Science books written by scientists (56 books)

Please also see complementary list: "Science books written by non-scientists". Please only vote for books that are written by active or trained scientists– not just science journalists or enthusiasts.

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1	On the Origin of Species: A Facsimile of the First Edition by Charles Darwin 4.01 avg rating — 122,082 ratings score: 493, and 5 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
2	Silent Spring by Rachel Carson 4.06 avg rating — 54,957 ratings score: 298, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
3	The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World by Steve Brusatte 4.21 avg rating — 40,433 ratings score: 271, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
4	The Richness of Life: The Essential Stephen Jay Gould by Stephen Jay Gould 4.28 avg rating — 475 ratings score: 195, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
5	Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer 4.51 avg rating — 173,031 ratings score: 187, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
6	Letters to a Young Scientist by Edward O. Wilson 3.90 avg rating — 4,691 ratings score: 180, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
7	Voyage of the Beagle: Charles Darwin's Journal of Researches by Charles Darwin 4.02 avg rating — 8,440 ratings score: 177, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
8	The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark by Carl Sagan 4.29 avg rating — 80,425 ratings score: 176, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
9	The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee 4.35 avg rating — 55,784 ratings score: 170, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
10	A Molecule Away from Madness: Tales of the Hijacked Brain by Sara Manning Peskin 4.20 avg rating — 4,225 ratings score: 159, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
11	The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins (Goodreads Author) 4.16 avg rating — 192,895 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
11	A Brief History of Time by Stephen W. Hawking 4.21 avg rating — 479,486 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
13	The Science and Fine Art of Natural Hygiene by Herbert M. Shelton 4.14 avg rating — 28 ratings score: 99, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
13	Bad Science by Ben Goldacre 4.06 avg rating — 44,843 ratings score: 99, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
15	Feathers: The Evolution of a Natural Miracle by Thor Hanson (Goodreads Author) 4.13 avg rating — 1,826 ratings score: 98, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
15	The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language by Steven Pinker (Goodreads Author) 4.01 avg rating — 22,511 ratings score: 98, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
17	Mothers and Others: The Evolutionary Origins of Mutual Understanding by Sarah Blaffer Hrdy 4.13 avg rating — 666 ratings score: 97, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
18	Why Evolution Is True by Jerry A. Coyne 4.19 avg rating — 26,048 ratings score: 96, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
19	The Diversity of Life by Edward O. Wilson 4.22 avg rating — 6,240 ratings score: 95, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
20	Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures by Merlin Sheldrake (Goodreads Author) 4.32 avg rating — 51,066 ratings score: 94, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
21	Never Home Alone: From Microbes to Millipedes, Camel Crickets, and Honeybees, the Natural History of Where We Live by Rob Dunn 4.20 avg rating — 2,501 ratings score: 93, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
22	Where the Animals Go: Tracking Wildlife with Technology in 50 Maps and Graphics by James Cheshire (Goodreads Author) 4.39 avg rating — 238 ratings score: 92, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
23	Boundary Layer: Exploring the Genius Between Worlds by Kem Luther 4.12 avg rating — 16 ratings score: 91, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
24	The Forest Unseen: A Year’s Watch in Nature by David George Haskell (Goodreads Author) 4.24 avg rating — 4,323 ratings score: 90, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
25	Biophilia by Edward O. Wilson 4.28 avg rating — 1,512 ratings score: 89, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
26	Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses by Robin Wall Kimmerer 4.38 avg rating — 20,708 ratings score: 88, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
27	The Mushroom at the End of the World: On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins by Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing 3.96 avg rating — 8,141 ratings score: 86, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
28	The Ecological Theater and the Evolutionary Play by G. Evelyn Hutchinson 4.50 avg rating — 6 ratings score: 85, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
29	A Sand County Almanac: With Essays on Conservation from Round River by Aldo Leopold 4.31 avg rating — 36,314 ratings score: 84, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
30	Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming by Paul Hawken (Editor) 4.40 avg rating — 4,359 ratings score: 82, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
31	Dinosaurs Rediscovered: The Scientific Revolution in Paleontology (The Rediscovered Series) by Michael J. Benton 4.38 avg rating — 2,657 ratings score: 80, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
32	The Descent of Man by Charles Darwin 4.04 avg rating — 4,466 ratings score: 78, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
33	Winter World: The Ingenuity of Animal Survival by Bernd Heinrich 4.06 avg rating — 4,421 ratings score: 77, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
34	The Eternal Frontier: An Ecological History of North America and Its Peoples by Tim Flannery 4.10 avg rating — 939 ratings score: 76, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
35	Owls of the Eastern Ice: A Quest to Find and Save the World's Largest Owl by Jonathan C. Slaght (Goodreads Author) 4.19 avg rating — 6,297 ratings score: 74, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
36	Extinction: How Life on Earth Nearly Ended 250 Million Years Ago by Douglas H. Erwin 3.87 avg rating — 178 ratings score: 73, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
37	When Life Nearly Died: The Greatest Mass Extinction of All Time by Michael J. Benton 4.10 avg rating — 1,541 ratings score: 72, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
38	Wild Migrations: Atlas of Wyoming's Ungulates by Matthew J. Kauffman 4.67 avg rating — 21 ratings score: 71, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
39	The Sea Around Us by Rachel Carson 4.17 avg rating — 5,037 ratings score: 69, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
40	Brainscapes: The Warped, Wondrous Maps Written in Your Brain―And How They Guide You by Rebecca Schwarzlose (Goodreads Author) 3.88 avg rating — 454 ratings score: 68, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
41	A Sense of the Mysterious: Science and the Human Spirit by Alan Lightman (Goodreads Author) 3.82 avg rating — 666 ratings score: 67, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
42	The Evolution Underground: Burrows, Bunkers, and the Marvelous Subterranean World Beneath our Feet by Anthony J. Martin (Goodreads Author) 4.15 avg rating — 146 ratings score: 66, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
43	Catastrophic Thinking: Extinction and the Value of Diversity from Darwin to the Anthropocene by David Sepkoski 3.91 avg rating — 53 ratings score: 65, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
44	After Man: A Zoology of the Future by Dougal Dixon 4.28 avg rating — 1,384 ratings score: 64, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
45	Atlas of the Invisible: Maps & Graphics That Will Change How You See the World by James Cheshire (Goodreads Author) 4.18 avg rating — 553 ratings score: 63, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
46	Women in American Cartography: An Invisible Social History by Judith Tyner 3.50 avg rating — 2 ratings score: 62, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
47	A Brief History of Timekeeping: The Science of Marking Time, from Stonehenge to Atomic Clocks by Chad Orzel 3.70 avg rating — 418 ratings score: 61, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
48	Spare Parts: The Story of Medicine Through the History of Transplant Surgery by Paul Craddock (Goodreads Author) 3.89 avg rating — 737 ratings score: 60, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
49	A Taste for Poison: Eleven Deadly Molecules and the Killers Who Used Them by Neil Bradbury (Goodreads Author) 4.12 avg rating — 9,535 ratings score: 58, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
50	Dark and Magical Places: The Neuroscience of Navigation by Christopher Kemp 4.01 avg rating — 557 ratings score: 57, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
51	Emotional: How Feelings Shape Our Thinking by Leonard Mlodinow 3.84 avg rating — 2,103 ratings score: 56, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
52	The Rise and Reign of the Mammals: A New History, from the Shadow of the Dinosaurs to Us by Steve Brusatte 4.37 avg rating — 7,829 ratings score: 55, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
53	How the World Really Works: A Scientist's Guide to Our Past, Present and Future by Vaclav Smil 3.95 avg rating — 13,966 ratings score: 54, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
54	Birds and Us: A 12,000 Year History, from Cave Art to Conservation by Tim Birkhead 3.82 avg rating — 631 ratings score: 53, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
55	Origin: A Genetic History of the Americas by Jennifer Raff 3.79 avg rating — 3,265 ratings score: 52, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
56	Wired for Love: A Neuroscientist's Journey Through Romance, Loss, and the Essence of Human Connection by Stephanie Cacioppo 4.04 avg rating — 1,891 ratings score: 51, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars