A Brief History of Time
A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
The top 50
Popular science books of all time
Fifty researched picks for the popular science books of all time, selected for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
How we choseAccuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers. Rankings balance consensus with lasting ownership value and current buyability.
Why it belongs →
The Selfish Gene
The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
Cosmos
Cosmos by Carl Sagan is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
The Emperor of All Maladies
The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
Every 9 Minutes
Every 9 Minutes by Christina Vitagliano is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
A Short History of Nearly Everything
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements
The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements by Sam Kean is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York
The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales by Oliver Sacks is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer
The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
The God Delusion: A Study of Religious Belief and Skepticism
The God Delusion: A Study of Religious Belief and Skepticism by Richard Dawkins is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women by Kate Moore is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife
Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife by Mary Roach is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
Nineteen Ways of Looking at Consciousness
Nineteen Ways of Looking at Consciousness by Patrick House is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal
Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal by Mary Roach is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History
The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions by Randall Munroe is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory
The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory by Brian Greene is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams
Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew Walker is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
The Ghost Map
The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void
Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex
Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary Roach is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
The Grand Design
The Grand Design by Stephen W. Hawking is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
Bad Science
Bad Science by Ben Goldacre is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!: Adventures of a Curious Character
Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!: Adventures of a Curious Character by Richard P. Feynman is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
How the Mind Works
How the Mind Works by Steven Pinker is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883
Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883 by Simon Winchester is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic
Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic by David Quammen is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution
The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution by Richard Dawkins is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
A Universe from Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather Than Nothing
A Universe from Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather Than Nothing by Lawrence M. Krauss is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
The Violinist's Thumb: And Other Lost Tales of Love, War, and Genius, as Written by Our Genetic Code
The Violinist's Thumb: And Other Lost Tales of Love, War, and Genius, as Written by Our Genetic Code by Sam Kean is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
On Learning to Heal: or, What Medicine Doesn't Know (Critical Global Health: Evidence, Efficacy, Ethnography)
On Learning to Heal: or, What Medicine Doesn't Know (Critical Global Health: Evidence, Efficacy, Ethnography) by Ed Cohen is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
Gator Country: Deception, Danger, and Alligators in the Everglades
Gator Country: Deception, Danger, and Alligators in the Everglades by Rebecca Renner is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
Alien Earths: The New Science of Planet Hunting in the Cosmos
Alien Earths: The New Science of Planet Hunting in the Cosmos by Lisa Kaltenegger is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
Six Easy Pieces: Essentials of Physics Explained by Its Most Brilliant Teacher
Six Easy Pieces: Essentials of Physics Explained by Its Most Brilliant Teacher by Richard P. Feynman is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt's New World
The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt's New World by Andrea Wulf is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It
An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It by Al Gore is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
The World Without Us
The World Without Us by Alan Weisman is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life
I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life by Ed Yong is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
Nature's Wild Ideas: How the Natural World is Inspiring Scientific Innovation
Nature's Wild Ideas: How the Natural World is Inspiring Scientific Innovation by Kristy Hamilton is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
Pandora's Lab: Seven Stories of Science Gone Wrong
Pandora's Lab: Seven Stories of Science Gone Wrong by Paul A. Offit is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
Ask Me Why I Hurt: The Kids Nobody Wants and the Doctor Who Heals Them
Ask Me Why I Hurt: The Kids Nobody Wants and the Doctor Who Heals Them by Randy Christensen is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
Blood Work: A Tale of Medicine and Murder in the Scientific Revolution
Blood Work: A Tale of Medicine and Murder in the Scientific Revolution by Holly Tucker is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
Demon Fish: Travels Through the Hidden World of Sharks
Demon Fish: Travels Through the Hidden World of Sharks by Juliet Eilperin is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
Dead Men Do Tell Tales: The Strange and Fascinating Cases of a Forensic Anthropologist
Dead Men Do Tell Tales: The Strange and Fascinating Cases of a Forensic Anthropologist by William R. Maples is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
MindHub: Personality Profiler
MindHub: Personality Profiler by Snapshot Systems is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.
Stuff Matters: Exploring the Marvelous Materials That Shape Our Man-Made World
Stuff Matters: Exploring the Marvelous Materials That Shape Our Man-Made World by Mark Miodownik is a durable science book choice, recognized for accuracy, explanatory power, wonder and influence on general readers.