Question

What is your favourite book in math or science?

Answer 1

Mine is "Receptors" by Douglas Lauffenburger and Jennifer Linderman.

I got it when I was fifteen. Read it cover to cover, had to look up every other word, understood one paragraph in twenty anyway - and it completely sold me on biology.

Answer 2

I didnt read other books others than my textbooks ...any recommandation for me :D?

Answer 3

godel escher bach
guyton medical phsysiology
natural obsessions - a book about post docs in bon weinberg's lab

Answer 4

Biochemistry Lippincott's Illustrated

Answer 5

my favorite books as student were Lehningers Principles of biochemistry and Ruppert¨Zoology of the invertebrates. i did not have a favorite math book but the best i had was Saxon algebra.

Answer 6

how come you ask this question?

Answer 7

Personal interest mostly. Last week four people complained about "Biology" by Campbell Reece (justly, in my opinion) and, on a positive note, one person asked for recommendations of textbooks in biophysics. It started me thinking about what the other people on here have on their bookshelves and what of those many books they really treasure.

Thanks to all who have already replied and please, keep them coming!

Answer 8

i treasure all of my books, as student i never studied with internet and such,so i could tell you more titles. for study of the Mediterranean the best book i encountered is of a german biologist, H. Hofrichtner for instance.
but the Campbell i personally like for the purposes that i need them, that is for high school.

Answer 9

Cool. The people who are not liking Campbell Reece are all college students. You might enjoy "The Log from the Sea of Cortez" by John Steinbeck. Have you read it?

Answer 10

no but it sound good. thanks a lot!

Answer 11

"The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston. Although it's non-fiction, the author has been accused of making everything sound far more frightening than it actually was. This, of course, makes it great fun to read, and there's some real science in there too. If you like bio-thrillers, I'd strongly recommend it.

I remember liking Carl Sagan's work when I was a teenager too. "Pale Blue Dot" sticks in my mind as a good book.

Textbook-wise, can't beat the Strasburger for basic botany or the Rothmaler for German plant identification.

Answer 12

Wait, one more: "Kunstformen der Natur" by Ernst Haeckel. Check out the Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunstformen_der_Natur

("Kunstformen der Natur" is a collection of fantastic biological illustrations, so you don't need any German to enjoy it. And copyright ran out years ago: the whole thing is online.)

Answer 13

God I HATE the Lehninger Biochemistry book, that is the most horribly written thing I have ever had to purchase in my life. I actually feel dumber each time I have the misfortune of being assigned to read something out of it, because it seems as if people whose native language isn't english wrote it. I can't retain a single thing from that book.

My favorite book is Purves Neuroscience, because, hey, Neuroscience is awesome. That or Silverthorn's Human Physiology book.

Answer 14

too bad you dont like it, but since in likes or dislikes there is nothing written, you are entitled to your opinion. but i liked it and keep good memories of it.

Answer 15

φυσική (Physics) by Aristotle - can seriously make me laugh out loud.
Else Biochemistry: The Molecular Basis of Life by James McKnee partially gave me inspiration to study biochemistry.

Answer 16

The only actual math or science 'book' I've read was A Brief History of Time, by Stephen Hawking. Ironically, although it's a science book, I had to read it for English class and write a thematic paper on it (God, that was hard).

The book explores various topics relating to cosmology, theology, and metaphysics. It gives the reader a basic understanding of the theory of relativity, black/white holes, light, absolute time, the big bang, uncertainty, scientific progress, God, etc. Its not really a textbook as it is meant for a general audience, so that ‘ordinary people’ could learn about our vast, intriguing universe. Hawking remains unbiased and gives both sides of the story when speaking about controversial topics.

It was definitely an amazing read. I learned an overwhelming amount about our universe from a small 200 page book. He explains complex concepts with simple everyday examples and analogies. I recommend it to everyone :)

Answer 17

another book that can give one something to think about is Darwins Black box. very interesting about something not popular here in Spain, that is the theory of Intelligent Design.