Popular Science

Why do so many of us struggle to remember the maths we were taught at school? The answer is that we can successfully memorise things for a short period but...

The world's most entertaining and useless self-help guide, from the brilliant mind behind the wildly popular webcomic xkcd and the million-selling What If? and Thing ExplainerRandall Munroe is . ....

The compelling memoir from the UK's most eminent forensic scientist and some of the most fascinating criminal investigations she has worked on. 'The dead keep many secrets. Sometimes they are...

Every physicist agrees quantum mechanics is among humanity's finest scientific achievements. But ask what it means, and the result will be a brawl. For a century, most physicists have followed...

'As gripping as a thriller' SUNDAY EXPRESS'Heartbreaking and life-affirming' MAX PEMBERTON, author of TRUST ME, I'M A (JUNIOR) DOCTOR'The most spellbinding and harrowing story I believe I have ever heard....

So many of us believe that we are free to shape our own destiny. But what if free will doesn't exist? What if our lives are largely predetermined, hardwired in...

*Irish Bestseller**Telegraph bestseller* An unforgettable book for fans of Henry Marsh and Atul Gawande about how we lose ourselves and those around us - and how we can be found...

From the No. 1 bestselling author of What If? - the man who created xkcd and explained the laws of science with cartoons - comes a series of brilliantly simple...

Shortlisted for the 2020 Business Book AwardsWe live in a world increasingly ruled by technology; we seem as governed by technology as we do by laws and regulations. Frighteningly often,...

Shortlisted for the 2020 Business Book AwardsWe live in a world increasingly ruled by technology; we seem as governed by technology as we do by laws and regulations. Frighteningly often,...

Does an authentic Andy Warhol painting need to be painted by Andy Warhol? Why do audiences feel outraged when they find out that scenes from their beloved blockbuster documentaries are...

Does an authentic Andy Warhol painting need to be painted by Andy Warhol? Why do audiences feel outraged when they find out that scenes from their beloved blockbuster documentaries are...

In 1974 a message was beamed towards the stars by the giant Arecibo telescope in Puerto Rico, a brief blast of radio waves designed to alert extraterrestrial civilisations to our...

William Shakespeare found dozens of different ways to kill off his characters, and audiences today still enjoy the same reactions - shock, sadness, fear - that they did more than...

William Shakespeare found dozens of different ways to kill off his characters, and audiences today still enjoy the same reactions - shock, sadness, fear - that they did more than...

'Bursts with gloriously geeky detail.' The TelegraphHave you ever made someone you love a mix-tape? Forty years ago, a group of scientists, artists and writers gathered in a house in...

Fully illustrated with 400 of the most striking and up-to-date astronomical images and covering all the major constellations and landmarks of the night sky, The Stargazer's Handbook reveals the treasures...

As featured on Sunday Brunch and Woman's Hour'Laura Mucha has found the proof that love actually is all around.' Richard CurtisPoets, philosophers and artists have been trying to explain romantic...

As featured on Sunday Brunch and Woman's Hour'Laura Mucha has found the proof that love actually is all around.' Richard CurtisPoets, philosophers and artists have been trying to explain romantic...

Shortlisted for the 2020 AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science BooksCreating an element is no easy feat. It's the equivalent of firing six trillion bullets a second at a...

Shortlisted for the 2020 AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science BooksCreating an element is no easy feat. It's the equivalent of firing six trillion bullets a second at a...

'Illuminating, witty and written with a wide open mind' Sunday TimesThe idea of the seductive sex robot is the stuff of myth, legend and science fiction. From the myth of...

'Illuminating, witty and written with a wide open mind' Sunday TimesThe idea of the seductive sex robot is the stuff of myth, legend and science fiction. From the myth of...

'Illuminating, witty and written with a wide open mind' Sunday TimesThe idea of the seductive sex robot is the stuff of myth, legend and science fiction. From the myth of...

'Fascinating' Financial TimesAlgorithms are running our society, and as the Cambridge Analytica story has revealed, we don't really know what they are up to.Our increasing reliance on technology and the...

'Fascinating' Financial TimesAlgorithms are running our society, and as the Cambridge Analytica story has revealed, we don't really know what they are up to.Our increasing reliance on technology and the...

'Mark Lynas is a saint' Sunday Times'Fluent, persuasive and surely right.' Evening StandardMark Lynas was one of the original GM field wreckers. Back in the 1990s - working undercover with...

'Mark Lynas is a saint' Sunday Times'Fluent, persuasive and surely right.' Evening StandardMark Lynas was one of the original GM field wreckers. Back in the 1990s - working undercover with...

Sleep plays a crucial role in our waking lives, and we need to start paying it more attention. The latest research tells us that it's essential for learning and memory,...

'A promising debut.' New ScientistIcy, rocky, sometimes dusty, always mysterious - comets and asteroids are among the Solar System's very oldest inhabitants, formed within a swirling cloud of gas and...

Karin Bojs grew up in a small, broken family. At her mother's funeral she felt this more keenly than ever. As a science journalist she was eager to learn more...

Long before there was the ready meal, humans processed food to preserve it and make it safe. From fire to fermentation, our ancestors survived periods of famine by changing the...

Long before there was the ready meal, humans processed food to preserve it and make it safe. From fire to fermentation, our ancestors survived periods of famine by changing the...

In this book, Johnny Ball tells one of the most important stories in world history - the story of mathematics. By introducing us to the major characters and leading us...

'Beautiful, evocative, authoritative.' Professor Brian Cox'Important reading not just for anyone interested in these ancient cousins of ours, but also for anyone interested in humanity.' Yuval Noah HarariKindred is the...

As featured on BBC Radio 4's Start the Week'A rich, timely study for the era of "global ageing"' NatureThe ageing of the world population is one of the most important...

As featured on BBC Radio 4's Start the Week'A rich, timely study for the era of "global ageing"' NatureThe ageing of the world population is one of the most important...

The year 1818 saw the publication of one of the most influential science-fiction stories of all time. Frankenstein: Or, Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley had a huge impact on gothic...

Humans are mammals. Most of us appreciate that at some level. But what does it mean for us to have more in common with a horse and an elephant than...

Mars is ingrained in our culture, from David Bowie's extra-terrestrial spiders to H.G. Wells's The War of the Worlds. The red planet has inspired hundreds of scientists, authors and filmmakers...

Twenty years ago, the search for planets outside the Solar System was a job restricted to science-fiction writers. Now it's one of the fastest-growing fields in astronomy with thousands of...

Twenty years ago, the search for planets outside the Solar System was a job restricted to science-fiction writers. Now it's one of the fastest-growing fields in astronomy with thousands of...

The human body is like an exceedingly well-fortified castle, defended by billions of soldiers - some live for less than a day, others remember battles for decades, but all are...

Cities are a big deal. More people now live in them than don't, and with a growing world population, the urban jungle is only going to get busier in the...

'AN ORIGINAL AND TIMELY ODYSSEY INTO OUR MYSTERIOUS UNDERWORLD . . . THRILLING PROOF THAT SCIENCE AND IMAGINATION SHARE THE GROUND BENEATH OUR FEET' Nicholas Crane, presenter of BBC2's Coast...

'This is Bill McKibben at his glorious best. Wise and warning, with everything on the line. Do not miss it' Naomi Klein, author of This Changes Everything and The Shock...

Who are we? Where is the boundary between us and everything else? Are we all multiple personalities? And how can we control who we become?From distinguished psychologist Robert Levine comes...

'As charming and touching as it is astute and insightful'Adam Alter, New York Times bestselling author of Irresistible and Drunk Tank Pink'This a very useful book, even perhaps for people...