|
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 |
|
50 Physics Ideas you
Really Need to Know |
Joanne Baker |
Quite a reasonable and
approachable summary, despite a few errors, but not a great end-to-end read. |
Physics |
|
1491 [Ancient Americans] |
Charles C. Mann |
Superb revelation of the
remarkable prehistoric cultures of the Americas - full of surprises and
eminently readable |
Human science |
|
The 21st Century Brain |
Steven Rose |
Rose gives us a detailed and
powerful study of our brains and where they came from - it's just not
awfully readable
|
Human science |
|
25 Big Ideas |
Robert Matthews |
Condensed book style makes
this introduction to the key areas of modern science useful but a little dry
|
Overview |
|
A Certain Ambiguity |
Gaurav Suri & Hartosh Singh
Bal |
Attempt to get across the joys
of maths in a novel form. Wonderful idea, hence the bracketed five stars,
but doesn't work very well as novel or popular maths.
[] |
Mathematics |
|
Abducted |
Susan A. Clancy |
Sensible scientific look at the reality of
alien abduction - very engaging writing, but could have better structured
|
Human science |
|
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 |
|
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 |
|
Against the Gods |
Peter Bernstein |
Good history of our attitude
to risk and probability - a little too much finance and not enough physics,
but good |
Maths |
|
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 Ancestor's Tale |
Richard Dawkins |
Atypical Dawkins - less polished argument than coffee table gloss. Still
excellent content in this trip into our biological past, but very bitty.
|
Biology |
|
Ancient Americans [1491] |
Charles C. Mann |
Superb revelation of the
remarkable prehistoric cultures of the Americas - full of surprises and
eminently readable |
Human science |
|
Animal |
David Burnie (Ed.) |
Wonderful illustrated
reference guide to the animal kingdom - not popular science really, hence
only |
Biology |
|
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 |
|
Art & Science |
Siân Ede |
Flawed examination of the
interplay between art and science. Worth reading, though, to see what the
problem is
|
Overview |
|
The Art of the Infinite |
Robert
& Ellen Kaplan |
Good idea of explaining why
mathematics is worthy of passion that singularly fails to deliver
 |
Maths |
|
The Artful Universe
Expanded |
John D. Barrow |
Attempt to link the arts and
the science of the universe that allowed them to emerge - good idea, but
sinks in pomposity
|
Overview |
|
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 science |
|
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 |
|
Avoid Boring People |
James D. Watson |
Dull autobiography that has
none of the style and panache of the much younger Watson's The Double Helix.
|
Biography |
|
Backroom Boys |
Francis Spufford |
Wonderful history of six quirky UK technology
breakthroughs including Concorde and the game Elite
|
Technology |
| Bad Astronomy |
Philip Plait |
Misapprehensions and the
even more fascinating facts in astronomy
|
Astronomy, sceptics |
|
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 |
|
Bang!!!
A Curriculum Vitae of the Universe |
Siegfried Eckleben |
Interesting attempt to trace where we come from, from
big bang to human evolution, let down by poor editing and odd narration.
|
Overview |
|
A Beautiful Math |
Tom Siegfried |
Although it sounds like a
follow up the biography of John Nash (A Beautiful Mind), it's actually a
flawed but interesting attempt to show that game theory could be the real
psychohistory.
|
Maths |
|
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 |
|
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 |
|
Being Virtual |
Davey Winder |
Glossy and very personal view
on virtual worlds and the people who inhabit them.
|
Technology |
|
Beyond Coincidence |
Martin Plimmer & Brian King |
Great opportunity to explain
apparently spooky coincidences that gives way to amazement
|
Maths, sceptics |
|
Beyond UFOs |
Jeffrey Bennett |
Warm and well-written book on
the search for extra terrestrial life, but no real surprises.
|
Astronomy |
|
Big Bang |
Simon Singh |
The answer to the ultimate
question of the universe - where did it come from? - beautifully put in
context |
Cosmology |
|
The Big Necessity |
Rose George |
The rarely visited world of
human waste - great fun down the sewers, investigating Japanese high
function toilets, and with the sociological and health issues involved.
|
Human Science |
|
Black Bodies & Quantum
Cats |
Jennifer Ouellette |
Extremely readable collection
of articles on physics. Great fun, but sadly too many errors.
|
Physics |
|
The Blind Watchmaker |
Richard Dawkins |
Superb explanation of how
complexity emerges through evolution, slightly let down by writing style
|
Biology |
|
Blink |
Malcolm
Gladwell |
Lightweight but delightfully
told illustration of how we make ultra-quick decisions
|
Human Science |
|
Bones, Rocks and Stars |
Chris Turney |
An interesting look into the
science behind dating, deciding how old things are and working out when
things happened
|
Overview |
|
The Book of Numbers |
Peter J. Bentley |
Lavishly illustrated glossy
book on the history and use of numbers. Looks good, but only skims the
surface in content.
|
Maths |
|
A Book of Scientific
Curiosities |
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 Born-Einstein Letters |
Max Born & Albert Einstein |
Fascinating letters between
two of the 20th century greats of physics.
|
Biography, physics |
|
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 |
|
Breaking the Time Barrier |
Jenny Randles |
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 |
| A
Brief History of Infinity |
Brian Clegg |
The people and paradoxes in
the quest to think the unthinkable
|
Maths |
| A Brief History of Science |
Thomas Crump |
The history of science
through the development of scientific tools and instruments
|
Overview, technology |
| A Brief History of Time |
Stephen Hawking |
The one that started it all
- and much more readable than you might think |
Cosmology, physics |
|
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 |
|
Bright Earth: the
invention of colour |
Philip Ball |
Wonderful subject of the
history of artists' colours and the science behind them - sacrifices a
little readability for comprehensiveness.
|
Overview |
|
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 |
|
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 |
|
Catastrophes and Lesser Calamities |
Tony Hallam |
A worth attempt to include all
the options to explain prehistoric mass extinctions that's sadly rather dull
|
Earth science |
| The Calendar |
David Ewing Duncan |
The struggle to establish a
calendar that matches reality |
Astronomy, technology |
|
The Cause of Mosquitoes'
Sorrow |
Surendra Verma |
Chronological trip through
scientific breakthroughs, beginnings and blunders providing quick tasters.
|
Overview |
| Chaos |
James Gleick |
The remarkable development
of chaos theory |
Maths |
|
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 |
|
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 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 |
|
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 |
|
Collapse: How Societies
Choose to Fail or Survive |
Jared Diamond |
A study of why societies
fail catastrophically and how it's all too easy to go over the edge. Very
good stuff, but overly academic.
|
Human science |
| The Collapse of Chaos |
Jack Cohen and Ian Stewart |
Combines chaos theory and
complexity theory to boggle the mind |
Maths |
| The Colossal Book of
Mathematics |
Martin Gardiner |
Classic puzzles, paradoxes
and problems |
Maths |
|
Colossus |
B. Jack Copeland et al |
A series of essays on the
wartime codebreaking at Bletchley Park, and the ground-breaking Colossus
computers with newly declassified content
|
Technology |
|
The Comet Sweeper |
Claire Brock |
Interesting view of the life
of Caroline Herschel, the first female professional astronomer, if a little
tinted by the author's views.
|
Biography |
|
Computers Ltd |
David Harel |
Interesting meta-math
exploration of the limits of computers. Four star for computing fans,
otherwise |
Technology |
|
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 |
|
Constant Touch |
John Agar |
Superb history of the mobile
phone - technology, sociology, politics, the works!
|
Technology |
|
Conversations with a
Mathematician |
Gregory Chaitin |
Compilation of lectures and
interviews, best read as a follow-up to Meta Math!. |
Maths |
|
Conversations on
Consciousness |
Susan Blackmore |
20 interesting interviews with
experts on the nature of consciousness - but this isn't a helpful format for
this topic |
Human science |
|
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 |
|
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 Creation |
E.
O. Wilson |
A short and beautifully put
together plea for better stewardship of the natural world, let down by lack
of coherence.
|
Biology |
|
Critical Mass |
Philip Ball |
Overlong and inconclusive but
still fascinating look at the statistical behaviour of humanity
|
Overview |
|
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 |
|
Curious Minds |
John Brockman (Ed) |
27 "why I turned to science" essays that is so
much more interesting than it sounds. Really.
|
Biography |
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