I just finished ‘The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking)’ by Katie Mack, and I loved it. I want to read more entertaining books that expand my knowledge of science. I’m open to any science, but my favorites are physics, neurology, and social sciences. Thanks!
by stufflebear
13 Comments
Black Hole War by Leonard Susskind
Alien Oceans
5 billion years of solitude
A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
Mary Roach has a few nonfiction books that are super fascinating, I read Grunt some months ago and liked it a great deal
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Combines chemistry, neurology and medical ethics.
*Hidden Valley Road*, by Robert Kolker – I really recommend this for more knowledge about schizophrenia and psychology.
Demon in the freezer by Richard Preston. Mainly about the eradication of small pox.
Michio Kaku’s **The God Equation** (unfortunate title aside) explains the progression of physics theories over the centuries that sought to model the universe.
Max Tegmark’s **Life 3.0** is speculative non-fiction. It presents the spectrum of futures mankind is facing due to the ascent of artificial intelligence. It’s information-dense (quite wordy) and the author’s background as a professor of physics shows in the book.
[I too enjoyed Dr. Mack’s book immensely.]
If you liked Katie Mack there are a gaggle of physics/astrophysics authors you’ll probably enjoy. I haven’t read a bad one from this group so feel free to choose a title at random. David Deutsch, Lisa Randall, Brian Greene, Brian Cox, Carlo Rovelli, Stephen Hawking, Sean Carroll, Steven Weinberg, Sabine Hossenfelder, Frank Wilczek, Michio Kaku, Lawrence Krauss, Carl Sagan, Neil de Grasse Tyson. (I may add more if I think of them)
Of the group I’d start with *The Big Picture* by Sean Carroll and then maybe *The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations that Transform the World* by David Deutsch. Both are near 10/10
I’ve spent the last 25 years reading non-fiction and have encountered everything from theoretical chemistry to clinical psychiatry. Happy to share as many suggestions as you’d like. Here are a few of my 5-stars to give you a break from F=*m*a:
The Sun Is a Compass: A 4,000-Mile Journey into the Alaskan Wilds –Caroline Van Hemert
Thinking, Fast and Slow –Danny Kahneman
I Contain Multitudes –Ed Yong
How the World Really Works: The Science Behind How We Got Here and Where We’re Going –Vaclav Smil
Enlightenment Now –Steve Pinker
The Hacking of the American Mind –Robert Lustig
The End of the World is Just the Beginning –Peter Zeihan
Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time –Dava Sobel
The Uninhabitable Earth –David Wallace-Wells
Justice For Animals –Martha Nussbaum
This is Vegan Propaganda –Ed Winters
Psych: The Story of the Human Mind –Paul Bloom
Never Split the Difference –Chris Voss
Anything by Carlo Rovelli really.
I’d recommend:
Seven brief lessons on Physics;
The Order of Time;
Reality Is Not What It Seems: the Journey to Quantum Gravity.
Each One of these is a gem in its own way I think 🙂
*Big Bang,* Simon Singh. Really the history of science
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History
by Elizabeth Kolbert