Science

A revolutionary book from the stand-up mathematician that makes math fun again—now in paperback!Math is boring, says the mathematician and comedian Matt Parker. Part of the problem may be the way the subject is taught, but it's also true that we...

In his first book since the bestselling Fermat's Enigma, Simon Singh offers the first sweeping history of encryption, tracing its evolution and revealing the dramatic effects codes have had on wars, nations, and individual lives. From Mary, Queen of...

'I have a truly marvellous demonstration of this proposition which this margin is too narrow to contain.'It was with these words, written in the 1630s, that Pierre de Fermat intrigued and infuriated the mathematics community. For over 350 years, proving...

Popular math at its most entertaining and enlightening. "Zero is really something"-Washington Post.A New York Times Notable Book.The Babylonians invented it, the Greeks banned it, the Hindus worshiped it, and the Church used it to fend off heretics. Now...

An inside look at modern open source software development and its influence on our online social world.Open source software, in which developers publish code that anyone can use, has long served as a bellwether for other online behavior. In the late...

The story of the man who instigated the work that led to the internet—and shifted our understanding of what computers could be.Behind every great revolution is a vision, and behind perhaps the greatest revolution of our time is the vision of J.C.R...

Acclaimed mathematician David Sumpter shares practical and insightful solutions for navigating the chaos and complexity of our livesWhat is the best way to think about the world? How often do we consider how our own thinking might impact the way we...

Our brains are doing their best, but sometimes they act like real assholes and it can take a lot of work to calm them down. If you're dealing with unresolved trauma, depression, anxiety, anger, grief, or addiction, or just feel like your reactions to...

WINNER of the 2019 PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award. Author of the New York Times 2023 "Notable Book" Crossings. Washington Post “50 Notable Works of Nonfiction”. Science News “Favorite Science Books of...

An evolutionary biologist tells the story of nature’s toxins and why we are attracted—and addicted—to them, in this “magisterial, fascinating, and gripping tour de force” (Neil Shubin). A deadly secret lurks within our spice...

"Once in a while you find a book that stuns you. Its scope leaves you breathless. This is such a book." — John White, San Francisco Chronicle Explore the inner world of plants and its fascinating relation to mankind, as uncovered by the latest...

This "eye-opening and essential" book (Bill Gates) will transform how you see our biggest environmental problems—and explains how we can solve them. It’s become common to tell kids that they’re going to die from climate change. We...

Shortlisted for the 2023 Royal Society Science Book PrizeA structural engineer examines the seven most basic building blocks of engineering that have shaped the modern world.   Some of humanity’s mightiest engineering achievements are small in...

A breakthrough scientific narrative from a top scientist in the field, Why We Remember digs into the brain’s function, explaining how memory works and also providing actionable steps for how to cultivate our memory for key utility. Backed by...

The simple, science-based, “Paleo perfected” (Vogue) diet that promotes effortless weight loss and peak health—written by two Harvard scientists.In Perfect Health Diet, Paul and Shou-Ching Jaminet explain in straightforward terms how...

A powerful memoir from Katalin Karikó, winner of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, whose decades-long research led to the COVID-19 vaccines“Katalin Karikó’s story is an inspiration.”—Bill...

An unprecedented look inside the global battle to power our lives from acclaimed Reuters reporter Ernest Scheyder.A new economic war for critical minerals has begun, and The War Below is an urgent dispatch from its front lines. To build electric...

Douglas W. Tallamy awakened thousands of readers to an urgent situation: wildlife populations are in decline because the native plants they depend on are fast disappearing. His solution? Plant more natives. In this middle grade adaptation of the New York...

From “a captivating storyteller” (Wall Street Journal), the natural history of humankind told through our long relationship with birds For the whole of human history, we have lived alongside birds. We have hunted and domesticated them...

A Scientific American Best Staff Read of 2023.A moving account of raising, then freeing, an orphaned screech owl, whose lasting friendship with the author illuminates humanity’s relationship with the world. When ecologist Carl Safina and his wife,...