Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction

Philip Tetlock and Dan Gardner

A scientific analysis of the ancient art of divination which shows that forecasting is a talent; luckily it can be learned. You need a healthy appetite for information, a willingness to revisit predictions in light of new data, and the ability to synthesise material from sources with very different outlooks on the world.

Neurotribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity

Steve Silberman

The descriptions of how autistic children were treated in the 20th century is especially shocking.

The Vital Question: Why Is Life the Way It Is?

Nick Lane

A persuasive and demanding attempt, by a thought-provoking British scientist, a biochemist at University College London, to answer some of the most fundamental questions in biology. It posits a new theory of how life came to be.

Humans Need Not Apply: A Guide to Wealth and Work in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Jerry Kaplan

An intriguing, insightful and well-written look at how modern artificial intelligence, powering algorithms and robots, threatens jobs and may increase wealth inequalities, by a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and AI expert.

Things to Make and Do in the Fourth Dimension

Matt Parker

This is an unusual, in-depth but highly accessible popular-maths book by a member of the London Mathematical Society who also has a sideline in stand-up comedy.

Seven Brief Lessons on Physics

Carlo Rovelli

A startling and illustrative distillation of centuries of science by an Italian theoretical physicist.

The New Wild: Why Invasive Species Will Be Nature's Salvation

Fred Pearce

A carefully researched, analytical look at the effects that new species have on different environments into which they are introduced. The book debunks poor science and the cherry-picking of statistical examples to feed hysteria about keeping invasive species out and protecting an imaginary perfect past.

Adventures in Human Being

Gavin Francis

A Scottish doctor takes a delightful journey closer to home, through the wondrous human body, from top to tail, inside to out.

Spirals in Time: The Secret Life and Curious Afterlife of Seashells

Helen Scales

A marine biologist-turned-science writer describes coming face-to-shell with a giant clam on the Great Barrier Reef, enjoying a bag of smoked oysters in Gambia and meeting a sea-silk seamstress in Italy. She makes an impassioned and convincing argument that, contrary to expectations, molluscs have much to teach us.

How to Talk about Videogames

Ian Bogost

Some say video games are the great sport of the 21st century, the summit of art and entertainment. Others call them mindless. Meditative essays on the meaning of gaming, by a game designer and professor of interactive computing.