10 memorable pop-science books of recent years

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

How old is our universe? How did life on Earth come about? What will cars look like in the future? Popular science books in this collection will give you answers to these questions and help you become a more erudite person.

1. “The origin of life. From nebula to cell ", Mikhail Nikitin

The book by Mikhail Nikitin, unlike most popular science books on biology, is not just a collection of entertaining facts, but a really deep and detailed analysis of the latest experiments and discoveries in the field of evolution.

Over the 21st century, science has learned a lot about the emergence of our planet and the origin of life on Earth. This publication contains all the most important things with detailed explanations so that even readers who are far from biology can learn the material.

2. "13.8. In Search of the True Age of the Universe and Theory of Everything ", John Gribbin

How old is our universe? John Gribbin's book is devoted to the answer to this question. The title already has a spoiler - 13.8 billion years old. This is not just a figure, but a fundamental discovery that has become possible only in our days. The book explains in detail what it gave and how it influenced science. Ideal for people who are interested in space and want to know more about it.

3. The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins

Richard Dawkins is known all over the world not only as an outstanding evolutionary biologist and ethologist, but also as a popularizer of science - few people are able to explain the most complex issues so gracefully and easily.

His book "The Selfish Gene" is devoted to an interesting problem: why do altruists appear who risk and sacrifice themselves for the benefit of others? After all, the instinct of self-preservation makes a living being first of all think about his own safety and save his life.

Dawkins' hypothesis is simple, but at the same time allows us to look at evolution in a new way: its goal is not the preservation of an individual, but a set of genes. This means that the meaning of a person's life is to pass on their genes to descendants. At the same time, your egoistic genes do not care what happens to you after task number one is completed.

4. "History of the World in Infographics", James Ball, Valentina D'Efilippo

A little about everything: from the creation of the Universe and the appearance of our planet to primitive societies and the emergence of civilizations, then to the most important events in the history of states, and, finally, many interesting facts about the modern world.

The publication is designed in a very high quality, with colorful illustrations, diagrams, graphs. Interesting stories await you in the book, not dry listing of facts. Infographics complement them and help to remember information.

5. “Look what's inside you. How the microbes in our body determine our health and our personality”, Rob Knight

It's time to look at yourself in a new way: you are not only yourself, but also trillions of microscopic creatures that live in your eyes, ears, stomach … And not only live, but also affect your health, behavior, mood and tastes. Rob Knight, one of the leading microbiologists of our time, explains how to learn to live in harmony with your microflora.

6. “What we see when we read. Phenomenological research with illustrations ", Peter Mendelsund

Peter Mendelsund is an artist who has designed many books for renowned publishers. His own book is about human perception. What actually happens in a person's head when he reads fiction? How do we create our own unique portrait of a hero or object from pieces of small author's comments and mentions?

Author's illustrations in the book act on a par with the text: they not only complement it, but also help to launch the imagination while reading.

7. “Mysterious Pages. Entertaining cryptography ", Ivan Efishov

To understand cryptography, you need a deep knowledge of algebra and higher mathematics. Relax, you don't need them to read this book. The purpose of the book is completely different - to interest the reader with fascinating stories about ciphers, along the way explaining the principles of simple encryption and decryption in a playful way.

You will learn about cryptography through examples from various fields of science and art - linguistics, literature, mathematics, astronomy, politics, music, biology, and physics.

8. "Philosophy. Short Course ", Paul Kleinman

Paul Kleinman's second book about complex sciences in simple terms. First there was a short course in psychology that became a bestseller. This time, Kleinman swung at philosophy.

If you have not come across philosophy, you will learn the most important ideas and interesting facts about great thinkers. And you will be able to independently conduct thought experiments. In general, for a beginner who wants to improve his level of erudition, this is the very thing.

9. "How the Economy Works" by Ha-Joon Chang

Although the book promises a simple and engaging presentation of well-known facts of economic theory, the author does not limit himself to retelling well-known truths. Ha-Joon Chang acquaints readers with all the variety of economic theories and approaches to the analysis of hypotheses, so that the reader can independently form an opinion about them.

This approach to the presentation of the material helps to achieve two main goals. First, to remind the reader that economics is not an abstract subject about boring numbers, but the basis of any human activity. Secondly, to gain useful knowledge from this area that can be applied in practice.

10. "The Future of Things: How Fairy Tale and Fiction Become Reality" by David Rose

Everyone is interested to know how technology will change the world we are used to in the future. Of course, no one can say for sure. But David Rose, who has been developing Internet-connected devices for many years, takes on this daunting task.

Based on personal development experience and knowledge of technology, the author explains how interfaces affect the design and construction of different things. And projects these findings into the future, imagining what cars, umbrellas, wallets, musical instruments or jobs will look like in a few decades.