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Browse SpaceHere are some recommendations for excellent science books that will help you to develop a more general perspective on what you are doing. They may also help you pick an area of interest which to follow.
Further recommendations for science books are in the weekly New Scientist which is in the IRC. (The New Scientist itself is also a very good source for more science stories.)
Some of these books are available in the IRC.
On science in general:
- A Short History Of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson (Doubleday/Transworld) - The famous travel journalist's quest to understand the world around us, from the Big Bang to the evolution (and extinction) of species, told with an eye on the fascinating characters and tales from the history of science ("how do we know the things that we know"). I like the book especially for its fluent, lucid, and entertaining style, for the focus on the essential story rather than the details, and for the explanation of the process of generation of scientific knowledge.
- Life on the Edge, by Michael Gross (Plenum Publishing). An engaging account of organisms living at extremes of temperature, pressure, and chemical conditions, which - in its lucid description of biochemical and cell biological phenomena - puts many things from the General BCCB lecture into context.
- Molecules at an Exhibition, by John Emsley (Oxford University Press). The author has collected his "Molecule of the Month" series of essays in a British newspaper into an entertaining book about the chemistry - and biochemistry - behind everyday life.
- In The Beginning Was The Worm, by Andrew Brown (Simon & Schuster) - The story of the nematode worm C. elegans and the scientists who have devoted their lives to unraveling its secrets. Gives insights into the work of scientists such as Sydney Brenner, Bob Horvitz and Sir John Sulston, who shared a 2002 Nobel Prize for their work on this microscopic creature, the first organism to have its entire genome sequenced.
- Power Unseen: How Microbes Rule the World by Bernhard Dixon (Oxford University Press, ISBN 071674550X) This entertaining book portrays the many, diverse and often unexpected activities of microbes through a series of 75 short stories. It leaves the reader in no doubt that microbes really rule the world.
- The man who mistook his wife for a hat, and Uncle Tungsten - Memories of a Chemical Boyhood, both by Oliver Sacks.
On specialized areas of molecular life science:
- In Search of Memory - The Emergence of a new Science of Mind by Eric Kandel (W.W. Norton, in the IRC). The Nobel Laureate shows in his comprehensive (500 p.) and very personal memoirs the development of modern neurobiology and his deep fascination with it.
On a life (and career) in science:
- Who wants to be a scientist? by Nancy Rothwell (Cambridge University Press). From the Publisher's Review: "As careers in science have become increasingly demanding, they require much more than a keen scientific mind and practical ability. If you are considering a career in research, have already embarked on your career and want to succeed, are uncertain which route to take or advise, train or supervise scientists, this book offers some helpful advice. Nancy Rothwell, a senior scientist with extensive experience training scientists and communicating with the public, covers topics ranging from choosing a PhD or postdoctoral position, successful interviews and preparing your cv to managing your supervisor; how to give successful talks, publish high quality papers and become known within your field. Broader aspects of science which are so important today are also covered, including ethics and fraud, intellectual property and exploitation and disseminating science to the public."
Available in the IRC. - Advice to a young scientist by Peter Medawar (Basic Books). The titan of 20th century molecular medicine gives well-meaning and funny (in the British sense) advice on (from the chapter headings): How do I tell if I am cut out to be a scientific research worker? - What shall I do research on? - How can I equip myself to be a scientist or a better one? - Women in science - Aspects of scientific life and manners - Of younger and older scientists - Presentations - Experiment and discovery - Prizes and rewards - The scientific process. Some details of the 25-year old book feel out of date now but it still is an excellent companion up to your first faculty position. See the following quote: "A novice must stick it out until he discovers whether the rewards and compensations of the scientific life are for him comensurate with the disappointments and the toil; but if once a scientist experiences the exhilaration of discovery (...) then he is hooked, and no other kind of life will do."
- A Passion for Science, by Lewis Wolpert and Alison Richards (Oxford University press). A collection of essays about great scientists of the 20th century, written up from original conversations. An ideal book to find out what a life dedicated to science is like, what makes these people enthusiastic, and why molecular life science is the most beautiful thing in the world.
- Jeff's View on science and scientists by Jeff Schatz - a collection of witty, enlightening, and and insightful essays about science, science as a career, and science policy. Available in the IRC.
Some classic, more complicated, but nevertheless interesting books on the philosophy of science:
- The two cultures by C.P. Snow. Here is an excerpt:
_" A good many times I have been present at gatherings of people who, by the standards of the traditional culture, are thought highly educated and who have with considerable gusto been expressing their incredulity of scientists. Once or twice I have been provoked and have asked the company how many of them could describe the Second Law of Thermodynamics. The response was cold: it was also negative. Yet I was asking something which is the scientific equivalent of: Have you read a work of Shakespeare's?
I now believe that if I had asked an even simpler question – such as, What do you mean by mass, or acceleration, which is the scientific equivalent of saying, Can you read? – not more than one in ten of the highly educated would have felt that I was speaking the same language. So the great edifice of modern physics goes up, and the majority of the cleverest people in the western world have about as much insight into it as their neolithic ancestors would have had."_ - An introduction to the study of experimental medicine by Claude Bernard (translation, Dover books). Written in 1865 by the person who transformed physiology into an exact science. The task of this book was to explain the basic principles of scientific research and the process of generation of knowledge in science, illustrated with examples from Bernard's own work. It still does the same thing today...
Copyright Sebastian Springer 2005-7. I am always grateful for more recommendations.