The Temperature of History: Phases of Science and Culture in the Nineteenth Century

by Stephen G. Brush

“Nineteenth-century physics as part of general culture. One of the finest examples of contextual history of science that I know.”

Simple Spells for Love: Ancient Practices for Emotional Fulfillment

by Barrie Dolnick

“This book played an important role when I met my wife. Surprised? She is the author.”

Independence Day

by Richard Ford

“I love all three volumes of the Frank Bascombe trilogy but have a particular fondness for this, the second. The book is a nuanced portrait of middle age; it is lyrical and at the same time wildly entertaining.”

Art and Illusion

by E. H. Gombrich

“Artists represent what they know, not what they see.”

A Mathematician's Apology

by G. H. Hardy

“What it means to have creative powers and lose them.”

Ulysses

by James Joyce

“One of the greatest compliments ever paid to the English language. Imagine Joyce would have had to do this in German.”

Nerve, Muscle and Synapse

by Bernard Katz

“A powerful antidote to medical school, this short textbook showed that biology could be treated in a principled manner. A similarly lucid account, of how living matter gives rise to intelligent behavior, is Howard Berg's 'E. coli in Motion'.”

The Man Without Qualities

by Robert Musil

“The second-best opening sentence in literature. And the 2,000 pages that follow aren't bad either.”

The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman

by Laurence Sterne

“The progenitor of all avant-garde novels.”

Beautiful Evidence

by Edward R. Tufte

“How visual displays can speak for themselves---clearly, memorably, and beautifully.”

Shantung Compound: The Story of Men and Women Under Pressure

by Langdon Gilkey

“A theologian’s recollections of, and reflections on, life in a World War II Japanese internment camp; provides fascinating examples of base human motives, and of occasional heroism (including that of fellow internee and former Olympian Eric Liddell of Chariots of Fire fame).”

A Random Walk Down Wall Street

by Burton Malkiel

“Documents a convincing case for the efficient marketplace, and the overconfident hubris of those who believe they can outguess it.”

Thinking, Fast and Slow

by Daniel Kahneman

“Kahneman’s brilliant career is capped by this masterpiece magnum opus on the human mind—an engaging and provocative book that, among other things, explains why so many people disbelieve or ignore Malkiel’s persuasive data.”

Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength/p>

by Roy F. Baumeister & John Tierney

“One of the creative giants of social psychology teams with a gifted New York Times science writer to explain why willpower—the muscle of self-control—is so easily depleted with use but strengthened by repeated exercise, and how this understanding can enhance our lives.”

God’s Universe

by Owen Gingerich

“In three Harvard lectures, an emeritus Harvard astronomer and science historian beautifully conveys a sense of wonder and awe at our cosmos, and a deep respect for both science and religion.”

Catch-22

by Joseph Heller

“Instead of doing our assigned work for high school, my friends and I read, reread, and memorized passages from this great anti-war novel. It shaped our thinking and our senses of humor.”

Cry, the Beloved Country

by Alan Paton

“The best assigned reading in high school, this lyrical and sad novel examines race and family in South Africa just before the implementation of apartheid.”

Whistling Vivaldi: How Stereotypes Affect Us and What We Can Do

by Claude M. Steele

“ A wonderful and enlightening summary of social psychological studies of stereotyping, many by Steele and his students; it has lessons for everyone.”

Tent of Miracles

by Jorge Amado

“Amado is my favorite novelist, and this is my favorite of his many books. His enjoyment of life, sense of justice, and love of Salvador, Brazil come strongly through this book about a messenger for the Medical School, who is so much more. Miscegenation, the pitfalls of history and how it can be manipulated, and even a Nobel laureate from Columbia University contribute to the fun.”

1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus

by Charles C. Mann

“Using history and science, this book describes what the Americas were like before Columbus.”

Genes, Girls, and Gamow: After the Double Helix

by James D. Watson

“By describing life after the discovery of the DNA double helix, Watson shows that just as in the stock market, past performance does not guarantee future success. But as he relates the experimental failures, the many missteps, and the mistaken idea that a small in-group of scientists would make future breakthroughs, he also describes the overwhelming passion, excitement, and dedication of many of the people that started molecular biology. They talked science almost all the time: at parties, on hikes, and, yes, even while trying to get dates.”

Black Cloud

by Fred Hoyle

“This is one of my favorite science fiction novels; it starts with a discovery by a graduate student (whose finding is appropriated by others and who is never heard from again) and a differential equation.”

The Common Thread: A Story of Science, Politics, Ethics and the Human Genome

by John Sulston & Georgina Ferry

“John is one of the most accomplished as well as one the fairest and most ethical scientists I know. This autobiography describes not only his work on C. elegans that won him a Nobel Prize, but also his efforts guiding the public effort in England that sequenced the human genome. His description of the history of the public and private efforts racing for the sequence should be required reading for anyone who thinks they know what happened from newspapers and television.”

Social Choice and Individual Values

by Kenneth J. Arrow

“An extremely original book that started the modern theory of voting.”

Games and Decisions

by R. Duncan Luce & Howard Raiffa

“Over 50 years old but still a superb introduction to game theory.”

A Mathematician's Apology

by G. H. Hardy

“An enjoyable memoir and a compelling defense of pursuing knowledge for its own sake.”

The Origin Of Species

by Charles Darwin

“The magnum opus in science---and a pleasure to read.”

The Oresteia: Agamemnon; The Libation Bearers; The Eumenides

by Aeschylus

“A powerful story about a dreadful family.”

Julius Caesar

by William Shakespeare

“My introduction to Shakespeare in high school---and a play I still like returning to.”

The Magus

by John Fowles

“A strange and evocative story that I read as an impressionable college student.”

The Masters

by C.P. Snow

“A subtle academic novel that inspired me to go to Cambridge on a post-doc.”

Amsterdam: A Novel

by Ian McEwan

“Among contemporary novelists, McEwan may be my favorite, even though his characters are often pretty nasty---they certainly are in this story.”

The First Three Minutes: A Modern View Of The Origin Of The Universe

by Steven Weinberg

“A wonderful exposition of how much can be inferred about the early universe from just a few basic principles.”

The Roots of Evil: The Origins of Genocide and Other Group Violence

by Ervin Staub

“For those of us fascinated by the problem of why people would harm and kill others on the basis of group membership, The Roots of Evil is a must-read.”

The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11

by Lawrence Wright

“Of the myriad books written about the 9/11 attacks and Al Qaeda, The Looming Tower is a story so masterfully told that it is unequivocally positioned at the front of the pack. ”

Influence: Science and Practice

by Robert Cialdini

“This is one of those rare books that I think should be required reading for a “Life 101” course. Cialdini catalogs a wide range of influence “weapons” which are used against (and sometimes by) us all the time.”

We Are All The Same: A Story of a Boy’s Courage and a Mother’s Love

by Jim Wooten

“There are so many stories and faces of people affected by HIV & AIDS. Nkosi Johnson’s is perhaps the most compelling out there. He was a sweet, lovable kid who made a real difference in his 12 years. This book is both hopeful and tragic, and makes a profound impact.”

Imagine: How Creativity Works

by Jonah Lehrer

“Lehrer makes the science of creativity and insight super-accessible. Creativity takes a lot of work, focused effort, and being able to think critically across boundaries and perspectives. Being able to give and receive critical feedback throughout the iterative process is a key feature of innovation. This book is inspiring.”

The Medici Effect: What Elephants and Epidemics Can Teach Us About Innovation

by Frans Johansson

“The importance of networks, intersections, and working at disciplinary crossroads is a key feature of The Medici Effect. Innovation lives at the margins, and requires us to work past barriers to experiment with novel combinations of ideas and perspectives. And we need to persevere through, and learn from, failure.”

When Prophecy Fails: A Social and Psychological Study of a Modern Group That Predicted the Destruction of the World

by Leon Festinger, Henry W. Riecken, & Stanley Schacter

“If you’ve ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes in a group that thinks aliens are coming to usher in the end of the world, this book is for you. It’s an extraordinary example of participant observation research, and describes cognitive dissonance beautifully.”

How We Do Harm: A Doctor Breaks Ranks About Being Sick in America

by Otis Webb Brawley & Paul Goldberg

“Using vividly detailed examples, we are afforded a glimpse of disparities that are endemic to our health care system. Most of us think about problems of healthcare access as a lack of services, but the other side of the coin is overuse and over-treatment. Sometimes the ‘cures’ can be worse than the illness, and Brawley explains the importance of evidence in driving treatment decisions.”

The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations

by Ori Brafman & Rod A. Beckstrom

“It’s quickly becoming common wisdom that peer networks are critically important drivers of communications, business, and just about everything else. Here, the power of decentralization is put on display, and through a series of well-considered examples we get a little closer to understanding what kinds of magic can happen when everyone (and no one) is a leader.”

Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives

by Nicholas A. Christakis & James H. Fowler

“This is perhaps the most lucid and accessible book on social networks out there. One of the most interesting aspects of this book is its articulation of the power of ‘weak’ ties in our networks. Turns out, those can really matter – and quite often get overlooked in studying social influence.”

Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor

by Paul Farmer

“Farmer shines a bright and unrelenting light on structural violence, highlighting the policies and practices that are key drivers of health disparities. Connections between economic, educational, and health outcomes are elegantly described and lucid examples show why it matters in the lives (and deaths) of real people.”

The Extraordinary Leader: Turning Good Managers Into Great Leaders

by John H. Zenger & Joseph Folkman

“Here is a wonderful demonstration of the benefits of finding and developing things we’re good at doing. When managers and leaders see feedback about their performance, the natural inclination is to look for areas where there are deficits and calibrate their efforts to improve those. The Extraordinary Leader provides an insightful counterpoint to that conventional approach to development.”

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference

by Malcolm Gladwell

“Gladwell digs into what causes ideas and trends take hold. In doing so, he makes the science accessible to a wide audience. I also really like Diffusion of Innovations by Everett Rogers – which helps to get further inside the phenomenon that Gladwell so brilliantly articulates.”