GOOD SCIENCE BOOKS
Recommended by various teachers on NSTA’s listserv; Compiled in part by Herbert Tsoi
Author(s) / Editor(s) / Name of book / Page # / Publisher, year of publication, ISBN / Comments accompanying some of the original recommendationsAbbey, Edward / Desert Solitaire: A season in the wilderness / 352 / 1985
Abbott, Edwin / Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions / 96 / 1992 / The best introduction one can find into the manner of perceiving dimensions (Asimov). Thought provoking very short book.
Ackerman, Diane / A natural history of the senses / 352 / Vintage Books, 1991.
Ackerman, Diane / The Moon by Whale Light: And Other Adventures Among Bats, Penguins, Crocodilians, and Whales / 249 / First Vintage Books, 1992. ISBN 0-679-74226-3
Ackerman, Diane / The Rarest of the Rare: Vanishing Animals, Timeless Worlds / 208 / Vintage, 1997. ISBN 978-0679776239
Aczel, Amir / Uranium Wars: the Scientific Rivalry that Created the Nuclear Age. / 256 / Traces the story of the discoveries around radioactivity, then describes the competition to develop the fission bomb and continues with the H-bomb and the cold war.
Adams, Douglas / The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy / 208
Adams, Douglas / The Restaurant at the end of the Universe / 256 / 1995
Adams , Douglas and Mark Carwardine / Last Chance to See / 256
Adler, Irving & De Witt, Cornelius / The Wonders of Physics: An Introduction to the Physical World / 165 / Golden Press, 1966. ASIN B0007DVHGQ
Alder, Ken / The Measure of All Things: The seven-year odyssey and hidden error that transformed the world / 448 / Free Press, 2002. / The story of the two astronomers/scientists commissioned to measure the length of the prime meridian through France in order to determine the length of the prime meridian and, thereby, the meter. Mechain fudges his data, Delambre makes calculation errors.
Alexander, Caroline / The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition / 224 / 1998
Alten, Steve / Meg: a novel of deep terror / 288 / 2008
Alvarez, Walter / T-Rex and the Crater of Doom / 216 / 2008
Alvord, Lori & Pelt, Elizabeth Cohen Van / The Scalpel and the Silver Bear: The First Navajo Woman Surgeon Combines Western Medicine and Traditional Healing / 204 / 2000. ISBN 0553378007
Ambrose, Stephen / Undaunted Courage / 528
American Nuclear Society / Controlled Nuclear Chain Reaction: The First 50 Years / 193 / American Nuclear Society, 1992. ISBN 0-89448-557-1
Andrews, Sarah / Fault Line (St. Martin's Minotaur Mysteries) / 336 / 2003
Andrews, Sarah / Killer Dust: A Mystery Featuring Forensic Geologist Em Hansen / 320 / 2003
Angier, Natalie / The Canon: A whirligig tour of the beautiful basics of science / 304
Ardrey, Robert / African Genesis: A personal investigation into the animal origins and nature of man / 384 / 1977 / A easy read.
Ariely, Dan / Predictably Irrational / 322
Asimov, Isaac / Asimov's Chronology of Science & Discovery: Updated and Illustrated / 791 / HarperCollins Publishers, 1994. ISBN: 0062701134
Asimov, Isaac / Understanding Physics: 3 Volumes in One: Motion, Sound & Heat; Light, Magnetism & Electricity; The Electron, Proton & Neutron (v. 1-3) / 496 / Dorset Press, 1988. ISBN 978-0880292511
Atkins, Peter / Galileo's Finger: The ten great ideas of science / 400
Atkins, Peter / The Periodic Kingdom: A Journey Into the Land of the Chemical Elements (Science Masters Series) / 176
Baker, Rachel and Copelman, Evelyn / The First Woman Doctor / 192 / Scholastic Paperbacks,
1987. ISBN 059044767X.
Baker, Robert A. / A Stress Analysis of a Strapless Evening Gown: Essays for a Scientific Age / 192 / Prentice Hall, 1982. ISBN 0138526087
Bakker, Bob / Dinosaur Heresies:New Theories Unlocking the Mystery of the Dinosaurs and Their Extinction / 480 / 2001
Ball, Phillip / Elegant Solutions: Ten Beautiful Experiments in Chemistry / 220
Barry, John / Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How it Changed America / 528 / 1998
Bartusiak, Marcia / Einstein's Unfinished Symphony: Listening to the Sound of Space-Time / 272 / Berkley, 2003. ISBN 0-425-18620-2
Baxter, Stephen / Ages in Chaos: James Hutton and the Discovery of Deep Time / 256 / 2006 / Geology
Beckette, Simon / The Chemistry of Death / 313 / Bantam Books, 2006. ISBN 978-0593055212 / kids will find fascinating because it is so graphic and gruesome
Beerling, David / The Emerald Planet: how plants changed Earth's history / 304
Bekoff, marc / Minding Animals: Awareness, Emotions, and Heart / 256 / Oxford University Press, 2003, 0195163370 / An exhilarating tour of the emotional and mental world of animals, meet creatures who do amazing things and whose lives are filled with mysteries.
Belkin, Lisa / First, Do No Harm / 368 / Ballantine Books, 1993, ISBN: 0-449-22290-X.
Bell, Madison Smartt / Lavoisier in the Year One: The Birth of a New Science in an Age of Revolution / 214 / W. W. Norton & Co, 2005. ISBN 0393-05155-2
Benton, Michael J. / When Life Nearly Died: The Greatest Mass Extinction of All Time / 336 / 2005
Berger, John / Nuclear Power: The Unviable Option: A Critical Look At Our Energy Alternatives / 384 / Ramparts Press, 1976. ISBN 978-0878670635
Bernd Heinrich / The Geese of Beaver Bog / 240 / ASIN B000GG4FZE 2005
Bernd Heinrich / Winter World: The Ingenuity of Animal Survival / 400 / 2009. ISBN 978-0061129070
Berry, Adrian / Galileo and the Dolphins: Amazing But True Stories From Science / 288 / 1996
Biddle, Wayne / A Field Guide to Germs / 240 / 2002
Biro, David / One Hundred Days: My Unexpected Journey from Doctor to Patient. / 304 / Vintage. IBSN 0-375-70673-9
Bjornerud, Marcia / Reading the Rocks: The Autobiography of the Earth / 256 / 2006 / Really well written story of geology
Blanding, Sharon L. / The Science of Sports: How Things in Sports Work / 201 / Barnes & Noble, 2003. ISBN 978-0760735015
Blum, Deborah / Sex on the Brain / 352
Blum, Deborah / The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York / 319
Bobick, James / The Handy Biology Answer Book / 565 / 2004. ISBN 978-1578591503
Bodanis, David / E=MC2 : The Biography of the World's Most Famous Equation / 337 / A great book for understanding a lot of basic chemistry and physics.
Bodanis, David / Passionate Minds: Emilie du Chatelet, Voltaire, and the Great Love Affair of the Enlightenment / 384 / 2007
Bohjalian, Chris A. / Midwives / 384 / Vintage Books, ISBN 0375706771
Bortz, Fred / Library of Subatomic Particles / Rosen Publishing Group, 2004 / 6 volumes. Each volume is about 64 pages
Bortz, Fred / Beyond Jupiter – The Story of Planetary Astronomer Heidi Hammel / 128 / 2006
Bortz, Fred and Bortz, Alfred / Physics: Decade by Decade / 263 / Facts On File, 2007. ISBN 9780816055326
Bortz, Fred / Superstuff ! Materials That Have Changed Our Lives / 144 / Franklin Watts, 1990
Bova, Ben / Faint Echoes, Distant Stars: The Science and Politics of Finding Life Beyond Earth / 352 / Harper Collins, 2004. ISBN 0-380-97519-X
Bown, Stephen / A Most Damnable Invention: Dynamite, Nitrates, and the Making of the Modern World / 272 / Thomas Dunne Books, 2005. ISBN 0-312-32913-X
Bradbury, Ray; Clarke, Arthur C.; Murray, Bruce; Sagan, Carl; Sullivan, Walter / Mars and the Mind of Man / 143 / Harper & Row, 1973. ISBN 978-0060104436
Bragg, Melvin / On Giants' Shoulders: Great Scientists and Their Discoveries – from Archimedes to DNA / 386 / Wiley, 2000. ISBN 978-0471396840
Brody, David Eliot and Arnold R. / Science Class You Wish You Has: The seven greatest scientific discoveries in history and the people who made them. / 400
Brown, G. / Scientist, Soldier, Statesman, Spy - Count Rumford: The Extraordinary Life of a Scientific Genius / 182 / Sutton Publishing, 2001. ISBN 978-1422393239
Brox, Jane / Brilliant: The Evolution of Artificial Light / 368 / The history of lighting is a microcosm of scientific and technological advances since the Stone Age.
Bryson, Bill / A Walk in the Woods / 304
Bryson, Bill / A Short History of Nearly Everything / 560 / The book provides students with the reasons of why the Scientific Method evolved as a process and why even they can become scientists. They learn that Newton was a slightly crazy alchemist, Einstein had trouble with math and school, Darwin procrastinated on publishing his ideas, and so on.
Bryson, Bill / At Home: A short history of private life / 592 / Bryson reconstructs the fascinating history of the household, room by room. With waggish humor and a knack for unearthing the extraordinary stories behind the seemingly commonplace.
Buchmann, Stephen L. & Nabhan, Gary Paul / The Forgotten Pollinators / 312 / 1997
Buckingham, John / Chasing the Molecule / 262
Burdick, Alan / Out of Eden: An Odyssey of Ecological Invasion / 352 / 2006 / National Book Award finalist
Burke, James / The Day the Universe Changed: How Galileo's Telescope Changed The Truth and Other Events in History That Dramatically Altered Our Understanding of the World / 352 / 1995
Cairns-Smith, A.G / Seven Clues to the Origin of Life: A Scientific Detective Story / 144 / 1990
Callanan, Maggie & Kelley, Patricia / Final Gifts: Understanding the Special Awareness, Needs, and Communications of the Dying / 239 / 1997, ISBN 0553378767
Carnegie Library of Pittsburg, Science and Technology Department / The Handy Science Answer Book / 650 / Visible Ink Press, 2002.
ISBN 978-1578591404
Carr, Nicholas / The Shallows: What the internet is doing to our brains / 276 / Explores how the tools of the internet age are altering the way people find and use information.
Carroll, Michael C. / Lab 257: The Disturbing Story of the Government's Secret Germ Laboratory / 352 / New York: HarperCollins, 2004. ISBN 006-001141-6
Carroll, Sean B. / Remarkable Creatures / 352
Carroll, Sean B. / Endless Forms Most Beautiful: The New Science of EvoDevo / 368 / 2006 / The new science of "evodevo" (evolutionary developmental biology) examines the relationships between embryonic development and evolutionary changes, despite their radically different time scales
Carroll, Sean B. / The Making of the Fittest: DNA and the Ultimate Forensic Record of Evolution / 304 / 2007 / a fast-paced look at how DNA demonstrates the evolutionary process
Carroll, Sean B. / Remarkable Creatures: Epic Adventures in the Search for the Origin of Species / 352 / 2009 / an entertaining and readable book of the very real people and their true adventures in their search for answers in evolutionary biology
Carson, Ben / Gifted Hands / 323 / Zondervan, 1996. ISBN: 0310214696 / Autobiography of an African American doctor
Carson, Rachel / A Silent Spring / 440 / Fawcett Publications, Inc., 1970 / American Geographical Society - Conservationist of the Year. 1963
Cheney, Margaret / Tesla: Man Out of Time / 400 / 2001 ISBN 978-0743215367
Chown, Marcus / The matchbox that ate a Forty Ton Truck: what everyday things tell us about the universe / 269 / A cosmology writer puts basic physics principles in an everyday context.
Cindi Broaddus, CindiSuiters, Kimberly Lohman / A Random Act: An Inspiring True Story of Fighting to Survive and Choosing to Forgive / 224 / 2006, ISBN 0060735155
Cobb, Cathy, and Fetterolf, Monty L. / The Joy of Chemistry / 393 / 2005 ISBN 1591022312
Colinvaux, Paul A. / Why Big Fierce Animals Are Rare: An Ecologist's Perspective / 256 / Princeton University Press, 1978. ISBN 0-691-08194-8
Cook, Robin / Acceptable Risk / 406 / The Berkeley Publishing Group, New York / medical suspense novels
Cook, Robin / Chromosome 6 / 460 / The Berkeley Publishing Group, New York / medical suspense novels
Cook, Robin / Coma / 386 / The Berkeley Publishing Group, New York / medical suspense novels
Cook, Robin / Contagion / 496 / The Berkeley Publishing Group, New York / medical suspense novels
Cook, Robin / Fatal Cure / 464 / The Berkeley Publishing Group, New York / medical suspense novels
Cook, Robin / Harmful Intent / 368 / The Berkeley Publishing Group, New York, 1991 / medical suspense novels
Cook, Robin / Mutation / 338 / The Berkeley Publishing Group, New York, 1989. ISBN 0-425-11965-3 / medical suspense novels
Cook, Robin / Outbreak / 340 / The Berkeley Publishing Group, New York / medical suspense novels
Cook, Robin / Terminal / 445 / The Berkeley Publishing Group, New York / medical suspense novels
Corwin, Jeff / Living on the Edge: Amazing Relationships in the Natural World / 320 / 2004
Cousins, Norman, / Anatomy of an Illness as Perceived by the Patient: Reflections on Healing and Regeneration / 192 / Norton Publishing , ISBN 0393041905 2001
Coyne, Jerry / Why Evolution is True / 304 / 2010
Credit, Larry P., Hartunian, Sharon G., Nowak, Margaret J., / Your Guide to Complementary Medicine / 224 / Avery Publishing Group, 1998, ISBN: 0-89529-831-7.
Crichton, Michael / Airframe / 351 / Techno-thriller
Crichton, Michael / Andromeda Strain / 286 / Techno-thriller
Crichton, Michael / Congo / 348 / Techno-thriller
Crichton, Michael / Disclosure / 512 / Techno-thriller
Crichton, Michael / Jurassic Park / 399 / Techno-thriller
Crichton, Michael / Next / 418 / Techno-thriller
Crichton, Michael / Prey / 528 / Techno-thriller
Crichton, Michael / Rising Sun / 461 / Techno-thriller
Crichton, Michael / Sphere / 544 / Techno-thriller
Crichton, Michael / State of Fear / 672 / Techno-thriller
Crichton, Michael / The Lost World / 393 / Techno-thriller
Crichton, Michael / Timeline / 512 / Techno-thriller
Crichton, Michael / Travels / 440 / Techno-thriller
Crichton, Michael / Five Patients: The Hospital Explained / 272 / Bt Bound; (May 2000) ISBN: 061321546X
Crick, Francis / What Mad Pursuit: A Personal View of Scientific Discovery / 208 / 1990
Crump, Thomas / A Brief History of Science as Seen Through the Development of Scientific Instruments / 425 / ISBN 0-841l9-235-X
Darwin, Charles / Charles Darwin's Beagle Diary (1831-1836) / 520
Darwin, Charles / The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex / 430 / Long, but classic.
Darwin, Charles / The Voyage of the Beagle / 216 / A much more enjoyable read than other Darwin works. Short and a classic that any serious biology student should read
Darwin, Charles; Quammen, David (ed) / On the Origin of Species – illustrated edition / 386 / The illustrations are plentiful and marvelous and spaced throughout the book are letters and excerpts from Darwin's other writings.
Davies, Paul / The Last Three Minutes: Conjectures About The Ultimate Fate Of The Universe / 176 / Basic Books, 1997. ISBN 978-0465038510
Davis, Sampson; Jenkins, George; Hunt, Rameck; Page, Lisa Frazier / The Pact: Three Young Men make a Promise and Fulfill a Dream / 272 / 2003, ISBN 157322989X / Three men who make a pact to grove up to be doctors.
Dawkins, Richard / A Devil's Chaplain: Reflections on Hope, Lies, Science, and Love / 272 / Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 2003. ISBN 0-618-33540-4
Dawkins, Richard; Ward, Lala / Climbing Mount Improbable / 352 / New York: W. W. Norton & Company. 1996. ISBN 0-393-31682-3
Dawkins, Richard / River Out of Eden: A Darwinian view of Life / 192 / New York: Basic Books. 1995. ISBN 0-465-06990-8
Dawkins, Richard / The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution / 688 / Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 2004. ISBN 0-618-00583-8 / Aventis Prize Finalist, 2005
Dawkins, Richard / The Blind Watchmaker: Why the evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe without Design / 496 / New York: W. W. Norton & Company. 1986. ISBN 0-393-31570-3 / L.A. Times Book Prize, 1987
Dawkins, Richard / The Extended Phenotype / Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1982. ISBN 0-19-288051-9
Dawkins, Richard / The God Delusion / 406 / Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 2006. ISBN 0-618-68000-4
Dawkins, Richard / The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution / 472 / Transworld. 2009. ISBN 0-593-06173-X
Dawkins, Richard / The Selfish Gene / 384 / Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1976. ISBN 0-19-286092-5 / Los Angeles Times Literary Prize
Dawkins, Richard / Unweaving the Rainbow: Science, Delusion, and the Appetite for Wonder / 352 / Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 1998. ISBN 0-618-05673-4
De Kruif, Paul; Gonzalez-Crussi, F. / Microbe Hunters / 372 / An interesting introduction to scientific thinking through the discoveries of Pasteur, Koch, and others. Be careful with this one some historic terms for people of different races may cause students and parents concern
Deffeyes, Kenneth S. / Hubbert's Peak: The Impending World Oil Shortage / 232
Dethier, Vincent / To Know a Fly / 120 / A very slim book on scientific investigation. Easy and fun.
Diamond, Jared / Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed / 592 / Aventis Prize Finalist, 2006
Diamond, Jared / Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies / 496 / Pulitzer Prize, Aventis Prize, 1998
Diamond, Jared / The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal / 432 / Aventis and L A Times Book Prize, 1992
Dillard, Annie / Pilgrim at Tinker Creek / 304 / 1974, HarperCollins. ISBN 1-56849-706-7 / Pulitzer Prize Non-fiction 1975
Dingus, Lowell & Lowe, Timothy / Mistaken Extinction: Dinosaur Evolution and the Origin of Birds / 332
Dixon, Dougal / After Man: A zoology of the Future / 124
Dolnick, Edward / The Clockwork Universe: Issac Newton, The Royal Society, and the Birth of the Modern World. / 400
Dolnick, Edward / Down the Great Unknown: John Wesley Powell’s 1869 Journey of Discovery and Tragedy Through the Grand Canyon / 400
Dr. Seuss / The Lorax / 72 / Elementary but usable even in high school. Message is conservation
Douglas, John and Olshaker, Mark / Mind Hunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit / 375
Douglas, John and Olshaker, Mark / Obsession: The FBI’s Legendary Profiler Probes the Psyches of Killers, Rapists, and Stalkers and their Victims and Tells How to Fight Back / 379
Drye, William / Storm of the Century, the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 / 326
Du Brul, Jack B. / Vulcan’s Forge / 348 / Adventure fiction about an undersea volcano
Duane, Diane / Deep Wizardry / 384
Dubner, Stephen & Leavitt, Steven / Freakonomics / 320
Dubner, Stephen & Leavitt, Steven / Superfreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Substitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers should by Life Insurance / 320
Earle, Sylvia / Sea Change: A Message of the Oceans / 361
Earle, Sylvia / The World is Blue: How Our Fate and the Ocean's are One / 320
Einstein, Albert / Relativity the Special and the General Theory: A clear Explanation that Anyone Can Understand / 92 / Gramercy, 1988. ISBN 0517029618
Eisner, Thomas / For Love of Insects / 464 / Very interesting easy read if you like insects and spiders. Rather long, but the chapters stand alone so you can assign just part of the book. Eisner provides simplified explanations of lots of different experiments he and his students have performed along with their meaning. My favorite is on the silk “writing” produced by some orb weaving spiders. His ingenious simple test of a hypothesis is classic.
Eisner, Thomas, Eisner, Maria, and Siegler, Melody / Secret Weapons: Defenses of Insects, Spiders, Scorpions, and Other Many-Legged Creatures / 384
Emoto, Masaru / The Hidden Messages in Water / 159 / Atria, 2005. ISBN 978-0743289801
Emsley, John / Molecules of murder: criminal molecules and classic cases / 276 / 2008 / Although fairly technical, this book is full of fascinating details and well presented actual case studies (both old and modern). It makes some interesting points: 1) Murder by poison (and to get away with it) is virtually impossible given our current forensic abilities, 2) many "natural" chemicals are among the most toxic 3) Most chemical have both beneficial and detrimental effects depending on dose.
Emsley, John / Molecules at an Exhibition: Portraits of Intriguing Materials in Everyday Life / 272
Emsley, John / Nature's Building Blocks: an A-Z of the elements / 560
Emsley, John / The 13th Element: the sordid tale of murder, fire, and phosphorus / 327 / All about phosphorus. Lots of bombs and boiling of urine. High school boys should like it
Epstein, Fred J. / Gifts of Time / 253 / The Berkley Publishing Group, 1993, ISBN: 0-425-14403-8.
Epstein, Lewis Carroll / Thinking Physics: Understandable Practical Reality / 582 / Insight Press, 2009. ISBN 978-0935218084 / Explains deep ideas in physics in an easy-to-understand way