Once upon a time, special knowledge about the achievements of science and technology was accessible and understandable only to people of certain professions, possessing a wealth of knowledge, versed in terms. Not everyone can become professors, candidates of sciences, but this does not prevent them from studying the question of interest to them, learning about the latest achievements of scientists.
Popular science literature is now being produced, designed for less-trained readers, which explains the foundations of fundamental and applied sciences. From it you can learn about individual problems, biographies of famous scientists, read the description of travel, etc. The best non-fiction books will help you understand important issues and increase your level of knowledge.
List
- 10. Earth. The Illustrated Atlas, Michael Allaby
- 9. The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins
- 8. Physics of the impossible, Michio Kaku
- 7. Plasticity of the brain, Norman Dodge
- 6. The microcosm. E. coli and the new science of life, Karl Zimmer
- 5. Adapt and survive! DNA as a Chronicle of Evolution by Sean Carroll
- 4. A Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking
- 3. Human evolution, Alexander Markov
- 2. The Book of General Misconceptions, Stephen Fry
- 1. A Brief History of Almost Everything, Bill Bryson
10. The Illustrated Atlas, Michael Allaby
The atlas will appeal not only to adults, but also to children. It is very colorful, with an abundance of illustrations, explanatory diagrams and drawings. The information is well structured, understandable. From it, the reader can learn how life developed on Earth, starting with the emergence of bacteria and ending with humans.
Also "Earth. Illustrated Atlas"Michael Allaby talks about the structure of our planet, about how volcanoes and rocks are formed. There are photographs of various minerals, their description. The author describes in detail the structure of the ocean and the seabed, writes about land, climate, features of the animal world in different eco zones, etc.
A good, informative book that can be presented to school children, because it clearly and intelligently sets out a lot of interesting information.
9. The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins
The book "Selfish gene"Was created by renowned biologist Richard Dawkins. It is about a genocentric view of evolution, i.e. that evolution is a natural selection not at the level of individuals or species, but at the level of genes.
The book was first published in 1976, and later reprinted more than once. In the second edition, 2 chapters were added. She caused a lot of controversy among scientists. But, nevertheless, I was able to get a lot of good reviews. They wrote that the book is highly scientific, witty and well-written, helps the reader to feel almost a genius. Many well-known biologists highly praised her, admitted that the author did not just explain some ideas, but advanced some questions, could explain in simple language difficult thoughts to comprehend.
8. Physics of the impossible, Michio Kaku
The famous physicist, professor Michio Kaku wrote several non-fiction books, among them “Physics of the impossible". He avoids complex terms, explains everything in an accessible and understandable language. This book is devoted to theories that he divides into those that can be implemented now, and those that contradict the laws of physics.
In it, he dwells on theories that could well be realized in the near future. So, he does not exclude that people will be able to master telekinesis and telepathy. He also considers theories that can be embodied in the distant future, if you do a lot of work, such as traveling in time or between parallel worlds. There is a third chapter, which considers ideas that contradict modern laws of physics.
7. Plasticity of the brain, Norman Dodge
Dodge Norman tells very interesting things about the human brain. In the book "Brain plasticity»You will read stories, learn about the results of experiments, that you can use your thoughts to change the structure of the brain, affect its work.
If a person does everything right, he can change his general well-being, recover from serious illnesses, and increase his intelligence. It also gives advice on how to maintain a good memory and a sober mind for many years.
6. coli and the new science of life, Karl Zimmer
Karl Zimmer is a famous writer and blogger who studied evolution and parasites with interest. He is a fellow at Morse College, at Yale University. His next book "Microcosm. coli and the new science of life"He dedicated E. coli, E. coli. This is an organism that a person encounters daily, the most studied on our planet, and he is constantly changing, revealing all the new secrets of evolution.
5. Adapt and survive! DNA as a Chronicle of Evolution by Sean Carroll
Sean Carroll is an American evolutionary biologist, a highly skilled specialist in evolutionary theory of development, professor, author of more than 100 scientific papers, who has earned many awards and prizes.
He wrote a curious book “Adapt and survive! DNA as a chronicle of evolution»About how natural selection, which many scientists wrote about, and evolution are displayed in DNA. The scientist is convinced that Darwin’s theory has been confirmed, there is evidence that increasingly confirms this fact. He talks about genetic research conducted in recent years, reveals the topic well, confirming his words with a large number of examples.
4. A Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking
About the famous physicist Stephen Hawking even heard people who are far from science. He had a rare, slowly developing form of motor neuron disease, due to which he was almost paralyzed. But, nevertheless, he was able to become an outstanding scientist who achieved huge commercial success thanks to his popular science works.
His book "A brief history of time"Was first published in 1988. It tells about the appearance of the Universe, about what space and time are, about the theory of superstrings, about black holes. Despite the fact that it covers such complex issues, the author dispensed with almost no formulas, it is written in a lively, accessible language and is designed for an ordinary reader.
3. Human evolution, Alexander Markov
Alexander Makarov is a well-known Russian biologist, paleontologist who is also engaged in the popularization of science. He is the author of numerous articles, the founder of the site "Elements.ru". He wrote the book "Human evolution"Based on the latest research. There, Markov tells when and why a man appeared, how we are better than the rest of the inhabitants of the planet, and in what we are inferior to them.
Candidate of Biological Sciences K.Yu. Yeskov wrote a positive review of this book, noting the good language, the relevance of the information, and the fact that this book arouses pride in modern science.
2. The Book of General Misconceptions, Stephen Fry
In fact, the author of this book is John Lloyd, it was written for the popular British television program QI. It talks about false facts that many people consider true. It contains 230 questions and answers to them, as well as an explanation of why the proposed answer is not the most correct.
Often authored byBooks of General Misconception”Point out Stephen Fry, the lead QI program. In fact, he is only one of those who worked on the preface.
1. A Brief History of Almost Everything, Bill Bryson
The book was published in 2003, but already in 2005 became a bestseller, then it was able to win the Aventis Prize. The author, Bill Bryson, tells readers about the Universe, atoms, explores the history of biology and geology, talks about how life appeared, and man developed.
In the book "A brief history of almost everything"We can learn about the most devastating catastrophes in the history of the planet, about how a person affects the Earth’s climate.