Life Script: The Genome and the New Medicine Simon & Schuster, 2001 ISBN: 0743206975 The sequencing of the human genome was a highly significant event in biology. InLife Script: How the Human Genome Discoveries Will Transform Medicine and Enhance Your Health Nicholas Wade looks at the benefits which may come from our knowledge of the genome. Continued..

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Liaisons of Life Wiley, 2001 ISBN: 0471399728 The classification of living things relies on the concept of a single organism, which can be treated separately from those organisms with which it interacts. In 'Liaisons of Life' Tom Wakeford argues that in fact most organisms are involved in symbiotic relationships, for example many plants are connected to an underground system of fungi, which provides them with vital nutrients. He argues that and this calls for a new way of looking at living things. He also shows how the idea of symbiosis has met a great deal of resistance. Beatrix Potter, for instance, might have devoted her life to the study of lichens if her early research showing their symbiotic nature hadn't been ridiculed. Continued..

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General Relativity University of Chicago press ISBN: 0226870332 Mentioned in stretchy space Black Holes road to reality Standard textbook on general relativity.

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Space, Time, and Gravity University of Chicago press ISBN: 0226870294 Mentioned in Black Holes A non-technical introduction to black holes and cosmology by an expert in the subject

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Quantum field theory in curved spacetime University of Chicago press ISBN: 0226870251 Mentioned in Black Holes This may be a useful book for you if you'restudying the subject. However, I found it to be somewhat abstract, and the layout made it harder to follow - more like a monograph dealing with new research than a book dealing with a subject which is dealt with in several other books (including Wald's General Relativity).

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How not to be eaten University of California Press, 2012 ISBN: 0520269128 Insects are so abundant that they must present a great feast for anything that eats them. In How not to be eaten : the insects fight back Gilbert Waldbauer tells of the strategies insects use to avoid this. Continued..

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Chandra University of Chicago press, 1991 ISBN: 0226870553 The battle between Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar and Sir Arthur Eddington over the fate of collapsing stars is a well known example of how a young researcher had his ideas unfairly treated because of the views of an established scientist. Kameshwar Wali 's biography covers this period in detail, but also tells of Chandra's subsequent career as an eminent astrophysicist. We hear of his central position in the astrophysics community as editor of the Astrophysical Journal and of him being awarded the Nobel prize in 1983. The book serves as an excellent example of a scientist who didn't dwell on the wrongs that had been done to him, but instead went on to excel in his field of study. Continued..

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Future Proof Icon books, 2007 ISBN: 9781848310049 Co-authors Sagan,Nick Frary,Mark We live in a world full of gadgets, but we don't seem to have reached the futuristic world imagined by so many. In Future Proof: The Greatest Gadgets and Gizmos Ever Imagined Nick Sagan ,Mark Frary and Andy Walker look at the gadgets we have and some of those that didn't quite make it. Continued..

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An Ocean of Air Bloomsbury, 2007 ISBN: 9780747581901 The air around us is something we tend to take for granted, but in An Ocean of Air: A natural history of the Atmosphere Gabrielle Walker shows that it provides us with more benefits than we may realise. Not that the study of the atmosphere has always been plain sailing. The book starts with a look at the discovery that air had weight and the acceptance that a vacuum could really exist. Walker moves on to the identification of the constituents of air, and in particular Oxygen. This is followed by a chapter on carbon dioxide - its vital role in providing the food we eat, but how too much of it is leading to global warming. Continued..

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Leaps in the Dark Oxford University Press, 2004 ISBN: 0192804847 The picture of a lone scientist struggling to demonstrate an idea, often against a stupid and obstructive establishment makes a popular story, but how much truth is there in this image? In 'Leaps in the Dark' John Waller takes ten such stories and shows how they are often made up long after the fact. Now other authors might have done this in a way that was disparaging to the scientists or the science concerned, but Waller doesn't do this. Rather he shows that those concerned did deserve credit for their work but that truth is much more complex than told by the heroic stories. It's also an entertaining read, and is recommended for anyone who wants to see how science really progresses. Continued..

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Fabulous Science Oxford University Press, 2002 ISBN: 0192804049 Famous scientists often get a rather heroic image in later accounts of their work. In Fabulous science John Waller looks at the truth behind some of these stories. In the first part he looks at experiments such as Eddington's eclipse expedition to test general relativity, and shows that these weren't as conclusive as is often claimed. The second part looks at how history has treated various scientists - for instance Alexander Fleming, who is seen as the discoverer of Penicillin, despite not being the first person to notice it's effects nor being responsible for its development into a useful drug. Waller's examination of the details of such stories makes for an informative and enjoyable read. Continued..

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Virtual Organisms Macmillan, 1999 ISBN: 0333724828 The development of computers has naturally led to us comparing them with life, and attempting to model living things with computer programs. Cellular automata, such as John Conway's 'Game of Life', are an obvious example. In Virtual Organisms Mark Ward takes a look at this subject of Artificial Life - or ALife as it has become known. He describes current work in the area, such as genetic algorithms and the modelling of ecological systems. He also shows how other researchers have tried to avoid computers, and have created impressively lifelike robots using just simple electronics. Continued..

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DNA: The secret of life Arrow, 2003 ISBN: 0099451840 James Watson is famous as one of the partnership responsible for the discovery of the structure of DNA, and his book 'The Double Helix' telling the story of that discovery is an international bestseller. In 'DNA: The secret of life' he describes some of the applications that our knowledge of DNA has generated. Its become a vast subject area, and at times I found it difficult to decide how to approach the book - whether each chapter could be read alone or whether they combined into a single thread. However it's well written and maintains the reader's interest through its nearly 500 pages. I would recommend it to anyone wanting a readable overview of the current state of genetics. Continued..

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A Passion for DNA Oxford University Press, 2000 ISBN: 019850697X James D. Watson is a controversial figure, with his strong support for gene therapy and genetic modification of plants and animals , and a greater belief in genetic determinism than most geneticists. A Passion for DNA allows the reader to see some of the reasoning behind Watson's beliefs. The book is a collection of essays written by Watson at various times between 1966 and 1999, and we see how he feels that worries about Recombinant DNA were politically stirred up, with no real evidence of danger. He also writes about his views on the ethos of science, on the different approaches to the 'War on Cancer' and on the implication of the Human Genome project. Continued..

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Wish you were here: The official biography of Douglas Adams Headline, 2004 ISBN: 0755311566 Douglas Adams will be well known to all readers of this website. In 'Wish you were here', Nick Webb, a friend of Douglas for many years, tells the story of his life. We learn about his childhood years, his time at Cambridge University and his struggles to make a living as a sketch writer for TV. Then came the Hitchhiker's series and Douglas's rapid increase in fame and wealth, after which we hear about the various projects he was involved in, such as the film version of the story. Webb gives a good account of Douglas as a person - generous but sometimes insensitive and often annoying to those he worked with. Its a must read for anyone wanting to find out about the origin of Douglas's unique work. Continued..

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The Shape of Space Taylor and Francis, 2002 ISBN: 0824707095 The Shape of Space by Jeffrey Weeks is an introduction to the topology and geometry of surfaces and higher dimensional spaces. Continued..

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The discovery of subatomic particles Cambridge University Press, 1983 ISBN: 052182351X This book has been written to tell the story of the discovery of elementary particles, while at the same time teaching the reader about earlier, more basic physics. However, I would say that it isn't for the complete novice - it is more suited to a student of physics who would benefit from studying the calculations described - it is good to have examples to follow which lead to an significant result. It would also suit someone who already knows some physics and is interested in more details of the history of the subject. Continued..

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Gravitation Cambridge University Press ISBN: 0716703440 Mentioned in stretchy space Co-authors Misner,Charles Thorne,Kip The standard work from the 1970's on General relativity. Although now somewhat outdated, it still has lots of useful stuff

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Geons, Black Holes, and Quantum Foam Norton ISBN: 0393046427 Mentioned in Black Holes Wheeler's autobiography, including accounts of work he has done over a wide range of theoretical physics.

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A journey into gravity and spacetime Scientific American Library ISBN: 0716750163 Mentioned in road to reality Einstein's General theory of Relativity is usually thought to be a difficult topic, not approachable by the non-mathematician. However, in 'A journey into gravity and spacetime' Wheeler gives an entirely non-technical account, using the geometrical ideas which are at the root of the subject. With plenty of pictures, and a fair amount of poetry, he uses ideas such as 'The Boomerang Project' - a shaft straight through the Earth, and 'The Boundary of a Boundary', to give an intuitive feel for General Relativity. The final chapter gives an account of Gravitational Waves and discusses the significance of the experiments designed to find them. Continued..

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How Mumbo-Jumbo Conquered the World Harperperennial, 2004 ISBN: 0007140975 If we hear a viewpoint repeated enough then we might begin to think that there must be something in it. Well, if you find yourself being pulled in that direction then I would recommend reading How Mumbo-Jumbo Conquered the World: A Short History of Modern Delusions by Francis Wheen Continued..

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The Fruits of War Simon & Schuster, 2005 ISBN: 0743220242 When reading this book one sees that virtually all technology had an origin which was linked to military purposes. And that's the problem - the subject area is much too wide, and ends up as a general history of technology. White is a skilled writer, and the result is a lot more readable than most history of technology books, but on the whole I found it uninspiring. I think it would be most useful for anyone looking for a subject to write about - you could find one thing that interested you and then follow it up using the references at the end of the book. Continued..

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A teaspoon and an open mind Allen Lane, 2005 ISBN: 0713999055 Science fiction suggests that the future will bring many new possibilities, from travelling throught the galaxy to extending our lives indefinintely, but it's hard to be sure which of these will remain fiction. In this book Michael White examines how some of these ideas might be achieved in practice. It has to be said that most of the book doesn't reflect the unique nature of the Dr Who programs, rather it is a look at science fictional ideas in general, which might irritate fans of the series. However it contains many interesting and entertaining ideas and can be recommended as a bit of light reading for anyone with an interest in what new possibilities await us in the future. Continued..

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THE MOON a biography Headline, 2001 ISBN: 0747264953 The moon has fascinated humans since the earliest times. In 'The Moon: A biography' David Whitehouse traces our relationship with this intruiging object. He begins by looking at the features on the moon as seen through a telescope during its cycle. He then goes on to consider its influence upon our early mythologies and upon our view of our place in the universe. Whitehouse shows how the invention of the telescope had a profound affect on our relationship with the moon, and this leads up to the space age, where he includes some little known details of the race to land a man on the moon. Continued..

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a measure of all things David & Charles, 2007 ISBN: 0715326961 Measurement can sometimes be a confusing business. One might expect a gallon to be the same everywhere, but a US gallon is considerably different from an imperial gallon. And what of older measures such as the 'rod, pole or perch' - how did this turn out to be five and a half yards? In a measure of all things Ian Whitelaw delves into such issues. The result is a book which is full of information on the many different systems of measurement used for different purposes, such as sheets of paper, bottles of champagne and even the hotness of a chilli. Continued..

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The Natural Philosophy of Time Oxford University Press, 1980 ISBN: 0198582129 There's one subject of study which is of concern to everyone - we are all students of Time. In The Natural Philosophy of Time G. J. Whitrow gives a wide ranging look at different aspects of this subject. One problem I found with the breadth of coverage was that arguments could not be developed in full - I sometimes felt that the author was being a bit dogmatic. In other parts he just seemed to be reporting the results of others, although this isn't necessarily a problem - with the extensive bibliographies for each chapter the book is a useful resource for those wanting to study an aspect in more detail. Continued..

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The third law of thermodynamics Oxford University Press, 1961 ISBN: 0198514107 Mentioned in Absolute zero The Third Law was written almost fifty years ago, and a lot has happened in low temperature science since that time. However, I feel that this book is not just of historical interest. Certainly if your aim is to find out about to the 3rd law of thermodynamics, then this book is still a useful resource. Since it is devoted to one subject it is quicker to read than a more general thermodynamics textbook. Naturally it has quite a bit of mathematics - at the level of an undergrauate science student, but I felt that this isn't too overwhelming and that there's plenty of non-mathematical discussion. Continued..

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Ultimate zero and one - computing at the quantum frontier Copernicus Books ISBN: 0387947698 Mentioned in quantum computing An introduction to quantum computing. Aimed at a general audience, but I feel that some parts look offputting due to too many equations.

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The Spark of Life Oxford University Press, 2000 ISBN: 0198662769 Co-author Bada,Jeffrey There is currently a great deal of discussion about how life arose from the mixture of chemicals present on the early Earth. Did it begin at hydrothermal vents, did it go via an 'RNA world' or is there some explanation which we haven't thought of yet. There are plenty of books which go into detail of the current state of this discussion and the experiments which are being performed. In The Spark of Life, Christopher Wills considers these issues, but takes a wider viewpoint than most books, taking the reader on a journey from the beginning of the earth to the development of the eukaryotic cell. Continued..

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The Runaway Brain Flamingo, 1993 ISBN: 0006546722 How humans came to have such large brains is a bit of an evolutionary puzzle. They are very useful now, but many of our talents would seem of little use in the environment of 100000 years ago. In The Runaway Brain Christopher Wills puts forward the argument that once our intelligence exceeded a certain threshold, continued growth was pretty much inevitable, inependent of the external environment. At least that's what I think he is claiming - my one problem with the book is that although Wills gives us an excellent tour of many areas of evolution and genetics, he never seems to collect up the claims he is making into a form in which they can be judged by the reader. Continued..

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Where's My Jetpack Bloomsbury, 2007 ISBN: 9780747582861 We've all seen the sort of futuristic life which science fiction promises us. But this is the future, so why don't we have colonies on the moon and Mars, and why aren't we surrounded by robots? In Where's My Jetpack?:A Guide to the Amazing Science Fiction Future That Never Arrived , Daniel Wilson looks at a number of futuristic technologies, and tell us if they have actually been imp. Continued..

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The future of life Little, Brown & co, 2002 ISBN: 0316648531 There's a lot of talk about the mess we are making of the planet, but you might begin to wonder how whether this is just one of those things that people say, without any substance behind it. If so then you should read 'The future of life' in which Edward O Wilson looks at the problems facing humanity, but with detailed information to back up his arguments. Wilson is an expert in biodiversity issues, and has put together a compelling argument about what we should do to give other life on Earth a fair use of its resources. Continued..

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Mobius and his band Oxford University Press, 1993 ISBN: 019853969X Co-authors Fauvel,John Flood,Raymond We've all heard of the Möbius band, but not so many people know about Möbius himself, and the other work that he did. Möbius and his band fills in some of this gap, but it is not aimed to be simply biographical (although the first chapter gives a short biography). Rather it is a series of essays about different aspects of the society in which he lived, with a look at the status of mathematics in Germany at the start of the nineteenth century, and how Möbius' astronomical work fitted in with what was being done elsewhere. The later chapters look at some of the mathematical topics which he had a hand in, such as projective geometry and topology. Continued..

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The map that changed the world Penguin, 2001 ISBN: 0140280391 The science of geology began to take off at the end of the eighteenth century, as people began to realise the information about the history of the earth which could be obtained by studying the rocks and the fossils they contained. 'The Map that Changed the World' is the story of William Smith, one of the main participants in this revolution in knowledge. It is centred on his creation of the first geological map of Britain, and shows what trials and tribulations he experienced in its making. The book is very readable, and requires no previous knowledge of the subjects covered. Continued..

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One in Three Profile Books, 2006 ISBN: 1861977522 Mentioned in Full Review Cancer is a subject which is difficult to write about - to avoid either too much abstractness or too depressing reality. In One in Three: A son's journey into the history and science of cancer. Adam Wishart skillfully interlaces the story of his father's illness with a look at the history of cancer and its treatments. Thus the history and science never gets too far from personal experiences, while at the same time the story of his father's cancer - which isn't glossed over in any way - doesn't become too depressing. The result is a book which really is difficult to put down. Continued..

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Not even wrong Jonathan Cape, 2006 ISBN: 0224076051 Peter Woit has a blog with the same title as this book, which has a popular following, and from the advanced sales it looks like the book's performance may be equally impressive. Woit's arguments against string theory are certainly very persuasive. One reads how initial hopes that the theory would lead to a unique explanation of quantum gravity were disappointed, and how the predictions of eventual success of the theory are being pushed ever further into the future.Woit also expresses his frustrations at some of the failings of the academic establishment, which will make the book useful reading for anyone considering a scientific career. Continued..

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Six impossible things before breakfast Faber & Faber, 2006 ISBN: 0571209203 Beliefs are strange things - people tend to stick to them despite contrary evidence. In Six impossible things before breakfast Lewis Wolpert looks at how we come by our beliefs, and puts forward a theory that we naturally try to find a causal explanation for things, even when there is insufficient information to do so. He shows how tool use goes hand in hand with a causal view of the world. If you're interested in the nature of belief then you'll find plenty of useful information in this book. However, I did have severe misgivings about some of Wolpert's arguments. Continued..

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Magnetic venture : the story of Oxford Instruments Oxford University Press, 2001 ISBN: 0199241082

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Life without Genes Flamingo, 2000 ISBN: 0006548741 The origin of life is a fascinating subject, in particular the transition from chemicals floating about to what we would recognise as a living entity. The problem is how to convey this to readers who are not versed in the details of biochemistry. I do not think that Adrian Woolfson's book fully succeeds at this task. Certainly the first part avoids a textbooky style when dealing with multidimensional state spaces by using plenty of metaphor and even several dream sequences. If you like this sort of style then you might want to try this book, but to my mind it was too quirky and made the book too long for a bit of light reading. Continued..

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An intelligent persons guide to genetics Duckworth, 2004 ISBN: 0715634232 In the coming years it is likely that the applications of genetics will play an important part in shaping our lives, and so it important that people have sufficient knowledge of the subject to make informed decisions on how society should react to these possibilities. This book is an attempt to fill that need. However, it is not a book to teach you genetics, and I feel that the reader needs to know the basics of the subject before starting it. What it does do is to provide a background of the subject, with each chapter starting with a historical anecdote and then describing an area of research in genetics mostly in a non-technical fashion (one chapter does get a bit technical, with a sudden increase in the average word length.) Continued..

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21st Century and Beyond Progressive Management ISBN: 1931828733 Mentioned in Interstellar travel CDROM

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Take me to the source Harvill Secker, 2008 ISBN: 9781846550713 Water is a significant part of our lives, but it is something that we tend to take for granted. In Take me to the source: in search of water Rupert Wright suggests that we should treat water with more respect. Continued..

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The Planet in a Pebble Oxford University Press, 2010 ISBN: 9780199569700 A pebble might seem the most ordinary sort of object, but in The Planet in a Pebble: A Journey into Earth's Deep History Jan Zalasiewicz shows how the formation of a single pebble is a story going back billions of years. Continued..

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The Philosophers' Quarrel Yale University Press, 2009 ISBN: 9780300121933 Co-author Scott,John T In 1766 David Hume was instrumental in find Jean-Jacques Rousseau a place to live in Britain, freeing him from the persecution he had faced on the Continent. One might have expected a lifetime of gratitude for this action, but in fact things turned out rather differently. In The Philosophers' Quarrel: Rousseau, Hume, and the Limits of Human Understanding Robert Zaretsky and John T Scott tell the story. Continued..

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A history of the circle Free Association Books, 1999 ISBN: 1853434612 Mathematics is very good at giving precise answers, but many people have wondered just how useful this is in practice. In A history of the circle Ernest Zebrowski takes a look at this question, using the circle as an example. He dicusses how meaningful it is to calculate pi to billions of decimals when we can only measure circumference of a circle to few decimal places. He goes on to look at the invention of the wheel, at the occurence of circles in astronomy and at waves and the work of Fourier. In the last couple of chapters he looks further at the theoretical/practical dichotomy. Continued..

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Quantum (un)speakables Springer, 2002 ISBN: 3540427562 Mentioned in Local Realism

The Lucifer Effect Rider, 2008 ISBN: 1844135772 We tend to think of goodness or badness as inate to a person's character. Philip Zimbardo disagrees, and in The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil he shows how the situations people find themselves in play a large part in how they behave. Continued..

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A first course in string theory Cambridge University Press ISBN: 05218314ï Mentioned in road to reality This book is based on courses the author gave to undergraduates. I have a feeling that most students at this level would struggle with the material - but then its a difficult subject, and this is probably their best option. The book is in two parts. The first develops the theory, leading up to closed and open relativistic quantum strings. The second gives some applications of this theory, including a chapter on string thermodynamics and black holes. Continued..

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