Topic

Science book summaries

The best popular-science book summaries — physics, biology, evolution, and the cosmos, in their core ideas.

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind cover

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

Yuval Noah Harari

5-min read

A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes cover

A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes

Stephen Hawking

4-min read

A Short History of Nearly Everything cover

A Short History of Nearly Everything

Bill Bryson

5-min read

Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies cover

Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies

Jared Diamond

2-min read

Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams cover

Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams

Matthew Walker

2-min read

The Selfish Gene cover

The Selfish Gene

Richard Dawkins

5-min read

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks cover

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Rebecca Skloot

3-min read

Behave cover

Behave

Robert M. Sapolsky

4-min read

On the Origin of Species cover

On the Origin of Species

Charles Darwin

4-min read

Cosmos cover

Cosmos

Carl Sagan

5-min read

Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions cover

Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions

Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths

3-min read

Come as You Are: The Surprising New Science that Will Transform Your Sex Life cover

Come as You Are: The Surprising New Science that Will Transform Your Sex Life

Emily Nagoski

6-min read

21 Lessons for the 21st Century cover

21 Lessons for the 21st Century

Yuval Noah Harari

6-min read

What Happened To You? cover

What Happened To You?

Bruce D. Perry and Oprah Winfrey

4-min read

Silent Spring cover

Silent Spring

Rachel Carson

3-min read

Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men cover

Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men

Caroline Criado Pérez

3-min read

The Body: A Guide for Occupants cover

The Body: A Guide for Occupants

Bill Bryson

7-min read

The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals cover

The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals

Michael Pollan

3-min read

Life 3.0 cover

Life 3.0

Max Tegmark

3-min read

Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art cover

Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art

James Nestor

4-min read

Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen cover

Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen

Christopher McDougall

3-min read

How to Change Your Mind cover

How to Change Your Mind

Michael Pollan

6-min read

The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature cover

The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature

Steven Pinker

6-min read

Entangled Life cover

Entangled Life

Merlin Sheldrake

3-min read

This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession cover

This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession

Daniel J. Levitin

3-min read

Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family cover

Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family

Robert Kolker

5-min read

The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted cover

The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted

T. Colin Campbell and Thomas M. Campbell II

4-min read

Other Minds cover

Other Minds

Peter Godfrey-Smith

2-min read

Learning How to Learn cover

Learning How to Learn

Barbara Oakley and Terrence Sejnowski

6-min read

Abundance cover

Abundance

Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson

4-min read

Deep Nutrition cover

Deep Nutrition

Catherine and Luke Shanahan

3-min read

Eat to Beat Disease: The New Science of How Your Body Can Heal Itself cover

Eat to Beat Disease: The New Science of How Your Body Can Heal Itself

William W. Li

2-min read

Isaac's Storm cover

Isaac's Storm

Erik Larson

4-min read

Drink?: The New Science of Alcohol and Your Health cover

Drink?: The New Science of Alcohol and Your Health

David J. Nutt

5-min read

The Age-Proof Brain cover

The Age-Proof Brain

Marc Milstein

6-min read