BVBook Verdict

Nonfiction

Best Popular Science Books

Popular science at its best is a form of literature — writing that makes complex ideas clear and beautiful without distorting them. These books change how you understand the world you are already living in.

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A Brief History of Time Stephen Hawking · 1988 Editor's Choice Get it on Amazon →
Cosmos Carl Sagan · 1980 Essential Read Get it on Amazon →
A Short History of Nearly Everything Bill Bryson · 2003 Essential Read See details →
Braiding Sweetgrass Robin Wall Kimmerer · 2013 Essential Read See details →
The Tipping Point Malcolm Gladwell · 2000 Essential Read See details →
On the Origin of Species Charles Darwin · 1859 Essential Read See details →

More worth reading

The Selfish Gene Richard Dawkins · 1976 Recommended Get it on Amazon →
The Emperor of All Maladies Siddhartha Mukherjee · 2010 Recommended Get it on Amazon →
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Rebecca Skloot · 2010 Recommended See details →
Stiff Mary Roach · 2003 Recommended See details →
Entangled Life Merlin Sheldrake · 2020 Recommended See details →
I Contain Multitudes Ed Yong · 2016 Recommended See details →
A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived Adam Rutherford · 2016 Recommended See details →
At Home Bill Bryson · 2010 Recommended See details →
Authority and the Individual Bertrand Russell · 1949 Recommended See details →
Bad Science Ben Goldacre · 2008 Recommended See details →
Billions and billions Carl Sagan · 1997 Recommended See details →
Black oxen Gertrude Atherton · 1923 Recommended See details →
Blink Malcolm Gladwell · 2004 Recommended See details →
Body Image Sarah Grogan · 2001 Recommended See details →
Brief Answers to the Big Questions Stephen Hawking · 2014 Recommended See details →
Brown Girl in the Ring Nalo Hopkinson · 1998 Recommended See details →
Bully for Brontosaurus Stephen Jay Gould · 1991 Recommended See details →
Civilization Edward Carpenter · 1889 Recommended See details →
Computerdenken Roger Penrose · 1989 Recommended See details →
Data Collection in Sociolinguistics Christine Mallinson · 2013 Recommended See details →
Eight Little Piggies Stephen Jay Gould · 1993 Recommended See details →
Everybody's guide to small claims court Ralph E. Warner · 1980 Recommended See details →
Extras Scott Westerfeld · 2007 Recommended See details →
Fast Food Nation Eric Schlosser · 2001 Recommended See details →
Hackers Steven Levy · 1984 Recommended See details →
Homo Ludens Johan Huizinga · 1938 Recommended See details →
How computers work Ron White · 1993 Recommended See details →
I Have Landed Stephen Jay Gould · 1999 Recommended See details →
Kitsch Gillo Dorfles · 1969 Recommended See details →
Media & culture Richard Campbell · 1998 Recommended See details →
Modern Japan Elise Tipton · 2002 Recommended See details →
Nothing to envy Barbara Demick · 2009 Recommended See details →
On becoming babywise Gary Ezzo · 1993 Recommended See details →
One, two, three ... infinity George Gamow · 1947 Recommended See details →
Stone age economics Marshall Sahlins · 1972 Recommended See details →
Subculture Dick Hebdige · 1981 Recommended See details →
Survival of the Sickest Sharon Moalem · 2007 Recommended See details →
The American Culture of War Adrian R. Lewis · 2006 Recommended See details →
The Blind Watchmaker Richard Dawkins · 1986 Recommended See details →
The Demon-Haunted World Carl Sagan · 1995 Recommended See details →
The Disappearing Spoon Sam Kean · 2010 Recommended See details →
The Fabric of the Cosmos Brian Greene · 2004 Recommended See details →
The Gene Siddhartha Mukherjee · 2016 Recommended See details →
The Human Body Isaac Asimov · 1963 Recommended See details →
The Human Brain Isaac Asimov · 1963 Recommended See details →
The Human Use of Human Beings Norbert Wiener · 1950 Recommended See details →
The Intelligent Man's Guide to Science Isaac Asimov · 1960 Recommended See details →
The Intermediate Sex Edward Carpenter · 1907 Recommended See details →
The Road to Reality Roger Penrose · 2004 Recommended See details →
The Tao of Physics Fritjof Capra · 1975 Recommended See details →
The Universe Isaac Asimov · 1966 Recommended See details →
The amateur astronomer Patrick Moore · 1957 Recommended See details →
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance Robert M. Pirsig · 1974 Recommended See details →

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