If you are interested in some good science writing, simon singh has written three excellent books. All three topics – the universe, crytography, and mathematics – are covered in some detail. He is able to write in an easy te read style. The main enjoyment of the books are the telling of the history of each subject from the past. He introduces you to the major milestones in history of each of the subjects. He is able to provide some technical background as you go along but without leaving one’s head swimming in the hard science of it all.
Simon Singh / Fermat’s Enigma: The Epic Quest to Solve the World’s Greatest Mathematical Problem
Simon Singh / The Code Book: The Evolution of Secrecy from Mary, the Queen of Scots to Quantum Crytography
Simon Singh / Big bang : the origin of the universe
Which of the three did you find the most interesting and why?
i’d say the big bang book. it covered a lot more territory and introduced me to the various beginnnings of thimgs over time – origins of astronomy, how they first figured out the diameter of the earth, radio telescopy, construction of various telescopes throughout the globe, why and how the elements were distributed, etc.
Just the fact that there were so many great leaps of understanding as time passes. How atomic and subatomic particles provided a lot of the learning tools for understanding the cosmos.
I could go on and on. In my opinion, the best book. However, the other two are good reads and should be investigated at some point. You may be interested in the cryptography one as it provides the pathway from early encryption in greek times all the way through the early 21st century in regards to the various schemes for encryption. He also provides a series of challenges in the back of the book.
Tra la la. All good – find time in the next three years to read them all.