Best science book ever

Honorary title

On 19 October 2006, the Royal Institution of Great Britain named the 1975 short story collection The Periodic Table, by Primo Levi, the best science book ever. After taking nominations from many scientists in various disciplines, authors, and other notable people (such as the Archbishop of Canterbury), the Royal Institution compiled a shortlist of books for consideration. This shortlist was presented to the public at an event held at Imperial College and the audience voted to determine which book was "the best."^[1]^[2]^[3]

List of books

Shortlist

The Periodic Table (1975) by Primo Levi (winner)
King Solomon's Ring (1949) by Konrad Lorenz
Arcadia (1993) by Tom Stoppard
The Selfish Gene (1976) by Richard Dawkins

Other nominees

The Double Helix by James Watson
The Life of Galileo by Bertolt Brecht
Pluto's Republic by Peter Medawar
The Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin
The Blank Slate by Steven Pinker
A Leg to Stand On by Oliver Sacks
Consciousness Explained by Daniel Dennett
Shadows of the Mind by Roger Penrose
On Growth and Form by D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson
Invention by Norbert Wiener
Gödel, Escher, Bach by Douglas Hofstadter
Mathematics, Form and Function by Saunders Mac Lane
A Mathematician's Apology by G.H. Hardy
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks
How to Build a Time Machine by Paul Davies
Mason & Dixon by Thomas Pynchon
Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! by Richard Feynman
The Strategy of Conflict by Thomas Schelling
The Microbe Hunters by Paul de Kruif

References

^ Conocimiento, Ventana al (11 April 2017). "Primo Levi and the Best Science Book ever Written".
^ "The debate is on: the best science book ever is announced | Imperial News | Imperial College London". Imperial News.
^ Hagen, Margareth; Skagen, Margery Vibe (28 February 2014). Literature and Chemistry: Elective Affinities. ISD LLC. ISBN 9788771246278 – via Google Books.