Reading lists

Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw share their favourite science books

Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw, the authors of Universal: A Guide to the Cosmos pick 6 scientific reads that have inspired them.

Jeff Forshaw and Brian Cox
Jeff Forshaw and Brian Cox

Cosmos

Carl Sagan

A joyful celebration of science and civilization, but also a powerful polemic. Sagan views our existence from the perspective of an astronomer, and implores us to behave as a unified global civilisation on a small planet which must take responsibility for its own survival. 

 

The First Three Minutes

Steven Weinberg

Still the best book explaining what happened just after the Big Bang. Weinberg has a no nonsense, almost dead-pan style and his writing is lucid. Not surprising since he is one of the greatest physicists of the 20th century.

 

The Age of Wonder

Richard Holmes

A beautiful description of why we do science - Davy, Banks, Darwin - they were all correct: science is a romantic pursuit, and the more cynical 21st century view of science as some sort of vehicle for economic progress is plain wrong!

 

Sign up to the Penguin Newsletter

For the latest books, recommendations, author interviews and more