In the late 1800s, two Austrian physicists fought over whether atoms were real. Paul Halpern tells the story of Mach and Boltzmann's clash, the human cost of settling it, and what it says about today's arguments over what is fundamental. 336 pages. Published by Basic Books.
- You liked Six Easy Pieces and want the story behind physics' first principle
- You enjoy intellectual feuds where both sides had a point
- You're curious how science decides what's real when nobody can see it
Philip Ball's biography of Niels Bohr, who explained the nuclear atom and stood at the centre of quantum mechanics. It follows his long argument with Einstein over what physical reality means, and his later work in the atomic age. 352 pages. Published by University of Chicago Press.
- Last month's Hawking biography left you wanting more of the people behind modern physics
- You've never quite understood what Bohr and Einstein were arguing about
- You like biographies where the ideas are as big as the person
Evolutionary biologist Olivia Judson retells the history of life as a story of energy rather than genes. She splits Earth's history into five expansions (rock, light, oxygen, flesh, fire) and shows how life became a force that reshaped the planet itself. 560 pages. Published by Penguin Press.
- The Selfish Gene shaped how you think about evolution
- You want one big idea that ties geology, chemistry and biology together
- You like long books that take their time over a grand argument
A neurologist who works in neurological intensive care explains what happens in the brain at the edge of death. Tarvez Tucker mixes patients' stories with accessible neuroscience on consciousness, partial consciousness and the decisions families face at the end. Published by Columbia University Press.
- When Breath Becomes Air stayed with you
- You're curious what neuroscience can and can't say about consciousness at the end of life
- You want a doctor's view of death that's empathetic, not clinical
Toby Walsh, a professor of artificial intelligence at UNSW with more than forty years in the field, asks whether superhuman AI will be the best thing that happens to us or the last. He walks through the history, weighs the risks and sets out what we can still do to steer it. Published by Melville House.
- You've read Superintelligence or The Coming Wave and want a researcher's reality check
- You followed October's AGI Chronicles and want the next question answered
- You want to make up your own mind between boom and doom
Mike Horton, a former US federal Chief AI Officer, argues that AI isn't the first technology to promise everything. He draws on 250 years of industrial history to give leaders a practical way to tell real value from hype.
- You're tired of AI headlines and want history instead of predictions
- You lead a team that's being told to "adopt AI" and want a framework for it
- You liked last month's The Telephone and want the same long view on today's technology
From the authors of The Decision Book, a pocket-sized collection of 44 laws and principles that can't be proven scientifically but keep turning out to be true. Short chapters and illustrations make it a book to dip into rather than read cover to cover. 176 pages. Published by W. W. Norton.
- You liked The Decision Book or The 80/20 Principle
- You want something to read five minutes at a time
- You collect mental models
In December 1926, Agatha Christie vanished for eleven days. Christie biographer Laura Thompson retraces her movements, tests every theory and draws on conversations with Christie's daughter, Rosalind. The book lands days before the 100th anniversary of the disappearance on Dec 3. 224 pages. Published by St. Martin's Press.
- You want a short true mystery for the holidays
- You're a Christie fan and want the real story behind the eleven days
- You like biography that reads like detective work