I’m not exactly sure what my first history of science book was, but I know it was relatively recent (in the past few years). But once I discovered the genre, I was hooked. It’s thrilling to hear of scientists truly making groundbreaking, barrier expanding discoveries, and learning about how our knowledge came to be what it is today.
After spending more than a decade in higher education, I realize that we don’t spend enough time teaching and learning about the history of topics and diciplines, probably because we (as teachers) feel the need (or pressure) to cram as much ‘current’ information into our students’ brain. But history of science can offer tantalizing new perspectives on current issues, and provide a greater depth of understanding unavailble without key historical contexts.
Here are eight of my favorite history of science books I’ve read in the last few years.
What is Real? (2018)
If you were to ask me what my favorite physics book is, Adam Becker’s What Is Real?: The Unfinished Quest for the Meaning of Quantum Physics would be it. Quantum physics isn’t an easy topic to understand, but beyond what quantum physics is, Becker asks what it all means. For most of us, our days are unencumbered by this question, but for more than a century, the world’s brightest minds have been debating the very meaning of it all. With key players like Einstein and Bohr, Becker takes you on an engaging and accessible journey through the history of what quantum theory means (or doesn’t). It’s a captivating journey that even newbies to physics can dive into.
Naming Nature (2009)
How do we know what animals are related? Are fish real? How do we even know the answers to these questions? In Naming Nature: The Clash Between Instinct and Science, Carol Yoon takes you on a journey of how the field of taxonomy – how we organize animals – came to be. Before the genetic era, visual similarities were primarily how family trees of animals were created. But once genetics came on the scene, taxonomy was upended. Genetics shown a light on convergent evolution. Odd species were found to be cousins, and similar looking species found to be distant relatives. And, no “fish” aren’t real. Read to find out why.
The Second Kind of Impossible (2019)
I still remember reading this book, and it was one of my all time favorites. The Second Kind of Impossible: The Extraordinary Quest for a New Form of Matter by Paul Steinhardt is the embodiment of a scientific journey. Paul Steinhardt recounts his 35-year journey to discover a new form of matter, “quasicrystals”. Through improbable setbacks, inspiring insights, and far-flung journeys to the tundra, this is a journey that you just can’t wait to see how it ends. Part of what made this book so fascinating and exhilarating to read was that I had no prior knowledge of any aspect of the book. I didn’t know what a quasicrystal was, I did not know who Paul Steinhardt was, and I hadn’t read even a word about the final discovery. I have yet to read another science discovery book that was as enveloping as this one. Even if physics is not your topic of choice, the book is focused on the journey rather than dense scientific details, and is absolutely worth a spot on your “to read” pile.
The Idea of the Brain (2020)
I remember sitting in my introduction to psychology course in 2009 being bored out of my mind during the history sections. Hell, it’s even boring when I taught it! But after reading The Idea of the Brain: The Past and Future of Neuroscience by Matthew Cobb, I now realize how absolutely fascinating the history of psychology is! This should be required reading for psychology students at least. It gives an insightful and engaging history of how philosophers and scientists have thought about the brain, how it functions, and what it means. With the brain being the most complex thing in the known universe, we still don’t have great answers to these questions, but seeing how far we’ve come is encouraging.
Gene Machine (2018)
The genetic era of biology has produced endless scientific discovery journeys, one of which is Nobel Prize winning Venki Ramakrishnan’s ribosome structure journey, which he tells in Gene Machine: The Race to Decipher the Secrets of the Ribosome. What is most amazing to me about this era of biology is the painstaking methods by which crystallography was done. At the time it was groundbreaking. Today, the same data can be collected in a fraction of the effort and time. The Gene Machine shares the discovery of the structure of the ribosome, a key element in how cells function, and is more ancient than DNA! Like modern science super stars such as Jennifer Duadna, Ramakrishnan’s journey brilliantly shows what high-stakes, Nobel Prize winning science looks like – and it’s intense.
DSM (2021)
Anyone familiar with psychology or psychiatry knows of the DSM: the diagnostic statistical manual of mental disorders. Anyone who has seen it knows it a hulking book of lists, non-specific etiology, and a million qualifiers, subtypes, and exceptions. Talk to any practicing clinician and you’ll hear that the DSM is not an accurate reflection of clinical work or how they see their patients. In DSM: A History of Psychiatry's Bible, Allan Horwitz shows why. Because mental disorders are so different from medical disorders in that they don’t have clear tests, clear etiology, or manifestations, the DSM was more or less created to ensure clinicians could bill insurance companies. The DSM is a relic of our understanding of psychological disorders, but changes are slowly being made. DSM provides an enlightening perspective on how the DSM came to be and is used.
The Gene (2016)
It was hard to me to only choose one of Siddhartha Mukherjee’s books to add to this list given how prolific of a writer he is, but ultimately I chose The Gene: An Intimate History. Again, the genetic era of biology we’re currently in explains why a number of books on this list are concerned with genes, but Mukherjee brilliantly recaps the history of “the gene” socially, scientifically, and politically. Genetics has uneasy roots in eugenics, but we shouldn’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. However, it’s crucial to understand the history of what we knew about genes pre-Watson and Crick and how things have changed post-Watson and Crick in order to use genetic information responsibly. Mukherjee will take you on a tantalizing journey of The Gene.
The Secret of Life (2021)
Most familiar with the 1953 discovery of the structure of DNA by James Watson and Francis Crick may also know of how they used Rosalind Franklin’s data without permission to help spark their breakthrough double helix. The story, however, is more complicated than that. The history of DNA is not one of simply a woman scientist being the victim of the scientific patriarchy, but one of intense competition, secrecy, arrogance, and fundamentally different approaches to science. In The Secret of Life: Rosalind Franklin, James Watson, Francis Crick, and the Discovery of DNA's Double Helix, Howard Markel provides a comprehensive and balanced account how what happened during the discovery of DNA’s double helix that changed biology forever.
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