Books about science

Bill Bryson describes himself as a reluctant traveller, but even when he stays safely in his own study at home, he can't contain his curiosity about the world around him. This book is his quest to understand everything that has happened from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization.

Was there a beginning of time?, Could time run backwards? and Is the universe infinite are just some of the questions considered in this book for the non-scientific layman. The author begins by reviewing the great theories of the cosmos from Newton to Einstein and then delves into the secrets which lie at the heart of space and time.

String theory proclaims that all of the wondrous happenings in the universe are reflections of one grand physical principle and manifestations of one single entity: microscopically tiny vibrating loops of energy. This text relates the scientific story and the human struggle behind this theory.

Presents contemporary beliefs about Divine Providence and the beginnings of life on earth. Written for the general public of the 1850s, this title provides an account of the scientific theory that lies at the root of our attitude to the universe.

This book brings together all the work in a new field of physics, the chaos theory, an extension of classical mechanics. The author shows how computers have been able to help researchers, by mapping the whole plane of solutions of non-linear equations.

The 30th anniversary edition of the million copy international bestseller, with a new introduction from the author. As relevant and influential today as when it was first published, this classic exposition of evolutionary thought, widely hailed for its stylistic brilliance and deep scientific insights, stimulated whole new areas of research.

This work abandons the conventional distinctions between history and science. Diamond focuses on what ancient people were endowed with in the way of land, animals and plants, and on the confrontations between less and more advanced people to see how this led to today's inequalities.

Thomas S. Kuhn's work explaining the process of scientific discovery. This text is the third edition and incorporates a new index.

'What is a self, and how can a self come out of inaminate matter?' This book examines this riddle. Linking together the music of J S Bach, the graphic art of Escher and the mathematical theorems of Godel, as well as ideas drawn from logic, biology, psychology, physics and linguistics, it reveals the mysteries of human thought processes.

Offers an accessible introduction to one of the most important scientific discoveries of all time. This book demonstrates that evolution by natural selection - the unconscious, automatic, blind, yet essentially non-random process discovered by Darwin - is the only answer to the biggest question of all: why do we exist?

The story of 15 billion years of cosmic evolution, transforming matter and life into consciousness, how science and civilization grew up together and the forces and individuals who helped shape modern science. The book aims to make scientific ideas accessible and exciting.

Winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1965, Richard Feynman was one of the world's greatest theoretical physicists, but he was also a man who fell, often jumped, into adventure. This work presents the taped conversations that Feynman's had with his friend Ralph Leighton over a period of years.

The tenth anniversary edition of the dramatic human story of an epic scientific quest: the search for the solution of how to calculate longitude and the unlikely triumph of an English genius. With a new foreword by astronaut Neil Armstrong.

'A magnificent challenge to conventional ideas' Financial Times 'I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It manages to be both challenging and entertaining: it is highly recommended' the Independent '(Greene) send(s) the reader's imagination hurtling through the universe on an astonishing ride.

Presenting different arguments for religion, this book demonstrates the supreme improbability of a supreme being. It aims to show how religion fuels war, foments bigotry and abuses children.

Everything you ever wanted to know about what happens to bodies after they die. In this exploration into the macabre, Mary Roach tells a story that reaches from medieval pharmacies, stories of 19th century body snatching, to the present-day Body Farms, and conferences on human composting.