Reading list

This is a list of (mostly popular) science books (with a slant towards chemistry) that I have read, intend to read, or have been recommended to me. If you have other suggestions, let me know and I’ll add them to the list with an acknowledgement (use #chembooks on Twitter or leave a comment here on the blog).

[Here’s another list of popular science books compiled by @kashfarooq – thanks to @alex_brovvn for pointing it out]

UPDATE: when (if) I get to 100 on the list, I’ll alphabetize by author name to make this easier to navigate…

1. The Alchemy of Air: A Jewish Genius, a Doomed Tycoon, and the Scientific Discovery That Fed the World but Fueled the Rise of Hitler – Thomas Hager
The story of Haber and Bosch. A great read; highly recommended. I found out about this book because of a comment left under this blog post written by @biochembelle.

2. The Demon Under the Microscope: From Battlefield Hospitals to Nazi Labs, One Doctor’s Heroic Search for the World’s First Miracle Drug – Thomas Hager
The story of the first synthetic antibiotics and Gerhard Domagk. Another brilliant book by Hager.

3. Chasing the Molecule – John Buckingham
I read this a few years back now, but remember it being a great read. It’s basically the story of how modern chemistry came about.

4. The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements – Sam Kean

5. Periodic Tales: The Curious Lives of the Elements – Hugh Aldersey-Williams

6. Wonderful Life With The Elements: The Periodic Table Personified: An Adventure through the Periodic Table – Bunpei Yorifuji
Probably one of the most unusual books about the periodic table that you’ll ever see…

7. The 13th Element: The Sordid Tale of Murder, Fire, and Phosphorus – John Emsley

8. The Elements of Murder: A History of Poison – John Emsley

9. Molecules at an Exhibition: Portraits of Intriguing Materials in Everyday Life – John Emsley

10. The Same and Not the Same – Roald Hoffmann

11. Elephants on Acid: And Other Bizarre Experiments – Alex Boese
This was a book I picked up at the airport before a transatlantic flight; mostly because of the title. It’s a fun read.

12. The Speckled Monster: a Historical Tale of Battling Smallpox – Jennifer Lee Carrell
Not chemistry, but an absorbing read about how smallpox was battled on both sides of the Atlantic in the 18th century.

13. A Short History of Nearly Everything – Bill Bryson

14. Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman! (Adventures of a Curious Character) – Richard Feynman & Ralph Leighton
I could read books about Feynman all day long; and I read this one many years ago. Suggested on Twitter by @SeeArrOh

15. The Violinist’s Thumb: And Other Lost Tales of Love, War, and Genius, as Written by Our Genetic Code – Sam Kean
Another suggestion from @SeeArrOh

16. Napoleon’s Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History – Penny Le Couteur & Jay Burreson
Suggested on Twitter by @sciencegeist

17. The Poisoner’s Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York – Deborah Blum
Suggested on Twitter by @sciencegeist

18. On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen – Harold McGee
Recommended on Twitter by @sciencegeist, @L_Howes, and @Chemjobber

19. That’s the Way the Cookie Crumbles: 62 All-New Commentaries on the Fascinating Chemistry of Everyday Life – Joe Schwarcz
Suggested on Twitter by @Cationically

20. Atkins’ Molecules – Peter Atkins
Another suggestion from @Cationically

21. The Making of the Atomic Bomb – Richard Rhodes
Another suggestion from @Chemjobber who points out that, “Yes, it’s lots of physics, but the doing is all chemistry.”

22. Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman – James Gleick
More Feynman fodder. One I own (and have read) and is tucked away in a box in the loft somewhere… was also suggested on Twitter by @NeilWithers

23. Molecules and Medicine – E. J. Corey, Barbara Czakó & László Kürti
Suggested on Twitter by @stephengdavey

24. Molecules That Changed the World – K. C. Nicolaou & Tamsyn Montagnon
Another suggestion from @stephengdavey (I don’t own this one, but have flipped through a copy before. Here’s a fun game: see how many photos of KC himself you can spot in the book, I think it’s >70…)

25. The Periodic Table – Primo Levi
I really should get my hands on a copy of this. Suggested on Twitter by @alex_brovvn and @SimonHiggins_60

26. Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood – Oliver Sacks
Another one that I have read (it’s good) and is probably stashed away in a box somewhere… was also suggested on Twitter by @Chemjobber

27. Murder, Magic, and Medicine – John Mann
Suggested on Twitter by @CyclinScience

28. The Golden Book of Chemistry Experiments – Robert Brent
Probably best not to try much of this at home kids! Here’s a link to a pdf version of the book. Supposedly it was banned at one point and there are apparently only 126 copies of this book in libraries worldwide according to Wikipedia. I have the pdf somewhere on my laptop, but was reminded about the book on Twitter by @Dr_GHill

29. The Radioactive Boy Scout: The Frightening True Story of a Whiz Kid and His Homemade Nuclear Reactor – Ken Silverstein
Read this a few years back – well worth a look.

30. Rosalind Franklin: The Dark Lady of DNA – Brenda Maddox
Another one sitting on a shelf at home waiting to be read… also suggested on Twitter by @Marcel_Swart

31. Mr Tompkins in Paperback – George Gamow
Another suggestion from @Dr_GHill

32. The Billion Dollar Molecule: One Company’s Quest for the Perfect Drug – Barry Werth
Suggested on Twitter by @ChemProfCramer and seconded by @CoulombicExp

33. Boltzmann’s Atom: The Great Debate That Launched A Revolution In Physics – David Lindley
Another suggestion from by @ChemProfCramer

34. Lise Meitner: A Life in Physics – Ruth Lewin Sime
And another @ChemProfCramer pick.

35. E=mc²: A Biography of the World’s Most Famous Equation – David Bodanis
Suggested on Twitter by @CoulombicExp

36. Thirty Years that Shook Physics: The Story of Quantum Theory – George Gamow
Another suggestion from @CoulombicExp

37. Great Scientific Experiments: Twenty Experiments that Changed our View of the World – Rom Harré
And another @CoulombicExp pick.

38. Absolute Zero and the Conquest of Cold – Tom Shachtman
Another one that I read a while ago; seem to remember enjoying it!

39. Asimov on Chemistry – Isaac Asimov
Suggested on Twitter by @PeONor

40. The Strangest Man: The Hidden Life of Paul Dirac, Mystic of the Atom – Graham Farmelo
Another suggestion from @Marcel_Swart

41. Creations Of Fire: Chemistry’s Lively History From Alchemy To The Atomic Age – Cathy Cobb & Harold Goldwhite
Suggested on Twitter by @_byronmiller

42. The Emperor of Scent: A True Story of Perfume and Obsession – Chandler Burr
Suggested on Twitter by @onesleepynerd

43. Sir Christopher Ingold: A Major Prophet of Organic Chemistry – Kenneth Leffek
Suggested on Twitter by @conway_group who also points to a review of the book penned by Jack Roberts (pdf).

44. Linus Pauling in His Own Words: Selections From his Writings, Speeches and Interviews – Barbara Marinacci
Another suggestion from @conway_group

45. The Struggles of Albert Woods – William Cooper
And another @conway_group pick.

46. Mauve: How One Man Invented a Colour That Changed the World – Simon Garfield
All about Sir William Henry Perkin and his synthesis of the dye mauveine – well worth a read.

47. The Secrets of Alchemy – Lawrence Principe
Pointed out on Twitter by @_byronmiller after a blog post by @sciencegeist

48. The Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe – Theodore Gray
I have the iPad version of this. It’s beautiful.

49. A Fish Caught in Time: The Search for the Coelacanth – Samantha Weinberg
Not chemistry, but I enjoyed this one.

50. Serendipity: Accidental Discoveries in Science – Royston Roberts
A lot of chemistry-related luck in here.

51. The Music of the Primes: Searching to Solve the Greatest Mystery in Mathematics – Marcus du Sautoy
I’m a sucker for these sorts of maths books… and this is a good one (and the next few on the list too).

52. The Man Who Loved Only Numbers: The Story of Paul Erdos and the Search for Mathematical Truth – Paul Hoffman
Erdos was a bit odd… and this is a great read.

53. The Man Who Knew Infinity: A Life of the Genius Ramanujan – Robert Kanigel
Fascinating.

54. Fermat’s Enigma: The Epic Quest to Solve the World’s Greatest Mathematical Problem – Simon Singh
Who doesn’t like a bit of Fermat? I think this got me started on the maths books…

55. The age of the molecule – Nina Hall (Editor)
A nice coffee-table book from the Royal Society of Chemistry.

56. The Periodic Table: A Very Short Introduction – Eric Scerri (@ericscerri)
@hacp81 reminded me on Twitter about Eric’s books on the periodic table.

57. The Periodic Table: Its Story and Its Significance – Eric Scerri (@ericscerri)

58. A Tale of Seven Elements – Eric Scerri (@ericscerri)
Out in June 2013; the last seven elements to be isolated from the first 92 in the periodic table.

59. Creation: The Origin of Life / The Future of Life – Adam Rutherford (@AdamRutherford)
High up on my ‘to read’ list.

60. Cathedrals of Science: The Personalities and Rivalries That Made Modern Chemistry – Patrick Coffey

61. LSD: My Problem Child — Insights/Outlooks – Albert Hofmann (translated by Jonathan Ott)

62. Mystic Chemist: The Life of Albert Hofmann and His Discovery of LSD – Dieter Hagenbach & Lucius Werthmüller

63. Color: A Natural History of the Palette – Victoria Finlay
Suggested on Twitter by @DocTHop

64. Eurekas and Euphorias: The Oxford Book of Scientific Anecdotes – Walter Gratzer
Suggested on Twitter by @Chemtips

65. The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II – Denise Kiernan
Suggested on Twitter by @echristophy

66. What is Life?: With Mind and Matter and Autobiographical Sketches – Erwin Schrödinger
One of a series of origin-of-life books mentioned on Twitter by @V_Saggiomo that are collated in this blog post by @yigitaltay

67. Biogenesis: Theories of Life’s Origin – Noam Lahav
One of a series of origin-of-life books mentioned on Twitter by @V_Saggiomo that are collated in this blog post by @yigitaltay

68. A Universe from Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather than Nothing – Lawrence M. Krauss
One of a series of origin-of-life books mentioned on Twitter by @V_Saggiomo that are collated in this blog post by @yigitaltay

69. Big Bang: The Origin of the Universe – Simon Singh
One of a series of origin-of-life books mentioned on Twitter by @V_Saggiomo that are collated in this blog post by @yigitaltay

70. The Amazing Story of Quantum Mechanics: A Math-Free Exploration of the Science That Made Our World – James Kakalios
Suggested on Twitter by @hacp81

71. What is Life?: How Chemistry becomes Biology – Addy Pross

Will keep updating this post as suggestions are made…