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Royal Society Prize 2009

Read more about this year's prestigious Royal Society Prize, arguably the best popular science books published in 2008. All these books are worth a look - it's a superb collection, but also take a look at our alternative list (which we think is even better!). And why not sign up to our newsletter to win a copy of every book on the long list (UK addresses only)?

Click on the book name to see the review. We are yet to review books without a rating below, but you can still click on the Amazon buttons to find out more. For books we have reviewed, click on the review or the book name to find out more or buy at Amazon.

Bad Science	Ben Goldacre	Funny and devastatingly accurate exposure of the way bad science is used to sell products and fool the press.	Short list
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.	Short list
Ice, mud and blood	Chris Turney	As a call to action on climate change, it is a missed opportunity. But as a story of scientific ingenuity and the wonders of nature, it takes every chance - and succeeds	Long list
Living with Enza	Mark Honigsbaum	The story of the 1918 flu pandemic and how it impacted the UK, intertwined with events in the First World War. Scary at a time of another pandemic.	Long list
Microcosm	Carl Zimmer		Long list
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.	Long list
Quantum	Manjit Kumar	Long, rather dull and too technical history of the development of quantum theory.	Long list
Strange Fruit	Kenan Malik		Long list
The Age of Wonder	Richard Holmes		WINNER
The drunkard's walk	Leonard Mlodinow		Short list
The Universe is a Mirror	Robert Zimmerman		Long list
What the nose knows	Avery Gilbert		Short list
Your inner fish	Neil Shubin		Short list

Our own longlist

The Royal Society Prize longlist doesn't necessarily cover the best popular science books out in 2008 - as well as the five star books above, take a look at some books that should have made it, but didn't:

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
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
Upgrade Me	Brian Clegg	A fascinating exploration of the journey to human 2.0, from the key ability to contemplate the future, to life extension, cosmetic enhancement, extra strength, electronic implants and more.	Human science

The judges

Sir Tim Hunt FRS, Cancer Research UK and Nobel laureate (Chair); Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock, space scientist at Astrium Ltd, STFC Fellow of University College London and Founder and MD of Science Innovation Ltd; Dr Phillip Ball, author; Deborah Cohen, Editor, BBC Radio Science Unit; Danny Wallace, author, comedian and presenter.

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