Over the coming month, the Nature Press Office will be reading and reviewing the books shortlisted for the 2014 Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books, cramming in a book or two a week until the winner is announced on the 10th November 2014.
An initial look at a strong shortlist suggests that the competition for a recently-increased prize of £25,000 will be fierce. There’s a lot here with relevance to our everyday lives, with a vibrant exploration of the man-made materials around us and a moving personal account of experiences with cancer and the vast research world connected to it. Along the way there’s a huge helping of humour in the form of riotously entertaining science writer Mary Roach, who takes us on a trip down the gut in disgusting and glorious detail. However, the real hero of this shortlist seems to be history, with a celebration and exploration of the role of science in our past. Personally I can’t wait to get stuck into the beautiful prose of Phil Ball, pulling apart the ethical struggles and individual stories of scientists in Hitler’s Third Reich. Added to this, and completing the shortlist, are erudite accounts of the development and controversy around the theory of general relativity and the myriad of ways that seven key elements have changed, and continue to change, our lives.
