|
After the Ice |
Steven Mithen |
Huge history of humanity
between 20,000 and 5,000 BC with neat "observer" style
 |
Human science |
|
Afterglow of Creation |
Marcus Chown |
Intriguing detective story tracking back from
the cosmic background radiation to the big bang. |
Cosmology |
|
[The Age of] 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 |
|
Almost Human |
Lee Gutkind |
Fly on the wall documentary book of the
personalities, achievements and disasters of the Carnegie Mellon roboticists.
|
Technology |
|
The Archimedes Codex |
Reviel Netz & William Noel |
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 |
|
Aspirin: The Remarkable
Story of a Wonder Drug |
Dairmuid Jeffreys |
The story of aspirin from
quinine substitute to heart medicine. Excellent background; truly
fascinating |
Chemistry, human sciences |
|
Atom |
Piers Bizony |
A good mix of biography and science as we
follow the trail of just what atoms are. Could do with a bit more depth in
the human interest side, but well-written.
|
Physics |
|
The Autobiography |
Charles Darwin |
Not at all stuffy - short book
is a fascinating insight into Darwin as a human being
|
Biography, biology |
|
The Autobiography |
Patrick Moore |
A remarkable combination of stories from life
an opinions on the world from the UK's best known astronomer and TV
eccentric |
Biography,
astronomy |
|
Backroom Boys |
Francis Spufford |
Wonderful history of six quirky UK technology
breakthroughs including Concorde and the game Elite
|
Technology |
|
Bang! The Complete History of the Universe |
Patrick Moore,
Brian May, Chris Lintott |
A superbly illustrated introduction to the
basics of cosmology, for all ages, though we think it works best for younger
readers. |
Astronomy,
cosmology |
|
Blink |
Malcolm Gladwell |
Lightweight but delightfully told illustration
of how we make ultra-quick decisions
|
Human Science |
|
Brainwashing: The Science of Thought Control |
Kathleen Taylor |
That rarest of things, an academic book that
is enjoyable to the general reader - excellent study of brainwashing
|
Human science |
|
A Briefer History of Time |
Stephen Hawking
(with Leonard Mlodinow) |
Attempt to make Brief History more
approachable - good content, but suffers from übergloss
|
Cosmology, physics |
|
The Cause of Mosquitoes' Sorrow |
Surendra Verma |
Chronological trip through scientific
breakthroughs, beginnings and blunders providing quick tasters.
|
Overview |
|
Chaos: A Very Short Introduction |
Leonard Smith |
One of the best entries in the Oxford series
of pocket introductions, concentrating on the practical uses of chaos
theory.
|
Maths |
|
Chloroform: the quest for oblivion |
Linda Stratmann |
Interesting history of the early anaesthetic
chloroform and its rise and fall. Great period detail.
|
Human science |
|
Climate Change Begins at Home |
Dave Reay |
Why climate change is a problem and what we as
individuals can do about it, without jargon or being preachy
|
Earth science,
technology |
| The Code Book |
Simon Singh |
The development of codes
and ciphers through the ages |
Maths |
|
Coincidences, Chaos and All that Math Jazz |
Edward B. Burger & Michael Starbird |
A high speed, highly enjoyable tour of many of
the interesting bits of maths that doesn't patronize, but is never
over-heavy. |
Maths |
| The Colossal Book of
Mathematics |
Martin Gardiner |
Classic puzzles, paradoxes
and problems |
Maths |
|
Conflict in the Cosmos/Fred Hoyle: A Life in
Science |
Simon Mitton |
Biography of brilliant astronomer and huge
character, Fred Hoyle. Fascinating, but could have been better
|
Biography,
astronomy |
|
The Cosmic Verses |
James Muirden |
Astonishingly effective history of our ideas
on the universe, all in verse - certainly could have been much worse.
|
Cosmology |
|
The Cosmos: A Beginner's Guide |
Adam Hart-Davis & Paul Bader |
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 |
|
The Curies |
Denis Brian |
Interesting and in-depth biography of both the
Curies and the Joliot-Curies, though could have been even better with
judicious editing. |
Biography |
|
Darwin: Discovering the tree of life |
Niles Eldredge |
Not just another Darwin biography, but a very
readable and well illustrated attempt to show just how Darwin's thinking was
shaped |
Biology, biography |
|
The Devil's Doctor |
Philip Ball |
Revealing look at the medieval mix of magic
and science that lay behind the life and theories of Paracelsus the strange
and often reviled early medic
|
Biography |
|
The Discovery of the Germ |
John Waller |
Much more interesting than the
title sounds - the transformation of medicine from fantasy to reality
|
Biology, human science |
|
Dreaming |
J. Allan Hobson |
Dream and sleep science hauled out of the Freudian dark ages with an
excellent introduction
|
Human sciences |
|
The Earth: an intimate history |
Richard Fortey |
Not only a good explanation of
how the Earth works, but a tour of key locations too.
|
Earth science |
|
Einstein: A Life in Science |
Michael White & John Gribbin |
Between them, White & Gribbin iron out each
others faults to produce a good, balanced Einstein biog
|
Biography, physics |
|
Einstein's Heroes |
Robyn Arianrhod |
Excellent exploration of the move of maths to
centre stage in physics, mostly focussing on the life and work of James
Clark Maxwell
|
Physics, maths |
|
Electric Universe |
David Bodanis |
Excellent as a teen introduction to the
wonders of electricity, but a bit too gushing for some adults.
|
Physics |
|
Electronic Brains |
Mike Hally |
The early days of electronic computer are
uncovered around the world - US, UK, Australia and USSR - in an engaging
little book |
Technology |
|
The Elegant Universe |
Brian Greene |
Precursor to Fabric of the Cosmos with
considerable overlaps. Not as good on relativity/quantum theory but more on
string theory. |
Physics, cosmology |
|
The Elements of Murder |
John Emsley |
A history of the use of several key elements
from mercury to lead in poisonings - fascinating stories and surprisingly
interesting |
Human science |
|
Endless Universe: Before the Big Bang |
Neil Turok & Paul
J. Steinhardt |
Accessible and readable book from the
respected proponents of a theory of the creation of the universe without a
big bang.
|
Cosmology |
|
Enhancing Me |
Pete Moore |
Although using a restrictive definition of enhancement, a thought-provoking
look at how humans can be made more than human.
|
Human Science,
technology |
|
Fred Hoyle's Universe |
Jane Gregory |
A thorough and effective biography of the
great astronomer Fred Hoyle - not perfect, but probably the best
|
Biography,
cosmology |
|
From Here to Infinity |
Ian Stewart |
Surprisingly readable and
low-equation tour of the heart of today's mathematics
|
Maths |
|
The Future of Food |
Brian J. Ford |
A sharp assessment of what's wrong with the
way we produce and consume food, and how things might change. Idiosyncratic
tone might irritate, but will also interest.
|
Overview |
|
Genius: The Life and science of Richard Feynman |
James Gleick |
The best biography of this superb physicist
and complex man - still flawed but well worth reading
|
Biography |
|
Galileo's Daughter |
Dava Sobel |
Biography of Galileo and
exploration of his work, cunningly linked by a series of letters from his
daughter |
Biography, overview |
|
The God Particle |
Leon Lederman &
Dick Teresi |
In-depth and often funny look at the history
of particle physics and the development of the standard model, viewed by an
insider.
|
Physics |
| Gödel, Escher, Bach |
Douglas Hofstadter |
Linking the music of Bach,
the art of Escher and the maths of Gödel to illustrate human thought
|
Psychology, overview |
|
The Goldilocks Enigma |
Paul Davies |
Why are all the physical constants so fine-tuned for an environment we can
live in? A thought provoking exploration of the cosmological reasons why
things are just right. |
Cosmology |
|
Happiness |
Daniel Nettle |
The science of happiness - a fascinating
analysis of what happiness is and how we react to it
|
Human science |
|
How Long is a Piece of String |
Rob Easterway &
Jeremy Wyndham |
Very enjoyable book of mathematical fun in
everyday life - could do to be a little more adult in presentation
|
Maths |
|
How Slow Can You Waterski? |
Simon Rogers (ed.) |
... 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 |
|
How to Clone the Perfect Blonde |
Sue Nelson & Richard
Hollingham |
Eight fascinating applications of science,
beautifully explained, but let down a little by childish humour
|
Overview |
|
If Dogs Could Talk |
Vilmos Csányi |
Real eye-opener on the nature and
sophistication of the mind of a very familiar creature: the dog
|
Biology |
|
In Search of Schrödinger's Cat |
John Gribbin |
One of Gribbin's best books providing a good
introduction to quantum theory, which doesn't suffer too much from age
despite being over 20 years old. |
Physics |
|
The Infinite Book |
John D. Barrow |
Interesting book on infinity, generally very
good, though too much cosmology and attempts at artiness and not enough
maths
|
Maths |
|
In Search of Memory |
Eric R. Kandel |
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 |
|
Introducing Quantum Theory |
J.P. McEvoy &
Oscar Zarate |
Wacky
but good illustrated introduction to the concepts of
quantum theory
|
Physics |
|
Introducing
Time |
Craig
Callender & Ralph Edney |
Bizarre
but effective illustrated tour of the concept of time
|
Physics |
| Isaac Newton |
James Gleick |
Newton biog with good
insight into his physics |
Biography, physics |
|
Jurassic Mary |
Patricia Pierce |
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 |
|
Just Another Day |
Adam Hart-Davis |
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 |
|
The Last Man Who Knew Everything |
Andrew Robinson |
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 |
|
Leaps in the Dark |
John Waller |
Uncovering the myths of science to show that
those "Eureka!" moments might be rather different. Excellent.
|
Overview |
|
Light Years |
Brian Clegg |
The story of humanity's
exploration of light. Combination
of good history with fascinating new light science. New edition.
|
Physics |
|
Lonesome George |
Henry Nicholls |
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 |
| Longitude |
Dava Sobel |
Clockmaker John Harrison's
attempts to devise an accurate chronometer for navigation |
Biography, technology |
|
Lovelock & Gaia: Signs of
Life |
Jon Turney |
If you thought Gaia was all
about tree-hugging, think again with this excellent mini-introduction to
Lovelock |
Earth science |
|
The Man Who Stopped Time |
Brian Clegg |
Engaging biography of the motion picture
pioneer and murderer. Not a huge amount of science in his life, but brings
out the science of photography etc. well.
|
Biography |
| The Magic Furnace |
Marcus Chown |
Where atoms come from
- a remarkable story that takes us from the big bang to now
|
Physics, astronomy, cosmology |
|
Magic Universe |
Nigel Calder |
Alphabetic collection of articles on modern
science that are fascinating to read and give a good overview.
|
Overview |
|
The Meadowlands |
Robert Sullivan |
Mix of industrial archaeology, travel and
natural history in this warm exploration of the swamps and tips on the edge
of New York City
|
Overview |
|
The Mechanical Turk |
Tom Standage |
The amazing story of the
mechanical chess player built in 1770
|
Technology |
|
The Medical Detective [The Strange Case of the
Broad Street Pump] |
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 Mo[u]ld on Doctor Florey's Coat |
Eric Lax |
The true story of the development of
penicillin - both fascinating and very different from the myth
|
Biology, biography |
|
MonkeyLuv |
Robert M. Sapolsky |
Elegant and witty articles on the
nature/nurture debate, the interface between the human mind and body, and
the interaction between society and human biology. Highly readable
|
Human science |
|
The Mystery of the Aleph |
Amir Aczel |
Good biography of Georg Cantor
and explanation of his maths of the infinite.
|
Maths, biography |
|
Nature via Nurture |
Matt Ridley |
A superbly balanced picture of the ages-old
debate between nature and nurture, and the latest thinking to emerge from
genetic science |
Human science |
|
The
Never Ending Days of Being Dead |
Marcus Chown |
A clear exploration of some of the big
questions in physics, bringing in a range of weird and wonderful theories
|
Physics, cosmology |
|
The New Killer Germs |
Pete Moore |
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 |
| The Northern Lights |
Lucy Jago |
Kristian Birkeland, the
Norwegian scientist who first uncovered the secret of the Northern Lights
|
Biography, physics |
| The Nothing that Is |
Robert Kaplan |
An enjoyable tour around
that most significant gap in our counting system, zero |
Maths |
|
The One True Platonic
Heaven |
John L. Casti |
Cleverly written fictional
encounter between key physicists and mathematicians at the IAS - with some
politics thrown in for fun
|
Overview |
| Our Cosmic Habitat |
Martin Rees |
A clear and well-written
guide to the universe from the Astronomer Royal |
Cosmology, astronomy |
|
Our Inner Ape |
Frans de Waal |
The affection the author feels for chimps and
bonobos comes through strongly as he explores the behaviour of our closest
relatives, and what it can tell us about ourselves
|
Biology |
|
Parallel Worlds |
Michio Kaku |
Fascinating ideas on parallel universes,
cosmology and string theory only slightly let down by oversimplification and
mixed writing. |
Cosmology, physics |
|
Perfect Copy |
Nicholas Agar |
Good introduction to the working of cloning
and exploration of the ethical implications and uses
|
Human science |
|
Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten
Track {Don't You Have Time to Think?] |
Richard Feynman |
Absolutely fascinating collection of letters
from one of the greatest scientists ever
|
Biography |
|
Phantoms in the Brain |
Sandra Blakeslee &
V. S. Ramachandran |
The workings of the brain cleverly explored
through mental problems and the effects of brain damage
|
Human science |
| The Physics of Star Trek |
Lawrence M. Krauss |
How much can real science
make the wonders of Star Trek possible? |
TV, physics |
|
The Physics of Superheroes |
James Kakalios |
One of the better 'science of'/'physics of'
books, using the exploits of superheroes to explore everything from
mechanics to electromagnetism.. |
Physics |
|
The Piltdown Forgery |
Joseph Weiner |
Fifty years after it was discredited, OUP
publish an updated version of Weiner's still very readable account
|
Human science |
|
Possessing Genius: The
Bizarre Odyssey of Einstein's Brain |
Carolyn Abraham |
Occasionally gory but
fascinating account of what happened to Einstein's brain after his death
|
Biography, human science |
|
Power, Sex, Suicide |
Nick Lane |
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 |
|
Powering Up |
Rebecca Mileham |
Thought-provoking exploration of the effects
computer games have on us. Sometimes over-enthusiastic, but mostly good.
|
Technology |
| The Queen's Conjuror |
Benjamin Woolley |
The remarkable John Dee and
his fascinating mix of science and magic
|
Biography |
|
The Rainhill Trials |
Christopher McGowan |
Pure technology, but a
fascinating insight into the men and machines that brought railways into
being
|
Technology |
|
Rats |
Robert Sullivan |
A study of the wild rat in New York, in Robert
Sullivan's unique style that brings in many fascinating tangential stories
|
Biology |
|
Real Mosquitoes Don't Eat Meat |
Brad Wetzler |
A collection of delightful and fun answers to
those questions that always puzzle us, in this case about the natural world
|
Overview |
|
The Road to Reality |
Roger Penrose |
Remarkable tour-de-force exploration of
physics and its mathematical basis, but almost totally incomprehensible!
|
Physics, maths |
|
The Rocketbelt Caper |
Paul Brown |
Stranger than fiction true story of the
development of the rocketbelt and the plunge into kidnapping and murder that
one rocketbelt caused |
Technology |
| 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 Middle Earth |
Henry Gee |
Surprisingly effective study of Tolkein's
attitude to science and its appearance on his writings
|
Overview |
|
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 |
| 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 |
| A Short History of Nearly
Everything |
Bill Bryson |
Triumphant charge through
all of science |
Overview |
|
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 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 |
|
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 |
|
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 |
|
Surviving Armageddon |
Bill McGuire |
Good, short book on the possible disasters
facing the earth and how we can overcome them
|
Earth science |
|
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 |
|
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 |
|
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 |
|
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 Turk |
Tom Standage |
The amazing story of the
mechanical chess player built in 1770
|
Technology |
|
The Velocity of Honey |
Jay Ingram |
23 fun excursions into the science of the everyday from falling toast to
skipping stones
|
Overview |
|
The Victorian Internet |
Tom Standage |
How the telegraph network changed the world,
crossed continents (and resulted in love between telegraphists).
|
Technology |
|
Venomous Earth |
Andrew Meharg |
Interesting exploration of arsenic's duel role
as poison and medicine, fascinating on poisonous wallpaper
|
Chemistry |
|
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 |
|
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 |
|
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 |
|
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 Just Happened |
James Gleick |
Articles on the development
and future of the IT business |
Technology |
|
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 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 |
|
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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