The top science books, as suggested by the scientists and authors we spoke with. Our annual interview with the Royal Society scientific Book Prize judges is a fantastic place to start if you’re looking for the greatest popular scientific books of the last year that cover a wide range of science themes. Additionally, we have more thorough suggestions for particular scientists and sciences.
We also have a section on the top children’s science books.
Check out our collection of books on cosmology, the Sun, meteorites, astronomy and its history, and other wonders of the Universe if you’re more interested in what happens far beyond the boundaries of our world.
“We still don’t know everything there is to know about gravity,” says James Riordon, a NASA science writer and author of Crush: Close Encounters with Gravity. “We’ve known since the 17th century that the force that holds the planets in the sky is the same force that causes apples to fall from a tree.” He selects his favorite books about gravity, ranging from a humorous book about what it’s like to live without it to the mathematics you need to comprehend it.
The greatest new science books for children are honored with the Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize. This year’s shortlist is introduced by Earth scientist and 2025 judging panel chair Professor Tamsin Mather, who also discusses how scientific storytelling may encourage children to explore their surroundings.
The Royal Society Book Prize judges look for the best new books on scientific topics that are both readable and educational each year. A history of colonial extinction and the tragic tale of the fight to save the world’s first seed bank during the Siege of Leningrad are included in their choice of the greatest popular science books for 2025. We had a conversation with Dr. Sandra Knapp, a botanist who chairs the panel of judges.
In his discussion about science fiction and space travel, Professor Chris Mason informed us that the best science fiction is light on fiction and big on science. He is one of many scientists who have suggested the top science fiction books on our website. He is a geneticist and computational biologist at Cornell. For readers who enjoy science fiction, we’ve compiled a list of all the science fiction works that scientists have suggested.
Each year, a shortlist of the most intelligent, perceptive, and humorous science books from the preceding 12 months is compiled by the Royal Society Science Book Prize judges. We invited Professor John Hutchinson, a distinguished expert in evolutionary biomechanics and the head of the 2024 panel, to share with us their recommendations for the top new popular scientific books.
Some of the most prominent scientists in the world are members of the Royal Society, which was founded in the 1660s. Additionally, it honors the greatest writing in popular science with an annual book prize. This year’s judge, neuroscientist Rebecca Henry, walks us through the amazing books that made the 2023 shortlist and discusses how reading superb science writing may alter your perspective on the world.
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