The list below includes books that I have read on various topics relating to physics, astronomy, and science. Many of these books give excellent introductions to topics in physics that we do not cover in our physics courses.
Scientists
Alvarez, Luis W. Alvarez: Adventures of a Physicist. New York: Basic Books, Inc., 1987.
Traces the life of Luis Alvarez, including his involvement in the Manhattan Project as well as in the development of the hypothesis of catastrophic extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago.
de Harsanyi, Zsolt. The Star-Gazer: A Novel of the Life of Galileo. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1939.
A fictionalized account of the life of Galileo. Vividly describes his conflict with the church as he worked on his science.
Feynman, Richard, P. “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!”: Adventures of a Curious Character. New York: Bantam Books, 1986.
A humorous account of Richard Feynman's childhood, his work on the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos, and his Nobel Prize in Physics. One of my all-time favorite books.
Feynman, Richard, P. “What Do You Care What Other People Think?”: Further Adventures of a Curious Character. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1988.
A follow-up to "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!" More technical than the first book, it largely follows Feynman's role in NASA's panel that investigated the shuttle Challenger explosion in 1986.
Gribbin, John & Gribbin, Mary. Richard Feynman: A Life in Science. New York: Penguin Putnam, 1998.
Many of the book I've read about Richard Feynman have been anecdotes about his life and how he thought about science. This is the first book I've read that melded this part of his life with the science of Richard Feynman, giving concise overviews of his contributions to physics. A good follow-up to the two books listed just prior to this on the book list.
Levenson, Thomas. Newton and the Counterfeiter: The Unknown Detective Career of the World's Greatest Scientist. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009.
This is a biographical look at the life of Newton after his greatest scientific achievement of publishing the Principia which outlines his laws of motion. As a result of his notoriety as a scientists, Newton was asked to help England solve its problem with the devaluation of money and counterfeiting. The book simultaneously looks at the life of William Chaloner, one of the most cunning counterfeiters of the day. Newton made it his mission to bring Chaloner to justice and this book details how Newton accomplished this task.
Sakharov, Andrei. Memoirs. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1990.
Traces the life of this prominent Russian physicist, his role in the H-bomb race, and his battles with an oppressive government.
Sayen, Jamie. Einstein in America: The Scientist's Conscience in the Age of Hitler and Hiroshima. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1985.
The beginning of the book looks briefly at Einstein's younger years spent in Europe and during his development of the photoelectric effect and his relativistic theories. But most of the book looks at the years he spent at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. During this time, Einstein was largely irrelevant as a scientists but was involved, sometimes against his wishes, in a variety of political movements, decrying the spread of Nazi fascism, imploring the United States to drop its isolationist stance so that it could contribute to need to dethrone Hitler, and his largely pacifistic views. Einstein's politics are shared within a larger context of the national and international political environment from World War II into the Cold War years. The book also shares a number of stories of Einstein the person and his role as a world icon.
History of Physics
Cohen, I. Bernard. The Birth of a New Physics. New York: Anchor Books, 1960.
Documents significant growth in the field of physics, starting with Aristotle and ending with Newton.
Gleick, James. Isaac Newton. New York: Vintage Books, 2004.
This book documents the life of Isaac Newton. Gleick combed through Newton's personal papers to deliver a short treatise on Newton's scientific and occult drives, delving into Newton's theories on the cause of motion, universal gravitation, optics, and his work with alchemy.
March, Robert H. Physics for Poets. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1978.
Truth be told, I couldn't stomach following this book to the end. It covers a wide range of physics topics, from the historical development of Newtonian Mechanics, through wave theory, and into modern physics. The author, in hitting a wide-range of topics over such a small book, could not delve into any detail or interesting facets to hold my interest. It might be good for some, but I just gave up trying to like it.
Modern Physics
Baker, Adolph. Modern Physics and Antiphysics. Reading, MA. Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1970.
I was skeptical when I saw the cover of this book; it looks really dated and that didn't give me much confidence in the author. But I found this to be a pretty refreshing read and an excellent recap of the two main advances in physics in the first half of the 20th century: special relativity and quantum mechanics. It does so in a largely non-mathematical manner and was written, it appears, as a response to the hippie-era backlash against the establishment, which included both government and big science. A nice introduction to these two theories.
Particle Physics
Lederman, Leon. The God Particle: If the Universe is the Answer, What is the Question? Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1993.
Starts with a humorous historical account of the concept of matter and ends with the development of particle physics theory. The ultimate aim of the account is to explain the search for the Higgs boson.
Quantum Physics
Feynman, Richard P. QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1985.
This is a compilation of a series of four of Feynman's lectures presumably written for the layperson. The lectures set out to lay the basis for the theory for which Feynman shared the Nobel prize, a theory that purports to explain everything that occurs outside the confines of the atomic nucleus. In avoiding the use of any equations, the reader is left with a large void in the mechanics of this theory. That aside, he gives a nice insight into the world of quantum and particle physics, and a nice alternative view to the "wave-particle duality" of the photon. As unsatisfying as I was left with the void, I gained a number of new insights into physics that were valuable and informative.
Gribbin, John. In Search of Schrodinger’s Cat: Quantum Physics and Reality. New York: Bantam Books, 1984.
Written for the layperson, delves into the world of quantum mechanics. Gives a historical account of light and atoms and contrasts the classical view of these two entities with the quantum mechanical view.
Gribbin, John. Schrodinger's Kittens and the Search for Reality: Solving the Quantum Mysteries. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1995.
This book is a follow-up to his first book In Search of Schrodinger's Cat. It includes a number of experimental results that were not yet known at the writing of the first book. The author's intent is to look at the quest to find a model of quantum mechanics that shows a coherent understanding of quantum mechanics and all of it's mysteries. I found it to be more technical than the first book, but a fitting sequel. The shining beacon of the book is one of the later chapters that discusses the role that modeling plays in understanding physical systems. This book made my head hurt, but it was a good and satisfying pain.
Zukav, Gary. The Dancing Wu Li Masters: An Overview of the New Physics. New York: Bantam Books, 1980.
DISCLAIMER: Although the author is not a scientist, he does give an adequate overview of the dilemmas of physics from Galileo through Schroedinger. The focus of this section of the book builds a foundation for trying to understand quantum physics and how it came about. The second half of the book, unfortunately, attempts to use the science in the first section to legitimize eastern religion; this section of the book is, in my opinion, a sham. Read the first half for an introduction to quantum physics, skip the second half.
Chaos, Sync, & Non-Linear Dynamics
Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science. New York: Penguin Books, 1988.
Written for the layperson, lays the foundation for the relatively new science of chaos, a science that deals with environments that are sensitive to initial conditions (sometimes called the "butterfly effect.") and how these chaotic systems still exhibit defined boundaries.
Strogatz, Steven. Sync: How Order Emerges from Chaos in the Universe, Nature, and Daily Life. New York: Theia, 2003.
This author attempts to do to the study of sync what James Gleick did to the study of chaos theory. There are many examples in nature where a system of objects seem to spontaneously enter a state of synchronization. The book is broken into three sections. The first section studies sync in biological systems. He studies the phenomenon of fireflies by the millions in certain parts of the world that seem to synchronize their flashing, and he also delves into the circadian rhythm. The second section studies sync found in physical systems and specifically studies the synchronization of pendula and the causes of superconductivity. The third section studies sync in networks: the power grid, the internet, the proliferation of fads, and more. Ironically, I found the section dealing with the sync of physics as the least interesting. The other two sections, though, make the book a worthwhile read.
Davies, Paul. The Cosmic Blueprint: New Discoveries in Nature's Creative Ability to Order the Universe. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1988.
I placed this book under this category because a) the author looks specifically at non-linear systems as being paramount to his premise and b) it could eventually bear out to be a new field of physics. The author, a theoretical physicist, proposes that in addition to our more conventional laws and theories of physics (Newtonian Mechanics, quantum mechanics, thermodynamics), there are as yet undiscovered laws that would explain how our universe seems to have the ability to be creative, to show self-organization and a progression toward more complexity. He looks at a wide variety of scientific fields to illustrate this trend and argues that attributing the underlying process that takes us to more complexity cannot possibly be due to random chance as Darwinists would suggest. While purportedly written for the layperson, he fails miserably. I don't think the general reader would find this book entertaining. I found it difficult to get through the first and final thirds of the book, although the middle third was pretty good when he started looking more in depth at biological applications. The author could have done the same job in 50 pages and the book would have been a better read.
String Theory & Extra Dimensions
Greene, Brian. The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory. New York: Vintage Books, 2000.
An excellent portrayal of physics' attempt unify all physical laws into one grand theory. It portrays string theory as being the most promising theory available to accomplish this goal.
Greene, Brian. The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality. New York: Vintage Books, 2005.
Greene's followup to the The Elegant Universe takes a different approach toward the argument for string theory. He looks at the very fabric of space (is it an entity?) to the direction of time's arrow. In presenting these topics, he brings in classical Newtonian physics, Einstein's general and special relativity, and the bizarre world of quantum mechanics. He also invokes the arena of cosmology as being at the forefront of allowing us to peak at the validity of these ideas. This book, in my opinion, is much deeper and more dense (packed with physics concepts) than his first book, and will require periods of time to put the book down and reflect.
Randall, Lisa. Warped Passages: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe's Hidden Dimensions. New York: HarperCollins, 2005.
Lisa Randall considers herself to be a "model builder," a physicist who plays both sides of the fence when it comes to choosing a side between particle physics and string theory. Her goal is to show how extra dimensions (beyond the three of space and the one of time) can solve the fudge factors and unanswered questions in the Standard Model of particle physics. She additionally claims that evidence of extra-dimensions, if they exist, should be forthcoming within the next ten years with the completion of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. The first and third sections of the book make it a fascinating read (although far from being a light read). The middle section on particle physics, although done better in other books, is a necessary segue to show the need (or desire) for looking at extra-dimensions to solve the problems that modern physics still faces.
Cosmology
Bonnor, William. The Mystery of the Expanding Universe. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1964.
Cosmology is a field that has changed dramatically in the past 50 years, so this book is pretty dated. Nevertheless, I would characterize this book as an introduction to the infant stage of current cosmological thought and it does give a good background on how Einstein's general relativity and how a growing set of observations have been used to pose a variety of different models of the universe. Unlike more contemporary books, this one is very clear on the scientific process and how assumptions and interpretation of data has driven and continues to drive the development of cosmological models; for this reason alone a enjoyed it. A good introduction to cosmology, but probably best read only if followed up with a more contemporary treatment that includes more current observations and ideas.
Ferris, Timothy. The Whole Shebang: A State-of-the-Universe(s) Report. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997.
This book really is what the sub-title suggests; a report on everything that is known about the universe today, the theories or ideas that cosmologists continue to try and answer, and all of the evidence that brings us to our current point in time. Although purportedly written for anyone who has an interest in cosmology, I found that having a background in these topics, ranging from special and general relativity to quantum mechanics, was extremely helpful in understanding the content. Very comprehensive in its breadth, it gives a bare-bones review of the physical theories and principles. Unfortunately, he covers so much that he seems to assume the reader has a background in principles of physics and cosmology. I think it would be difficult to understand much of the book without having some background knowledge.
Hawking, Stephen W. A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes. New York: Bantam Books, 1988.
A hard read, this book delves into particle physics and quantum mechanics and their role in the formation of the universe as well as the physiology of black holes. A good book, but requires multiple reads.
Lightman, Alan. Ancient Light: Our Changing View of the Universe. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1991.
Gives a historical account of cosmology, starting with the Greeks and concluding with the Big Bang Model. Also gives an overview of the problem with "dark matter."
Weinberg, Steven. The First Three Minutes: A Modern View of the Origin of the Universe. New York: Basic Books, 1988.
Uses our knowledge of particle physics to extrapolate back to the earliest moments of the universe.
Junk Science
Huber, Peter W. Galileo’s Revenge: Junk Science in the Courtroom. New York: Basic Books, 1991.
An account of how "expert" witnesses have misconstrued, twisted, and misused science in legal proceedings.
Sagan, Carl. The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark. New York: Ballantine Books, 1996.
Sagan debunks witchcraft, faith healing, demons, and UFO's, among other myths of pseudoscience.
Salem, Kenneth, G. The New Gravity. Johnstown, PA: Salem Books, 1994.
Unlike the other two books in this category that document how junk science is used, this book IS junk science. The author attempts to legitimize a new "theory" of gravity. Although it is a sad commentary on how the author attempted to do science, it is very amusing.
Miscellaneous
Asimov, Isaac. Asimov on Physics. New York, NY. Avon Books, 1976.
Science fiction author Isaac Asimov wrote monthly essays for The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. He wrote on a wide range of topics, including science fiction, history of science, and contemporary science. This book is a collection of essays dealing specifically on physics topics.
Asimov, Isaac. The Relativity of Wrong. New York, NY. Pinnacle Books, 1988.
Another collection of essays, this time dealing with the topics of isotopes as chemical tags, and topics on astronomy. Essays well document the scientific process of discovery (creation) and the assumptions behind different theories.
Feynman, Richard P. The Meaning of it All: Thoughts of a Citizen-Scientist. Reading, MA. Perseus Books, 1998.
This book is a compilation of three lectures that Feynman gave at the University of Washington. He gives his thoughts on a wide variety of topics including religion, politics, and statistics. I wasn't as enamoured with this book as much as with his other books, but the first lecture, "The Uncertainty of Science," is a real gem and worth the price of the book.
Feynman, Richard P. Six Easy Pieces: Essentials of Physics Explained by Its Most Brilliant Teacher. Reading, MA: Helix Books, 1995.
Six of Richard Feynman's most essential lectures on physics while teaching at Cal Tech in the 1960's. The book is accompanied by an audio CD of each lecture.
Feynman, Richard P. The Character of Physical Law. New York: The Modern Library, 1994.
A collection of Feynman's lectures while at Cornell University that address how science goes about creating physical laws and looks at the implications and assumptions behind laws and theories.
Feynman, Richard P., Leighton, Robert B. & Sands, Matthew. The Feynman Lectures on Physics, Volume 1. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1963.
Feynman taught a 2-year physics course to all incoming students at the California Institute of Technology.This volume covers the first year of lectures given in the 1961-62 academic year. A lot has changed in physics in the past 50 years, so the some of the material is dated, but this collection of lectures is a gem and gives insight into the mind of Richard Feynman. He hoped that he could connect with all of his students on some level through his lectures. They contained themes that would be understandable to the non-physics major and enough detail to appeal to the most staunch student of physics. This same volume of lectures, along with Volumes 2 and 3, are also available online at feynmanlectures.caltech.edu.
Goodstein, David and Judith Goodstein. Feynman's Lost Lecture: The Motion of Planets Around the Sun. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1996.
The book gives a detailed description and analysis of a lecture Richard Feynman delivered to his Caltech freshman class on March 13, 1964. He derives Kepler's Laws from purely geometrical arguments and is able to argue using the same approach WHY the planets orbit in ellipses. The book is accompanied by an audio CD of Feynman's 1964 lecture.
Gordon, J.E. Structures: or, Why Things Don't Fall Down. New York: Da Capo Press, 1985.
This book focuses specifically on how forces (stress, shear, torsion, fracture, and comporession) affect natural and man-made design of various structures. It is a fascinating overview of how engineers apply these principles in the design of their structures.
Greenler, Robert. Rainbows, Halos, and Glories. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press, 1980.
An intriguing book that uses computer modeling techniques to explain various atmospheric phenomena such as sundogs, sun pillars, and the blue sky.
Kaku, Michio. Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel. New York: Anchor Books, 2009.
If you are a fan of science fiction, you will appreciate this book. Kaku is a physicists who takes a look at the impossibility, improbability, or likelihood of someday realizing some of the most fantastic and most common elements of science fiction, ranging from Star Trek's phasers and transporter, to Star Wars' Death Star, to galactic travel and parallel universes. He classifies each of his topics as either a Class I impossibility (possible because it does not break the laws of physics and may be realized within a few centuries), Class II impossibility (maybe possible because our limited understanding of the laws of physics does not currently prevent it, but cannot be attained in the near future), and Class III impossibilities (break the laws of physics as we know them or would require a total rework of the laws of physics).
Lovell, Jim and Jeffrey Kluger. Apollo 13. New York: Pocket Books, 1995.
An excellent portrayal of the Apollo 13 mission and the creativity and prowess required of the astronauts and earth-bound engineers to bring the astronauts home safely.
Murray, Charles, and Catherine Bly Cox. Apollo: the Race to the Moon. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1989.
Documents the political and scientific environment of our journey to the moon, starting with John F. Kennedy's initial charge.
Sagan, Carl. Billions and Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium. New York: Random House, 1997.
Various essays by Sagan that look at how humans are adversely affecting their environment.
Smolin, Lee. The Trouble with Physics: The Rise of String Theory, the Fall of a Science, and What Comes Next?. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006.
The author laments that his generation of physicists has been the first in two centuries to fail to answer a significant question or solve a significant problem in the field. He blames this situation on the way that string theory has been self-propagating and how it has sapped up all available resources in the physics profession. He gives very compelling arguments that the physics profession has lost its way and can hardly be recognized as a science anymore. This book is an excellent treatise on how science should be done and how it isn't being practiced in the leading field of modern physics.
Sobel, Dava, and Andrewes, William. The Illustrated Longitude. New York: Walker & Company, 1998.
Finding latitude using the sun or night sky has been known for centuries, but accurately determining ones longitude was still a mystery well into the 18th century. Miscalculations in longitude as well as inaccurate maps caused a catastrophic end to numerous voyages, ranging from shipwrecks on rocky shoals to rampant scurvy among crew. This book follows the history of finding longitude, the creation of the Board of Longitude and the £20,000 prize, and John Harrison's quest to solve the problem with his finely crafted chronometers.
Weisskopf, Victor F. The Privilege of Being a Physicist. New York: W. H. Freeman and Company, 1989.
This book is a collection of essays that run a wide gamut of topics. It is broken down into five main categories: The Life of a Scientist, Science and Culture, Ideas in Physics, Two Physicists, and Science and Society. For me, the most compelling section was Ideas in Physics where Weisskopf summarizes the main ideas of quantum mechanics and its relationship to the origin of the universe. His approach provided me with a few new insights. The final section of the book is heavy on the need for nuclear disarmament, which was a very relevant topic when the book was written; to some degree we have followed the path for which he argues. The book makes apparent the passion that this scientist has in his connection with art, music, religion, and society.