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Recommend your favorite Science or Technology book.

My favourite book is too specific to be of interest to any of you, but just in case you wondered what my preferred bedside book is: Chironomidae Larvae - Volume 3 - Aquatic Orthocladiinae
I couldn't actually say why the Orthocladiinae are my favourites. I met the author, Henk, about 15 years ago and his enthusiasm for Chironomids was so infectuous that I completely fell for this often neglected group of midges. And when I had my first member of the Orthocladiinae family under the microscope I got hopelessly hooked :)
Don't they just have awesome teeth? Effective, esthetically pleasing and a good means to distinguish the species:
Prodiamesa_chiro.jpg

(my favourite: Prodiamesa olivacea. The only Chironomid with whiskers :D)
 
Hacking Matter by Will McCarthy. My introduction to programmable matter. An implication-a technological revolution in our future.
 
Peterson Field Guide: Stars and Planets, by Donald H. Menzel & Jay M. Pasachoff. Bought when I still had a telescope. Stumbling onto Saturn one night was awe inspiring, looking straight down the barrel at it.
 
The National Geographic Science Book

It's essentially a science textbook, and has just about everything you'd want to know, all in one place in an easy to read format. I love it, and am using it to brush up on science concepts I'd long since forgotten from high school.
 
For any science-minded library a copy of Resnick & Halliday's Fundamentals of Physics is essential. Unfortunately the 10th ed is a bit expensive north of $290 but earlier editions can be had for much less. Mine is from 2007 and still not outdated. It requires first-year calculus but explains basic physical concepts and theory in a crisp, no-nonsense manner.

RAMA said:
I recall seeing a story on the network news shows making it sound like half the world was still in slavery...
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True, abject chattel slavery is largely gone. Yet undesirable, coercive employment arrangements and attendant financial dependency abound. The percentage figure will likely vary with how the relationships of "slavery" and "serfdom" are defined by those doing a study. But even 10% amounts to several hundred million workers and represents quite a problem.
 
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TerriO said:
Of course the writer's going to come up with this one. :)

Right alongside the websites, it occurs to me we should have a thread where we can recommend science and technology books for our fellow posters to read. So, here goes. If you'd like to recommend a book, please feel free to give us the title, author, and a brief summary of why you're recommending the book. :)

Roving Mars by Steve Squyres--an excellent look into the genesis and development of the MER program, written by the principal investigator (and, in truth, the public face) of MER. If you've ever wondered just what it takes to get a project like MER off the ground, you should read this. Squyres' style is very conversational and accessible.

Parallel Worlds : A Journey Through Creation, Higher Dimensions, and the Future of the Cosmos by Michio Kaku--Kaku has, IMO, an astonishing ability to make quantum theory accessible to the average person. I just tend to recommend his books in general, but I found this one particularly fascinating on the subject. :)


Feel free to add more, guys. :)
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I love Elon Musk and recently I`ve read the post about the book what he recommended, so among those books I saw some interesting which I've already read and started just on the day I found them. I can`t say that these books are straight devoted to the scientific topic, but they are rather the way you can learn how to think. If you don`t mind, here they are:

1) Howard Robard Hughes Empire: The Life, Legend and Madness of Howard Hughes

2) Walter Isaacson, Benjamin Franklin. Biography

3) Walter Isaacson, Einstein, His Life and Universe

You can find more on the appropriate site, but these two I think are the best for understanding the mental of success scientists and leaders.
 
I highly recommend to read the Isaac Asimov - "Academy" book. He tells there about prosperity of the great galactic Empire ruled by deterministic laws of the "psychohistory"...I will not tell more about it, you should read this book by yourself. It`s a trilogy which became favourite fantastic literature I ever read. If you want - read the description about the book..) Don`t want to make spoilers here)
 
I don't know if this falls in the category of mainstream or junk science but I'm reading a book called "In Search Of the multiverse" by John Gribban

It's not a wordy and verbose text. It's actually very light reading. I'd say I am a quarter of the way through.

Also reading an alternative book called A.D. After Disclosure by Richard Dolan and Bryce Zabel.

Both these guys are TV writers and did the show Dark Skies about aliens influencing Earth in the 60s and the book itself isn't bad, it's just not memorable. They don't actually cover anything I haven't read in crazy conspiracy blogs. But I want to finish it so I will eventually finish it.
 
KlavsPrieditis said:
I highly recommend to read the Isaac Asimov - "Academy" book. He tells there about prosperity of the great galactic Empire ruled by deterministic laws of the "psychohistory"...I will not tell more about it, you should read this book by yourself. It`s a trilogy which became favourite fantastic literature I ever read. If you want - read the description about the book..) Don`t want to make spoilers here)
Click to expand...

It's more commonly known as the Foundation series. He did prequels and sequels to the original trilogy, too. :)
 
This book is kind of vocationally-focused, so hopefully it isn't too lowbrow for this discussion...
"Applied Mathematics for Database Professionals" by Lex deHaan and Toon Koppelaars

It shows how to use set theory and formal logic for efficient design of relational databases. It's a real eye-opener for those who professionally work in information technology but never had formal education in computer science, discrete mathematics, and so on.

Kor
 
A new book on the scene:
Lunar and Interplanetary Trajectories

Fighter pilots have a saying--he who runs out of energy--runs out of options.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_fighter_maneuvers#Specific_energy

That is even more true when going BEO

First Biesbroek presents the significant parameters; the C3 launch energy...there's lots of angular momentum with which to deal. To aid the reader, the author includes many, many charts, graphs and plots. The plots of trajectories from Earth to beyond are particularly revealing and indeed necessary at times to grasp the nuances of positive and negative notations and maximum energy usage....Biesbroek utilizes his systems approach when looking at pros and cons for many situations. For example, he's got the Low Earth Orbit mass delivery for the Falcon rocket as a condition....Further, and perhaps most insightful, is the expectation for any mission to be ten years or less...

Read this book--and you begin to learn just why big rockets are needed.

Another (fiction) book for pilots
https://books.google.com/books?id=wLWNTRa8_hkC&pg=PA21&lpg=PA21&dq=fighter+pilot+run+out+of+energy+run+out+of+options&source=bl&ots=ECOC3FLiou&sig=grOMlRhB5m97kmap6rgCqus1hZo&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjB7Jvn0-bKAhWF4SYKHSrbAiUQ6AEISzAI#v=onepage&q=fighter pilot run out of energy run out of options&f=false

The old F-4 has been called the ultimate victory of thrust over aerodynamics. Though many called it a kludge, it became a serviceable MiG killer. You didn't want to turn with a MiG--but he didn't want in a climbing battle with a Phantom.
 
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What if?
http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/Relativity/BlackHoles/fall_in.html

Astro-math books http://www.willbell.com/math/mc16.htm

Book on Caloris:
http://www.universetoday.com/129986/book-review-caloris-network/

SLS mission booklet
http://www.boeing.com/assets/pdf/defense-space/space/sls/docs/sls_mission_booklet_jan_2014.pdf

Some nice books on rockets

A history piece in process--the story of VTOVL concepts
https://thehighfrontier.wordpress.c...rtical-takeoffvertical-landing-rocket-part-1/

An oldie but goodie--the N-1 story
http://www.arapress.com/n-1-for-the-moon-and-mars/

Bong Wie --who does work in the field of asteroid deflection, also has a book out that should be of interest:
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Changing_Course_On_Earth_Approach_999.html
http://www.amazon.com/Vehicle-Guidance-Control-Astrodynamics-Education/dp/1624102751

Another much needed book is the history of women in rocketry:
http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2955/1

Lastly, consider the Black Arrow: http://britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/oralhistoryofscience/2011/11/broken-black-arrow.html
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Black-Arrow-Rocket-History-Satellite/dp/1900747413

This is perhaps the cleanest burning rocket I have even seen:
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=15393.msg1512397#msg1512397

Best rocketry quote ever:

British physics, old chap. It's undignified to belch flames and effluvia all over the pad, what. A true gentlemen's orbital conveyance lifts itself into the air unostentatiously, with the minimum of spectacle and a modicum of grace. Not like our American cousins' launch vehicles, eh?
 
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My favorite is 'Genome' by Matt Ridley. It's really fantastic book. And I want to recommend it to everyone. The author is not a scientist, he's a writer and former editor, and this isn't a textbook, but it could be - he's done his research and includes all his references. Content changed the way I think about evolution and heredity, human biology, history, psychology, disease, medicine, food, sexuality, instinct, intelligence, personality, behavior, everything. Eye-opening in a way that encourages wonder rather than only prescribing answers. Such books inspire me and since I work as a writer (you can look at my blog buyessay.org/blog/weather-essay-sample/) they help me expand my horizons and see something new in those things that seemed normal to me.
 
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