Books of the popular science and science fiction genre are a great way to escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life and immerse yourself in other worlds that the authors of works - scientists and writers - are familiar with. The following books will be of interest to anyone who cares about the fate of humanity and the issues of scientific and technological progress.
Hawking's most famous book
One of the best scientific books is rightly considered the “Brief History of Time” by Stephen Hawking. Her scientist devoted his search for an answer to the most important question posed by Einstein: did God have a choice when he created the Universe? When writing his work, Hawking was convinced that each of the scientific formulas could halve the number of potential buyers, and the author decided to present all his theories in an accessible language.
In one of the best non-fiction books, Hawking, in simple words, presents the ideas of the theory of quantum attraction. This area of ​​physics has not yet been completed and combines the general theory of relativity of Einstein and quantum mechanics. Hawking begins his book with a story about how man's ideas about the Universe evolved: from the celestial spheres of the ancient Greek philosophers Aristotle and Ptolemy to the understanding that the Sun is an ordinary yellow medium-sized star located in the sleeve of a spiral galaxy - right in the middle of hundreds billions of other such galaxies.
The Physics of the Impossible Michio Kaku
Another of the best scientific books, has long been recognized by readers. In it, the famous researcher Michio Kaku studies those technologies, physical phenomena or devices that today seem impossible from the point of view of their implementation in the future. The scientist also speaks in an accessible reader language about the structure of our Universe, about the Big Bang and mysterious objects - black holes.
More recently, it was difficult for us to even imagine those things that have become familiar today. Impossible a century ago seemed a mobile phone and the Internet. Michio Kaku in his best scientific book (there is a lot of literature of this kind, but this book is one of the most fascinating of its kind) writes about what today's predictions of science fiction writers may come true in the near future. Already in the 21st century, invisibility, reading of thoughts, communication with interplanetary civilizations, and even traveling from galaxy to galaxy can be realized.
The Blue Point, Carl Sagan
Many readers consider this work to be the best scientific book that tells about our limitless Universe and the imaginary significance of man in it. Karl Sagan writes that even if there existed civilizations similar to ours (or which would have been much more ancient and developed than humanity), then we could not overcome the significant distances that divide our worlds.
The scientist writes that even if the most optimistic estimates are justified, according to which one million stars account for a star, near which a technological civilization develops, and such centers are distributed evenly in the Universe, then the closest to us will be at least a hundred light-years away. Even if today mankind begins to send a signal to this civilization, it will come to it only after 150 years. With these estimates, which the scientist rightly calls extremely uncertain, a mutual response from an extraterrestrial civilization will arrive only by 2350.
This work is one of the best scientific books, as it allows readers to understand how difficult the process of space exploration is and how slowly it takes place. It is not easy to accept the fact that man is not the center of the universe. It is just a small island in a vast, vast ocean. The scientist in his best scientific book talks about what a person has already been able to learn about other worlds and how to understand our own world.
Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene
Many readers write that this book is capable, if not to reverse the worldview, then at least look at the world around us from a completely different angle. They write that for them, biology has become as exciting as other disciplines - although before that it seemed that this was completely wrong. In his best scientific book, Dawkins writes that genes make humans. In fact, it is an animal that exists in order to ensure its survival and transport genes. The “selfish gene” universe is a world where fierce competition and the ruthless exploitation of one living creature by another rules the ball.
But what about the altruistic actions sometimes observed in nature? For example, bees who commit a noble suicide when they sting the enemy to protect the hive? Dawkins in his book argues that this does not contradict the fundamental rule of selfishness of a gene. Dawkins, in his best scientific book, hopes that the Homo Sapiens species is the only one that can repel the selfish gene. This book for many readers has become more interesting and exciting than the most action-packed novel. And besides, it makes it clear that biology is not at all a boring discipline, as it might seem at first glance.
Top 10 most popular books
Many readers are interested in the ranking of the best scientific books. Lists and ratings help determine the work that can be read first. According to one version, the top 10 most interesting publications look like this:
Richard Dawkins, “Ancestor's Tale. Pilgrimage to the origins of life. "
Alexander Panchin, “The Sum of Biotechnology”.
Robert Heysen, “History of the Earth. From stardust to a living planet. The first 4,500,000,000 years. ”
Svetlana Burlak, The Origin of the Language.
Alexander Sokolov, "Myths about the evolution of man."
Rob Knight, “Look at what's inside you. How microbes living in our body determine our health and our personality. ”
Sergey Popov, “Superobjects: Stars the Size of a City”.
Christopher Hadfield, “Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth. What 4000 hours in orbit taught me. ”
Michio Kaku, The Future of the Mind.
M. Faraday, The History of the Candle.
The best book in the category "Natural Sciences" in 2017
It is worth noting the book by Daria Varlamova and marketer Anton Zainiev, “Go crazy! A Guide to Mental Disorders for a Resident of a Big City ”, which became the best scientific book of the year in 2017 in the nomination“ Natural Sciences ”. This book is not intended for psychiatrists, but for a wide audience. Everyone with her help can figure out what depression is, bipolar-affective disorder, or obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Best Science Fiction: Books and Ranking
Those who are fond of the works of science popularizers may be interested in the works of the science fiction genre. The difference between this direction and others similar to it lies in the way of explaining fantastic events. For example, with regard to the fantasy world, it is completely unrealistic, and its existence is supernatural. The phenomena in these worlds do not need to be explained additionally.
For example, elves can read minds, and no further explanation, unlike science fiction books (the best of which will be discussed later), is required. Consider the rating of the most interesting works of this genre:
- “The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy,” Douglas Adams (1979).
- The Time Machine, Herbert Wells (1895).
- The Dune, Frank Herbert (1965).
- “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?”, Philip Dick (1968).
- The Martian, Andy Weir (2011).
Other interesting science fiction books
In addition to those listed, for those who like this genre, several other publications will be of interest. One of the best of its kind remains the “Solaris” by Stanislav Lem. It refers to the psychologist Kelvin, who landed at a huge distance from the Earth at an alien station, strangely cluttered. Nobody meets Kelvin, except for one person who is frightened at the sight of a guest almost to a faint. The meeting person does not answer his questions, but gives the order not to touch the other inhabitants of the station and do nothing. After some time, Kelvin meets a huge naked black woman, "the monstrous Aphrodite."
Another interesting book is “The End of Eternity” by A. Azimov. She is called the true example of a writer’s virtuoso game with space and time. "The End of Eternity" is one of the best and most fascinating works of the writer, who himself considered himself primarily a science fiction. Although in reality, Asimov is considered an excellent popularizer of science and the history of its development. He compiled collections of science fiction, wrote books of the detective genre, commented on Shakespeare, Byron and even the Bible.
Many readers write about his book “The End of Eternity” as the most interesting and fascinating work. There are no boring descriptions in it, but behind the external plot there are interesting thoughts about how a person evolved, about interplanetary travel, about the dangers that await those who want to correct the mistakes of the past. The work provides answers to important questions that are rarely found on the pages of science fiction.