Science and nature
-
Best books of 2016 – part twoPaula Hawkins reflects on guilt, Jackie Kay seeks hope post-Brexit, and David Nicholls is lured into the lonely city … writers pick their best books of 2016
-
Bee Time: Lessons from the Hive review – the imperilled world of the beeA passionate celebration of bees combined with a calmly reasoned critique of industrialised farming
-
Richard Mabey: 'Suggestions from outside act on my imagination like a magnet on iron filings'The idea of plants as rebellious, intelligent organisms took years to take root – and with some care grew into The Cabaret of Plants
-
Helen Czerski: ‘Physics isn’t all quantum weirdness. It’s about daily life’She’s a ‘bubble scientist’ on a mission to broaden understanding of the physics of the everyday world – take the foam on your cappuccino…
-
Carlo Rovelli: ‘Science is where revolutions happen’The physicist and bestselling author on the radical politics and drugs of his youth, his life’s work and why we all need a break
-
Ultimate questions with Adam Biles and Sean Carroll – books podcastWe examine beginnings and endings, with a novel set in a nursing home and a physicist who explores the influence of the big bang on our daily lives
-
‘Oh Excellent Air Bag!’ review – two centuries of laughing gasThis wonderful collection of writings on nitrous oxide features carnivals, dentists’ chairs, Humphry Davy in ecstasy and William James talking nonsense
-
When it comes to winning book prizes, gender has nothing to do with itSuggestions that winners of major literary prizes have benefitted from their gender is insulting to the judges, to the prizes and most of all, to the writers
-
Why have women finally started winning science book prizes?Andrea Wulf’s victory in the Royal Society prize this week continues a trend that has seen female authors triumphing after many years on the margins
Hidden gems of 2016: the best books you may have missed