This is a place to talk about the last science book you read or the science book you are reading. I'm currently reading Here Be Dragons by Dennis McCarthy and Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagan.

The last science book I read was The Violinist's Thumb. I really enjoyed it.

I think my last science read was The Disappearing Spoon, by the same guy. Really liked it, am looking for The Violinist's Thumb.

I really liked The Disappearing Spoon as well. I just finished 13 Things That Don't Make Sense: The Most Baffling Scientific Mysteries of Our Time by Michael Brooks and thought it was a good read as well.

I think the last science book I read was Monster of God by David Quammen. It tells of man's relationship with those species that sometimes look on humans as prey, especially the great cats. It mixes biology and ethnography with analysis of myth, literature and popular culture. Very interesting.

Not quite the last science book I've read, but the best of the last couple of months:
David Finlayson, The Humans Who Went Extinct: Why Neanderthals Died Out and We Survived. By far the best on the sapiens/neanderthalensis question, with a very good multiscience integration. I've read a lot on human evolution, and this the first pop-sci that has a comprehensive and up-to-date view. Novel analysis too.

The very last, just the other day, Lucy Rogers 'It's ONLY Rocket Science: An Introduction in Plain English'. I read just two chapters and skimmed the rest (I was in a bookstore). Very nice, especially for me, as most of the information I have on space travel and exploration comes from Science Fiction...

A History of the World in 12 Maps - interesting and I learned a lot about the history of geography.

Reply to post #7 (show post):
That sounds like a fascinating book, Susanna. I'll have to look it up sometime.

It's pretty pricey (I read an ARC); might be good to check out of a library. (Probably the cost of reproducing all those maps.)

The last properly science book I enjoyed was Darwin's Dangerous Idea by Daniel C Dennett... very dense. That was ages ago though! Interesting on memes as inhabitants of minds, and on AI. Maybe I'd disagree with more of it if I read it now

I have since moved on from Here Be Dragons to The Greatest Show on Earth by Richard Dawkins. I must say that I adore his style of prose and how engaging he can be.

I'm officially adding some of those to my list. I unfortunately haven't had much time to read anything for pleasure that is deeper than brain candy, but I did spend most of my semester reading a crap ton of dendrochronology papers and excerpts.

The last few science books I've read are and my reviews of them:

Wild Life of Our Body - Rob Dunn
http://elentarri.booklikes.com/post/1408942/the-wild-life-of-our-bodies-predators-parasites-and-partners-that-shape-who-we-are-today

The Molecule Hunt - Martin Jones
http://elentarri.booklikes.com/post/1395679/the-molecule-hunt-archaeology-and-the-search-for-ancient-dna

Resurrection Science - M.R. O'Connor
http://elentarri.booklikes.com/post/1415646/resurrection-science-do-we-resurrect-extinct-species-or-not

Our of Thin Air - Peter D Ward
http://booklikes.com/out-of-thin-air-dinosaurs-birds-and-earth-s-ancient-atmosphere-peter-d-ward/book,240087

Ancestral journeys - Jean Manco
http://booklikes.com/ancestral-journeys-the-peopling-of-europe-from-the-first-venturers-to-the-v/book,13631021

The last few good science books I've read:

The Trouble with Testosterone and Other Essays on the Biology of the Human Predicament by Robert M. Sapolsky

Atoms Under the Floorboards: The Surprising Science Hidden in Your Home by Chris Woodford

Armageddon Science: The Science of Mass Destruction by Brian Clegg