some interesting material on further development of
quantum theory |
Physics |
|
Schrödinger's Rabbits |
Colin Bruce |
Introduction to quantum theory
concentrating more on the interpretation than the theory itself. Rather
confusingly written.
|
Physics |
|
Science, A History |
John Gribbin |
Everything from the
Renaissance to the present - lots there, but a dipping book |
Overview |
|
Science of
Discworld |
Terry Pratchett,
Ian Stewart & Jack Cohen |
Clever mix of Pratchett's
fantasy and science covering the "construction" of the earth. Not the best
in the series, but good
|
Overview |
|
Science of
Discworld
II |
Terry Pratchett,
Ian Stewart & Jack Cohen |
Clever
idea, mixing Pratchett's fantasy and science, but this instalment on the
mind is by far the worst
 |
Human Science |
|
Science of
Discworld III: Darwin's Watch |
Terry Pratchett,
Ian Stewart & Jack Cohen |
The highly entertaining and original combo of
Discworld fantasy and scientific precision is aimed at evolution. A few
quibbles but great
 |
Biology |
|
The Science of Doctor Who |
Paul Parsons |
The world's longest running SF
TV show comes under the "Science of" spotlight in an enjoyable and
tantalising book |
TV |
|
The Science of the
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy |
Michael Hanlon |
The wacky world of Douglas
Adams opened up to the scientific spotlight. Sometimes too brisk, but
otherwise good
|
Overview |
|
The Science of Middle
Earth |
Henry Gee |
Surprisingly effective study
of Tolkein's attitude to science and its appearance on his writings
|
Overview |
|
Scientific Curiosity |
Cyril Aydon |
A jumble of short pieces on
people in the history of science and scientific topics. Weak on modern
physics but otherwise reasonable
|
Overview |
|
The Scientists |
See
Science, A History |
|
|
|
Scientists Confront
Intelligent Design and Creationism |
Andrew J. Petto & Laurie R. Godfrey |
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 |
|
Scurvy |
Stephen R. Bown |
Gripping story of the slow
discovery of the cure for scurvy that brings alive the atmosphere of life on
sailing ships
|
Human science |
|
The Second Mouse Gets the
Cheese |
Colin Spedding |
Very slim book on proverbs,
based on the author's use of them in science lectures. A real oddity.
|
Overview |
|
The Secret Life of
Numbers |
George C. Szpiro |
Collection of articles on
interesting maths topics let down by lack-lustre writing
|
Maths |
|
Seen | Unseen |
Martin Kemp |
A thick, glossy attempt to
find parallels in the way scientists and artists perceive the world - not
entirely successful.
|
Overview |
| The Selfish Gene |
Richard Dawkins |
Evolutionary biology from its foremost protagonist |
Biology |
|
Seven Deadly Colours |
Andrew Parker |
Superb description of nature's
mechanisms for producing colour and colour's impact on the eye, a little let
down by poor physics
|
Biology |
|
Seven Million Years |
Douglas Palmer |
This exploration of the whole
sweep of human evolution only truly comes alive when covering the life and
work of Louis Leakey |
Human science |
| Sex, Botany and Empire |
Patricia Fara |
Joseph Banks (and Linnaeus)
and his contribution to biological classification
|
Biography, biology |
|
Sex, Drugs & DNA |
Michael Stebbins |
Powerful indictment of the
failings of the US political system on scientific and medical issues,
written in a highly approachable style
|
Overview |
|
The Shadow Club |
Roberto Casati |
Very promising book about
shadow that simply can't deliver, because there's not much to tell
|
Physics |
| A Short History of Nearly
Everything |
Bill Bryson |
Triumphant charge through
all of science |
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 |
|
The Silicon Eye |
George Gilder |
Meet some unknown but
essential characters of the silicon revolution and join their journey,
attempting to take a whole new approach to digital cameras.
|
Technology |
|
The Singing Neanderthals |
Steven Mithen |
Interesting study of the
origins of music, that gets a little lost along the way
|
Human science |
|
The Single Helix |
Steve Jones |
One hundred light and enjoyable newspaper
columns, collected to give an excellent dip into pretty well every area of
science. |
Overview |
|
The Singularity is Near |
Ray Kurzweil |
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 |
| Six Easy Pieces |
Richard Feynman |
The essentials of physics
in a chatty textbook that just scrapes into pop-sci
|
Physics |
|
The Skeptic's Dictionary |
Robert Todd
Carroll |
Overview of the many strange beliefs people
out there hold. Format makes it less readable than some, but still good
|
Sceptics |
|
Sky in a Bottle |
Peter Pesic |
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 |
|
Sleepfaring: A journey
through the science of sleep |
Jim Horne |
Wonderfully readable tour of
the science of sleep. Sags just a little in the middle, but overall
excellent
|
Biology |
|
Small World: Uncovering
Nature's Hidden Networks |
Mark Buchanan |
Fascinating concept leading to
the 'six degrees of separation' idea, but ultimately unsatisfying.
|
Maths |
|
Social Intelligence |
Daniel Goleman |
Fat follow-up to Emotional
Intelligence with some interesting scientific input, but very selective and
there's little depth to the interpretation. Disappointing.
|
Human science |
|
Soft Machines |
Richard A. L, Jones |
Interesting book on one aspect
of nanotechnology (nano machines), but more of a good textbook than popsci
|
Technology, biology |
|
Space on Earth |
Charles Cockell |
Uncomfortable mix of space
exploration and environmentalism that tell you more about the author's
interests than anything else.
|
Overview |
|
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 |
|
The State of the Universe |
Pedro G. Ferreira |
Attempts to be a primer on
modern cosmology - has all the right content, but just not readable enough. |
Cosmology |
|
Status Syndrome |
Michael Marmot |
Brilliant research on the way
social standing affects health and life expectancy, but so-so book
|
Human science |
|
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 |
|
The Strange Case of the
Broad Street Pump [The Medical Detective] |
Sandra Hempel |
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 |
|
The Sun Kings |
Stuart Clark |
Well-written and enjoyable
history of discoveries about the Sun and its influence on the Earth from
renaissance times.
|
Astronomy |
|
The Surgeons |
Charles Morris |
By turns gory and over-awed, but still a
dramatic account of the author's stint with New York heart surgeons.
|
Human Science |
| Surely you are Joking, Mr
Feynman |
Richard Feynman |
Wonderful anecdotes from
the great physicist |
Biography, physics |
|
Surviving Armageddon |
Bill McGuire |
Good, short book on the
possible disasters facing the earth and how we can overcome them
|
Earth science |
|
Symmetry and the Monster |
Mark Ronan |
Fascinating and rarely touched
on mathematical subject of group theory and symmetry, but could have been
told better |
Mathematics |
|
Sync: the emerging science
of spontaneous order |
Steven Strogatz |
A wonderful,
cross-disciplinary jaunt that mixes real life scientific experience with
exploration of synchronicity |
Overview |
|
Taking the Red Pill |
Glen Yeffeth (Ed.) |
Tasty collection of essays on
the science and philosophy of the movie The Matrix
|
TV/Movies |
|
The Talking Ape |
Robbins Burling |
Fascinating exploration of the
origins and nature of language. Approachable yet authoritative.
|
Human Science |
|
The Tao of Physics |
Fritjof Capra |
Classic book drawing parallels
between physics (particularly quantum physics) and Eastern religions, still
interesting despite blatant misuse by new-agers.
|
Physics |
|
A Teaspoon and an Open
Mind: The Science of Doctor Who |
Michael White |
Doctor Who seems the ideal
subject for a Science Of... book, but unfortunately the science is very
weakly linked to the TV show, rather missing the point
|
TV/Movies |
|
The Ten Most Beautiful
Experiments |
George Johnson |
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 |
|
Terrors of the Table |
Walter Gratzer |
History of nutrition with an
interesting start and great final chapters, but rather stodgy middle section
|
Human Science |
|
The Third Man of the Double Helix |
Maurice Wilkins |
Autobiography of the third DNA Nobel prize winner.
Not great writing, but fascinating insight, especially into the Frankin
affair
|
Biography, biology |
|
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 |
|
The Tipping Point |
Malcolm Gladwell |
Connectedness, how information
spreads virally and the stickiness of ideas transformed into a great little
book by excellent stories
|
Human Science |
|
Toxin |
Alistair Lax |
A readable combination of
history of the discovery of the role of bacteria and their toxins and the
science behind it
|
Biology |
|
The Transit of Venus |
Peter Adds et al |
Mixed collection of essays on
the eponymous transit, its significance to New Zealand, and New Zealand's
significance to science.
|
Astronomy |
|
The Triumph of Numbers |
I.
B. Cohen |
A genuinely interesting and
often surprising history of statistics that brings in unexpected characters
from King David and Dickens to Florence Nightingale.
|
Mathematics |
|
The Trouble with Physics |
Lee Smolin |
Absorbing exploration of the
problems with string theory and how it has become an ineffective panacea.
|
Physics |
|
The Truth About Hormones |
Vivienne Parry |
The truth about hormones,
certainly, but sadly it's a pretty dull read
|
Human science |
|
The Tunguska Fireball |
Surendra Verma |
Fascinating story of the
Siberian puzzle of 1908 told in an ultimately unsatisfactory fashion
|
Overview |
|
The Turk |
Tom Standage |
The amazing story of the
mechanical chess player built in 1770
|
Technology |
|
Trust: from Socrates to
spin |
Kieron O'Hara |
Trust dissected in a book
explores the psychology and sociology of this key to scientific advance
|
Human science, psychology |
|
Ultimate Robot |
Robert Malone |
Highly illustrated and fun
guide to robots as cultural icons - could do with more on the science though
|
Technology |
|
Uncentering the Earth |
William T. Vollmann |
A turgid, unreadable attempt
at telling what should be the interesting story of Copernicus's move of the
Earth away from the centre of the universe
|
Cosmology |
|
The Undercover Scientist |
Peter J. Bentley |
Attempt to link basic science
introduction by describing why various disasters happen to the second person
protagonist - a little wince-making.
|
Overview |
|
Unknown Quantity |
John Derbyshire |
Attempt at popular maths
history of algebra. The history part isn't too bad, but the maths part feels
too much like a textbook.
|
Maths |
|
Universe: a journey from
Earth to the Edge of the Cosmos |
Nicholas Cheetham |
Nice idea - photographic
record of a 'journey' from Earth to the edge of the universe, but the result
is a coffee table book.. |
Astronomy |
| The Universe in a Nutshell |
Stephen Hawking |
Workings of the universe,
well illustrated, for lay readers |
Cosmology, physics |
| The Universe Next Door |
Marcus Chown |
Strange concepts at the
edge of scientific theories |
Overview, physics |
|
Unweaving the Rainbow |
Richard Dawkins |
An
excellent attempt to counter the argument that science spoils the beauty of
nature, slightly tainted by attitude
|
Overview |
|
Vanity, Vitality &
Virility |
John Emsley |
Nice idea - the chemicals
behind these key aspects of humanity - but somehow just doesn't inspire.
|
Human science |
|
The Velocity of Honey |
Jay Ingram |
23 fun excursions into the science of the everyday from falling toast to
skipping stones
|
Overview |
|
Venomous Earth |
Andrew Meharg |
Interesting exploration of
arsenic's duel role as poison and medicine, fascinating on poisonous
wallpaper
|
Chemistry |
|
The Victorian Internet |
Tom Standage |
How the telegraph network changed the world,
crossed continents (and resulted in love between telegraphists).
|
Technology |
|
The View from the Centre of the Universe |
Nancy Ellen Abrams & Joel Primack |
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 |
|
Versatile Vaccines |
Parvinder Chawla |
Basic but accessible book on
vaccines with a little history and several chapters on the fight to produce
new vaccines for killers like HIV. |
Human science |
|
Viruses vs Superbugs |
Thomas Häusler |
An intriguing but frightening
look at one alternative to antibiotics - will phages save us as killer
bacteria become resistant?
|
Human sciences |
|
The Void |
Frank Close |
Flawed attempt to use the idea of the void to explore the science of matter
and light.
|
Physics |
|
Watching the English |
Kate Fox |
Excellent insights into the
English culture and how much English behaviour can be explained by social
dis-ease. |
Human science |
|
Watt's Perfect Engine |
Ben Marsden |
Interesting story of James
Watt, particularly focussing on steam engines - but not a lot of science
|
Technology |
|
Weighing the Soul |
Len Fisher |
Seven examples of challenges
to scientific beliefs, from the weight of the soul to the nature of
lightning, delightfully told
|
Overview |
|
What Do You Care
What Other People Think? |
Richard Feynman |
Feynman's follow up collection
of reminiscences, distinguished by amazing section on the Challenger enquiry
|
Biography |
| What does a
Martian Look Like? [Evolving the Alien] |
Jack Cohen & Ian Stewart |
Clever idea of exploring alien life
possibilities, partly driven by SF ideas, but suffers from smugness
|
Biology |
|
What Einstein didn't know
about Time |
Keith Ashworth |
A strange concoction combining
a vituperative attack on Einstein personally with an alternative theory to
replace relativity. |
Physics |
|
What is Time? |
G. J. Whitrow |
A good introduction to the
nature of time, but could have been even better if written for a modern
audience |
Physics |
| What Just Happened |
James Gleick |
Articles on the development
and future of the IT business |
Technology |
|
When Least is Best |
Paul J. Nahin |
Maths history of minima with not enough history and far too many equations.
|
Maths |
|
When We Were Kids |
John Brockman (Ed) |
27 "why I turned to science" essays that is so
much more interesting than it sounds. Really.
|
Biography |
|
Where Wizards Stay Up Late |
Katie Hafner &
Matthew Lyon |
Engaging history of the early days of what
would become the Internet |
Technology |
|
The Whole Story:
Alternative Medicine on Trial |
Toby Murcott |
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 |
|
Why Aren't They Here? |
Surendra Verma |
A description of different
theories of why we haven't been contacted by aliens (and of our attempts to
reach them). Some nice historical context, but a trifle dull.
|
Cosmology |
|
Why does a ball bounce? |
Adam Hart-Davis |
The UK's favourite TV boffin
explains 101 phenomena - much too short, but still great fun
|
Overview |
|
Why Do Men Have Nipples? |
Mark Leyner & Billy Goldberg |
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 |
|
Why Don't Penguins' Feet
Freeze |
Mick O'Hare (Ed.) |
One of the better "weird
science question and answer" books from the New Scientist's reliable Last
Word column. |
Overview |
|
Why Most Things Fail |
Paul Ormerod |
Fascinating assessment of the flaws in
economics, based on parallels in biology, though limited in conclusions
|
Maths |
|
Why People Believe Weird
Things |
Michael Shermer |
Powerful and effective
exploration of where strange beliefs come from and how they take hold.
|
Sceptics, overview |
|
Why the Toast Always
Falls Butter Side Down |
Richard Robinson |
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 |
|
Why We Lie |
David Livingstone Smith |
Be amazed, not just at how
much we lie, but how essential it is for the operation of society.
Interesting and original
|
Human science |
|
Wordplay |
John Langdon |
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 |
|
Wormwood Forest |
Mary Mycio |
An engrossing personal
experience of the contaminated zone from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster,
revealing the amazing spread of wildlife since the accident
|
Biology |
|
Yes! 50 secrets from the
science of persuasion |
Noah J. Goldstein, Steve J. Martin, Robert B. Cialdini |
Some excellent insights from
scientific studies of how people behave that help persuade them to act in a
particular way. More business book than science, but very good nonetheless.
|
Human science |
|
Your Money and Your Brain |
Jason Zweig |
Although technically a 'how to
invest' guide, it's really a great exploration of how the different
mechanisms of the brain make us unsuited to the stock market.
|
Human science |
|
The Zen of Magic Squares, Circles & Stars |
Clifford Pickover |
You'll either love or be bored to tears by
this exploration of all that is magical squares - it's mathematical marmite
|
Maths |
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