Ask HN: Looking for an Engaging Science Book

2 points by roryisok 2y ago ↗ HN

I want to learn more about the natural sciences, and I'm looking for a great book that'll give me the basics and keep me interested. I have a terrible attention span for reading so I want something designed to keep an idiot like me engaged.

Does anyone have any recommendations?

6 comments

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fuzzfactor 2y ago ↗

Depends on what you call engaging, there's always Asimov's Biographical Encyclopedia of Science and Technology:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asimov%27s_Biographical_Encycl...

gsatic 2y ago ↗

Sync by Steven Strogatz

meristohm 2y ago ↗

A brief list, without the links to library aggregator worldcat.org in the interest of time:

An Immense World, by Ed Yong; grabbed my attention right away

Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are, by Frans de Waal; got here from dog training and Temple Grandin and animal behaviorist Patricia McConnell

How Far the Light Reaches, by Sabrina Imbler; looks fascinating

Feral, by George Monbiot; Iteland used to be a rainforest, and salmon used to choke the rivers out here in the Pacific Northwest

bediger4000 2y ago ↗

When Life Almost Die, Michael Benton

Nominally about the Permian-Triassic extinction, but more about history of geology and how science recognizes catastrophic events.

sn9 2y ago ↗

Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything is great.

akasakahakada 2y ago ↗

This one is for babies. But I think it will suit any curious adult.

https://www.dk.com/uk/book/9781465491022-the-physics-book/