Alexander von Humboldt: A Metabiography

  • Nicolaas A. Rupke
(Univ. Chicago Press, $24, £11)

Rupke looks at how Alexander Humboldt's life story has been adapted to suit changing philosophies or political ideals. “His metabiography helps us to appreciate the historical instability of any scientific life, not just one as complex as Humboldt's,” wrote Steven Shapin (Nature 441, 286; 2006).

Fathoming the Ocean: The Discovery and Exploration of the Deep Sea

  • Helen M. Rozwadowski
(Harvard Univ. Press, $19.95, £12.95)

This book explores the birth of deep-sea oceanography in the nineteenth century, covering the breakthroughs in gathering data and the social impacts. It explains how the presence of researchers on naval vessels led to cultural shifts for scientists, sailors and Western society.

To Follow the Water: Exploring the Ocean to Discover Climate

  • Dallas Murphy
(Basic Books, $15.95, £9.99)

As well as covering the history of human expansion across the globe and the science of oceanography, Murphy also gives first-hand accounts of life on a research vessel. “Meticulously following the waters of the Gulf Stream into the blue beyond, Murphy's book gets it right,” wrote Arnold Gordon (Nature 449, 407–408; 2007).

Brussels Versus the Beltway: Advocacy in the United States and the European Union

  • Christine Mahoney
(Georgetown Univ. Press, $29.95)

Political decisions made in Washington DC and Brussels have global effects, but US and European advocacy styles are often assumed to be culturally different. This book challenges stereotypes, arguing that the context of issues and institutions is more important than differences between cultures.

Genes in Conflict: The Biology of Selfish Genetic Elements

  • Austin Burt &
  • Robert Trivers
(Harvard Univ. Press, $24.95, £16.95)

The book examines how selfish genes thrive despite damaging their carrier. Burt and Trivers describe how such genes spread through populations by distorting transmission on a molecular level and increasing their own replication, or by changing how an organism treats its kin.

A Guinea Pig's History of Biology: The Plants and Animals Who Taught Us the Facts of Life

  • Jim Endersby
(Arrow, £8.99)

From Mendel's peas to modern laboratories, Endersby's entertaining book explores the history of science through the plants and animals that provided answers or, often, more questions. Covering the familiar ground of mice and fruitflies, the book also highlights organisms that led scientists up the wrong path, such as the zebra-like quagga.

Endless Universe: Beyond the Big Bang — Rewriting Cosmic History

  • Paul J. Steinhardt &
  • Neil Turok
(Broadway, $14.95, £8.99)

Two theoretical physicists challenge the widely accepted Big Bang Theory. Turok and Steinhardt explain how new developments in astronomy, cosmology and physics have led them to develop their own 'Cyclical Universe' theory to explain cosmic origins.

The Beginner's Guide to Winning The Nobel Prize: A Life in Science

  • Peter Doherty
(Columbia Univ. Press, £10.95)

Doherty's highly readable book describes how to succeed in science and hopefully win that coveted prize. “For the aspiring young scientist, or a student considering a scientific career, Doherty opens the vault to the world of science, explaining how it works and how to get on,” according to Peter Parham's review (Nature 443, 755–756; 2006).

Faust in Copenhagen: A Struggle for the Soul of Physics and the Birth of the Nuclear Age

  • Gino Segrè
(Pimlico, £12.99)

Segrè relays the 1932 gathering of seven leading physicists that “symbolized the end of the political neutrality of physics and physicists, coinciding as it did with the arrival of Hitler and crucial discoveries in nuclear physics that would make possible the subsequent development of the atomic bomb”, wrote Finn Aaserud (Nature 448, 869–870; 2007).

The Annotated Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions

  • Edwin A. Abbott
. Introduction and notes by Ian Stewart (Perseus, $17.95, £10.99)

Abbott's satirical tale of A. Square's journey to The Land of Three Dimensions is annotated by mathematician Ian Stewart, providing helpful background on this maths fantasy. Abbott's ideas were thought radical by the Victorians but are now commonplace in both science and science fiction.

Riddled with Life: Friendly Worms, Ladybug Sex, and the Parasites That Make Us Who We Are

  • Marlene Zuk
(Harvest, $14, £8.99)

An evolutionary biologist enthusiastically argues that parasites are a driving force behind evolution and that their effects still mould us today. Parasites have shaped us physically and culturally, and affect our minds on a daily basis.

Undermining Science: Suppression and Distortion in the Bush Administration

  • Seth Shulman
(Univ. California Press, $16.95, £9.95)

Shulman explores how US politicians and scientists have misrepresented science to push their own agendas. “A concise, straightforward case history of the politicization of science, ideal for courses on the history, philosophy, sociology and ethics of science,” wrote John Horgan (Nature 445, 365–366; 2007).

Ghostwalk: A Novel

  • Rebecca Stott
(Spiegal & Grau/Phoenix, $14.95/£7.99)

Seventeenth-century murder and present-day mysteries become entangled in Stott's Ghostwalk. Fine historical research is combined with a modern literary thriller when Lydia Brooke is asked by a former lover to complete his late mother's great work — a history of Isaac Newton's involvement in alchemy.

The World Without Us

  • Alan Weisman
(Virgin, £8.99)

If humans disappeared, what would the world look like? Using evidence from places where war or disaster have created no-go zones for humanity, Weisman describes what would happen in our absence and what would be left behind. Stuart Pimm wrote: “There is no guarantee that even with all the pieces, we would be able to put nature back together again,” (Nature 448, 135–136; 2007).

I Am A Strange Loop

  • Douglas R. Hofstadter
(Basic Books, $16.95, £9.99)

Hofstadter extols his views on the nature of consciousness and the self. The book provides an interesting journey whether you agree with his conclusions or not. He “whisks us away to tangle with ever more layers of paradox and wonderfully mind-wrenching questions,” wrote Susan Blackmore (Nature 447, 29–30; 2007).

The Frog who Croaked Blue: Synesthesia and the Mixing of the Senses

  • Jamie Ward
(Routledge, $16.95, £8.99)

A fascinating introduction to synaesthesia, explaining how the trait gives insight into the way the senses are organized. Ward also delves into other sensory experiences, such as phantom limbs and sympathetic touch, in an accessible introduction to this growing research field.

The Invisible Cure: Africa, the West and the Fight Against AIDS

  • Helen Epstein
(Penguin, £9.99)

Challenging orthodox wisdom, “Epstein combines personal research and corroborative evidence from others to posit the view that where Africa's AIDS rates are highest, the key difference is not the numbers of sexual partners, but the timing”, wrote Stephen Lewis and Paula Donovan (Nature 447, 531–532; 2007).

Deep Time of the Media: Toward an Archaeology of Hearing and Seeing by Technical Means

  • Siegfried Zielinski
(MIT Press, $19.95, £12.95)

Focusing on how devices for hearing and seeing connect audience and creator, Zielinski highlights models and machines that changed the face of the media landscape, many overlooked by historians. These show that simple tools did not predictably lead to complex machinery.