Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Friar Bellows · 10-12-2002, 05:48 AM

List your five favourite science books, popular, technical or a bit of both, it doesn't matter, just try to make the number five, or near enough. Here's mine:

* <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/052166148/qid=thesecularweb/" target="_blank">Cosmology: The Science of the Universe</a> by Edward R. Harrison (A great introductory book on cosmology, dated in parts, but that's the nature of the beast. A lot of good stuff on the history and philosophy of science, too.)

* <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/048623567X/qid=thesecularweb/" target="_blank">Burnham's Celestial Handbook (3 volumes) </a> by Robert Burnham Jr. (For decades this has been the amateur astronomer's bible. Beautiful descriptions of the thousands of deep sky objects that Burnham observed over many years of his interesting and tragic life.)

* <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0393315703/qid=thesecularweb/" target="_blank">The Blind Watchmaker</a> by Richard Dawkins (Dawkins is a great writer. Read this book to find out why.)

* <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0716703440/qid=thesecularweb/" target="_blank">Gravitation</a> by Charles W. Misner, John Archibald Wheeler and Kip S. Thorne. (If you want to understand gravity, avoid this book at your peril. Even the experts will take time out of their research to curl up in bed with this weighty tome to give their minds a good cleansing.)

* <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0691025657/qid=thesecularweb/" target="_blank">Galactic Astronomy</a> by James Binney and Michael Merrifield (Actually, I don't think this is a great book. It's just that the subject, galaxies, really fascinates me at the moment, and there's such a wealth of facts and information in this book that I find immensely interesting.)

Abacus · 10-12-2002, 11:42 AM

Hmmm. It looks like I will have to add a few more books to the reading list. Thanks Friar.

I haven't read The Blind Watchmaker yet. I've read two or three other Dawkins books, but not that one yet.

Here are my favorites (so far):

The Character of Physical Law by Richard Feynman

The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene

A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking

Cosmos by Carl Sagan

Gravitation by Misner, Wheeler and Thorne

[ October 12, 2002: Message edited by: Abacus ]</p>

RealityCheck · 10-12-2002, 06:44 PM

Hard for me to pick only five.

Origin of the Species by Charles Darwin
What is Life? & Mind and Matter, by Erwin Schrodinger
The Inflationary Universe, by Alan Guth
The Blind Watchmaker, by Richard Dawkins
Contemporary Astronomy, by Jay M. Pasachoff(A textbook)

Not science, but should be mentioned - Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid, by Douglas R. Hofstadter

Coragyps · 10-12-2002, 06:56 PM

Siderius Nuncius by Galileo Galilei is pretty cool for 1610...

The Map that Changed the World by Simon Winchester is very interesting, though unevenly written.

My next, I hope, will be Gaining Ground by the Englishwoman that brought us the real details on great-grandpa Acanthostega. Has anybody read it?

Edited to add: Jennifer Clack wrote Gaining Ground.

[ October 13, 2002: Message edited by: Coragyps ]</p>

HomoSapien · 10-12-2002, 07:41 PM

This is a great thread...and I am writing them down as you write...what a reading list...I love it.

Kantian · 10-12-2002, 09:56 PM

Karl Popper's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0415043182/qid%3D1034488588/103-6230701-1830269" target="_blank">Conjectures and Refutations</a>
Paul Feyerabend's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0860916464" target="_blank">Against Method</a>
Carl Hempel's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0029143403" target="_blank">Aspects of Scientific Explanation</a>
Brian Greene's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0375708111" target="_blank">Elegant Universe</a>
Any old <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/103-6230701-1830269" target="_blank">John Gribbin book!</a>
~Transcendentalist~

cricket · 10-12-2002, 11:21 PM

Phantoms in the Brain -- VS Ramachandran
Genome - Matt Ridley
The Selfish Gene -Richard Dawkins
The Blind Watchmaker -- Richard Dawkins
The Evolution of Consciousness - Robt Ornstein

10-12-2002, 05:48 AM	#1
Friar Bellows Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: arse-end of the world Posts: 2,305	Top Five Science Books List your five favourite science books, popular, technical or a bit of both, it doesn't matter, just try to make the number five, or near enough. Here's mine: * <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/052166148/qid=thesecularweb/" target="_blank">Cosmology: The Science of the Universe</a> by Edward R. Harrison (A great introductory book on cosmology, dated in parts, but that's the nature of the beast. A lot of good stuff on the history and philosophy of science, too.) * <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/048623567X/qid=thesecularweb/" target="_blank">Burnham's Celestial Handbook (3 volumes) </a> by Robert Burnham Jr. (For decades this has been the amateur astronomer's bible. Beautiful descriptions of the thousands of deep sky objects that Burnham observed over many years of his interesting and tragic life.) * <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0393315703/qid=thesecularweb/" target="_blank">The Blind Watchmaker</a> by Richard Dawkins (Dawkins is a great writer. Read this book to find out why.) * <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0716703440/qid=thesecularweb/" target="_blank">Gravitation</a> by Charles W. Misner, John Archibald Wheeler and Kip S. Thorne. (If you want to understand gravity, avoid this book at your peril. Even the experts will take time out of their research to curl up in bed with this weighty tome to give their minds a good cleansing.) * <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0691025657/qid=thesecularweb/" target="_blank">Galactic Astronomy</a> by James Binney and Michael Merrifield (Actually, I don't think this is a great book. It's just that the subject, galaxies, really fascinates me at the moment, and there's such a wealth of facts and information in this book that I find immensely interesting.)

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10-12-2002, 11:42 AM	#2
Abacus Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: South Dakota Posts: 2,214	Hmmm. It looks like I will have to add a few more books to the reading list. Thanks Friar. I haven't read The Blind Watchmaker yet. I've read two or three other Dawkins books, but not that one yet. Here are my favorites (so far): The Character of Physical Law by Richard Feynman The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking Cosmos by Carl Sagan Gravitation by Misner, Wheeler and Thorne [ October 12, 2002: Message edited by: Abacus ]</p>

10-12-2002, 06:44 PM	#3
RealityCheck Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 50	Hard for me to pick only five. Origin of the Species by Charles Darwin What is Life? & Mind and Matter, by Erwin Schrodinger The Inflationary Universe, by Alan Guth The Blind Watchmaker, by Richard Dawkins Contemporary Astronomy, by Jay M. Pasachoff(A textbook) Not science, but should be mentioned - Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid, by Douglas R. Hofstadter

10-12-2002, 06:56 PM	#4
Coragyps Veteran Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Snyder,Texas,USA Posts: 4,411	Siderius Nuncius by Galileo Galilei is pretty cool for 1610... The Map that Changed the World by Simon Winchester is very interesting, though unevenly written. My next, I hope, will be Gaining Ground by the Englishwoman that brought us the real details on great-grandpa Acanthostega. Has anybody read it? Edited to add: Jennifer Clack wrote Gaining Ground. [ October 13, 2002: Message edited by: Coragyps ]</p>

10-12-2002, 07:41 PM	#5
HomoSapien Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: California Posts: 33	This is a great thread...and I am writing them down as you write...what a reading list...I love it.

10-12-2002, 09:56 PM	#6
Kantian Regular Member Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Konigsberg Posts: 238	Karl Popper's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0415043182/qid%3D1034488588/103-6230701-1830269" target="_blank">Conjectures and Refutations</a> Paul Feyerabend's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0860916464" target="_blank">Against Method</a> Carl Hempel's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0029143403" target="_blank">Aspects of Scientific Explanation</a> Brian Greene's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0375708111" target="_blank">Elegant Universe</a> Any old <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/103-6230701-1830269" target="_blank">John Gribbin book!</a> ~Transcendentalist~

10-12-2002, 11:21 PM	#7
cricket Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: St Louis MO USA Posts: 1,188	Phantoms in the Brain -- VS Ramachandran Genome - Matt Ridley The Selfish Gene -Richard Dawkins The Blind Watchmaker -- Richard Dawkins The Evolution of Consciousness - Robt Ornstein

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