Twelve reading groups have signed up to shadow the Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books. with The Reading Agency. For the first time, reading group feedback will form part of the judging process of the prize. The Royal Society has provided us with the first chapter of the six shortlisted titles, so that you can read along with them.
The Shortlisted books
Stuff Matters: The Strange Stories of the Marvellous Materials that Shape Our Man-made World by Mark Miodownik
Why is glass see-through? What makes elastic stretchy? Why does a paperclip bend? Why does any material look and behave the way it does? Stuff Matters reveals it all.
Read the first chapter.
Mark Miodownik is Professor of Materials and Society at UCL and scientist-in-residence on Dara O Briain’s Science Club (BBC2) and presenter of several documentaries, including The Genius of Invention (BBC2).
Seven Elements That Have Changed the World: Iron, Carbon, Gold, Silver, Uranium, Titanium, Silicon by John Browne
Humans have put the Earth’s resources to extraordinary use, but not always for the benefit of humankind. A unique mix of science, history and politics, Seven Elements vividly describes how iron, carbon, gold, silver, uranium, titanium and silicon have shaped the world around us – for good and for bad.
Read the first chapter.
John Browne (Lord Browne of Madingley) was born in Germany in 1948 and joined BP as a university apprentice in 1966. He served as its group chief executive from 1995 to 2007. He is an engineer, collector and businessman, and a Fellow of the Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering.
Cancer Chronicles: Unlocking Medicine’s Deepest Mystery by George Johnson
When the woman he loved was diagnosed with a metastatic cancer, science-writer Johnson embarked on a journey to learn everything he could about the disease and the people who dedicate their lives to understanding and combating it. He combs through the realms of epidemiology, clinical trials, laboratory experiments and scientific hypotheses, to reveal what we know and don’t know about cancer, showing why a cure remains such a slippery concept.
Read the first chapter.
George Johnson writes regularly about science for the New York Times. He appears regularly on Science Faction on bloggingheads.tv and writes the blog Fire in the Mind for Discover.
The Perfect Theory: A Century of Geniuses and the Battle over General Relativity by Pedro G. Ferreira
Albert Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity is possibly the most perfect intellectual achievement in modern physics. Anything that involves gravity, the force that powers everything on the largest, hottest or densest of scales, can be explained by it. An engaging popular history of Einstein’s Theory, taking in the sheer magnificence of its discovery, as well as the infighting that the theory sparked across a century.
Read the first chapter.
Ferreira arrived at Oxford University, by way of London, Berkeley and CERN. For over twenty-five years he has worked on the front line of general relativity and cosmology research. At age 45, he is Professor of Astrophysics at Oxford University.
Gulp: Adventures of the Alimentary Canal by Mary Roach
In this international bestseller, Mary Roach breaks bread with spit connoisseurs, beer and pet-food tasters, stomach slugs, potato crisp engineers, enema exorcists, rectum-examining prison guards, competitive hot dog eaters, Elvis’ doctor, and many more as she investigates the beginning, and the end, of our food.
Read the first chapter.
Mary Roach is a bestselling author who has written for the Guardian, Wired, BBC Focus, GQ, Vogue and many other publications.
Serving the Reich: The Struggle for the Soul of Physics under Hitler by Philip Ball
Serving the Reich tells the story of physics under Hitler. While some scientists tried to create an Aryan physics that excluded any ‘Jewish ideas’, many others made compromises and concessions as they continued to work under the Nazi regime. Among them were three world-renowned physicists: Max Planck, pioneer of quantum theory, Peter Debye, a Dutch physicist, and Werner Heisenberg, a leading figure in Germany’s race for the atomic bomb. Mixing history, science and biography, it is a gripping exploration of moral choices under a totalitarian regime.
Read the first chapter.
Philip Ball is a writer and contributor to Nature. He writes regularly in the scientific and popular media, combining the arenas of science and the arts.
Get Involved
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The woolwich library reading group was given Gulp by Mary Roach to read
these are their comments
It told me a lot of things I didn’t know in a humorous way. I intend to give it to a couple I know for Christmas.
It’s a book that I would definitely like to have on my bookshelf. I read every single inch of the book and found it very interesting especially as I have a few family members with some of the conditions mentioned.
I really did not like the book, I did not finish reading it. I am sure it is factual and well written but not enjoyable reading.
Odd but strangely fascinating!
Sarah Davis - Greenwich libraries