Ten Science Books You Must Read

Writing about science for the public is a difficult task. Science writers frequently assume that the reader has knowledge that is beyond that of the layman. Some authorities, however, reduce their explanations to essentials that the layman can grasp. The books below do this without dumbing down the content, and are valuable additions to anyone's library.

Richard Feynman--"Six Easy Pieces" This book consists of the six most accessible chapters from Feynman's text "Lectures on Physics." If the reader is truly interested in the subject, he might read the full set of lectures. But "Six Easy Pieces" will satisfy most curiosity, and give the basis for understanding the books below.

Stephen Hawking--"A Brief History of Time" Hawking is world famous as a theoretical physicist and intellectual giant. In this book he explains how the physical properties of the universe caused it to come into being, and how it developed into the world that we live in. Anyone who has ever felt awe when looking into the night sky should read this book.

Daniel Dennett--"Consciousness Explained" Dennett calls himself a philosopher, but his writings deal with subjects that are under intense scientific scrutiny. He might be considered as doing thought experiments with the thing that thinks: the human mind. In this book he explores the nature of consciousness, or what makes us ourselves.

Richard Dawkins--"The Selfish Gene" and "The Ancestor's Tale" Dawkins is the only molecular biologist with the ability to communicate this subject to laymen. In "The Selfish Gene" he explains how genes work, why they work, and how they bring about evolution. In "The Ancestor's Tale" he follows the tree of evolution back to its roots, starting from now. It is a brilliant explanation of how we came to be the way we are.

John McPhee--"Annals of the Former World" Mcphee conducts us on a tour of our planet's geological history. The book is written in a narrative form, and is as entertaining as it is informative. If one can only read one of these books, this is it.

Linus Pauling--"General Chemistry" Although written as a first-year college text, it is a complete explanation of the science of chemistry that can comfortably be read at home by the fire. There is no complex math or obscure terminology.

Lisa Randall--"Warped Passages" This is the only accessible book on the subject of string and brane theory. Dr. Randall is currently working with the Large Hadron Collider, and has the communication skills to pull off what must be one of the most difficult tasks in modern publishing.

Ray Kurzweil--"The Singularity Is Near" This is a controversial book, and offers a viewpoint that most have a hard time accepting. Nevertheless, it is a very thought-provoking look at the future in ways that few have even considered.

John Derbyshire--"Unknown Quantity" This is really a history of algebra, but no science could be done without algebra. It is a very entertaining and enlightening volume, accessible to anyone who managed to pass high-school algebra.