Jared Diamond could win the prize for an unprecedented third time
The 13-strong longlist of popular science books vying for the prestigious 2006 Aventis Prize:
Power, Sex, Suicide -
Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life
by Nick Lane (Oxford University Press)
Empire of the Stars -
Friendship, Obsession and Betrayal in the Quest for Black Holes
by Arthur I. Miller (Little Brown)
Electric Universe -
How Electricity Switched on the Modern World
by David Bodanis (Little Brown)
Collapse -
How Societies Choose to Fail or Survive
by Jared Diamond (Penguin Allen Lane)
Parallel Worlds -
The Science of Alternative Universes and our Future in the Cosmos
by Michio Kaku (Penguin)
The Truth About Hormones -
What's Going on when We're Tetchy, Spotty, Fearful, Tearful or Just Plain Awful
by Vivienne Parry (Atlantic Books)
The following books made the longlist but not the shortlist for the 2006 Aventis Prize:
Venomous Earth - How Arsenic Caused the World's Worst Mass Poisoning
by Andrew Meharg (Macmillan)
Seven Deadly Colours - The Genius of Nature's Palette and how it Eluded Darwin
by Andrew Parker (Simon & Schuster)
Stalking the Riemann Hypothesis - The Quest to Find the Hidden Law of Prime Numbers
by Daniel N. Rockmore (Jonathan Cape)
The Fruits of War - How War and Conflict have Driven Science
by Michael White (Simon & Schuster)
The Elements of Murder - A History of Poison
by John Emsley (Oxford University Press)
The Gecko's Foot - Bio-inspiration - Engineering New Materials from Nature
by Peter Forbes (Fourth Estate)
The Silicon Eye - How a Silicon Valley Company Aims to Make All Current Computers, Cameras, and Cell Phones Obsolete
by George Gilder (WW Norton)
The full shortlist for the 2005 General Prize:
Critical Mass: How One Thing Leads to Another
by Philip Ball (William Heinemann)
This thought-provoking book by one of Britain's leading young science writers, Philip Ball, causes us to examine our own behaviour; whether in buying the new Harry Potter book, voting for a particular party or responding to the lure of advertisers. Philip shows how much we can understand about human behaviour when we cease to try to predict and analyse the behaviour of individuals and instead look to the impact of hundreds, thousands or millions of individual human decisions.
The Ancestor's Tale
by Richard Dawkins (Weidenfeld & Nicholson)
The Ancestor's Tale is a pilgrimage back through time - a journey that provides the setting for a collection of some 40 tales, each exploring an aspect of evolutionary biology through the stories of characters met along the way. Together they give a deep understanding of the processes which have shaped life on earth; convergent evolution, the isolation of populations, continental drift and even the great extinctions.
Why Life Speeds Up As You Get Older
by Douwe Draaisma (Cambridge University Press)
Where do the long, lazy summers of our childhood go? Why is it that as we grow older time seems to condense, speed up, elude us while in old age significant events from our distant past can seem as vivid and real as what happened yesterday? In the book Douwe Draaisma, author of the acclaimed Metaphors of Memory, explores the nature of autobiographical memory and extraordinary phenomena such as déjà-vu, the memory feats of idiot-savants or the effects of extreme trauma on memory recall.
Matters of Substance: Drugs - and Why Everyone's a User
by Griffith Edwards (Penguin, Allen Lane)
Matters of Substance presents a radical approach to the question of drug control. Arguing for a consideration of all drugs ~ licit and illicit ~ as more than the sum of their chemical structure, Edwards believes that the effect of a drug is just as dependent on the social setting, historical legacy and psychology of the individual as on any inherent quality of the drug itself. Examining the history of our relationship with the vast array of mind-acting drugs since the 14th Century, he explores why drugs are as important to the global youth culture of the 21st Century as they were in the 14th.
The Earth: An Intimate History
by Richard Fortey (HarperCollins)
Richard Fortey introduces us to the earth's distinct character, revealing the life that it leads when humans aren't watching. He follows the continual movement of seabeds, valleys, mountain ranges and ice caps and shows how everything ~ our culture, natural history, even the formation of our cities ~ has its roots in geology.
The Human Mind
by Robert Winston (Bantam Press/ Transworld Publishers)
In his accessible and entertaining book - which accompanies a major BBC1 television series - Robert Winston tells us how our senses, emotions, personality, feelings and intelligence, are the result of a ballet of genes and environment that shapes the path of our lives. He explains how memories are formed and lost, how the ever-changing brain is responsible for toddler tantrums, teenage angst, the battle of the sexes, the insights gained from Shakespeare, Pirandello and Larkin and the truth behind extra-sensory perception, déjà vu and out-of-body experiences.
The shortlist for the 2005 Junior Prize:
Kingfisher Knowledge: Endangered Planet
by David Burnie (Kingfisher)
As humans continue to influence every habitat in the world, this book is a timely reminder of our responsibilities to preserve our fragile earth and to save the hundreds of species of animal and plant life which become extinct each year. With state-of-the-art digital artwork and information panels throughout, this is a book which hopes to inspire the younger generation to think about how to live in harmony with the planet and safeguard it for future generations.
Mysteries and Marvels of Science
by Phillip Clarke, Laura Howell and Sarah Khan (Usborne)
This book combines breathtaking photography with colourful and informative illustrations to reveal the science behind everyday events in our world. From the mysteries of atoms to the possibility of thinking robots and machines the size of sand grains, this book aims to inspire and stimulate the scientists of tomorrow.
Leap Through Time: Earthquake
by Nicholas Harris (Orpheus)
This book takes its readers on an earth shattering journey, from the initial rumbles of an earthquake to the violent shaking, the toppling of buildings, the collapse of bridges and the vast waves which engulf the shore. As each page is turned, the story moves on by a few seconds, a few minutes, a few hours or even a few years to record the consequences of the earthquake and the rebuilding process needed to return to normality.
Night Sky Atlas
by Robin Scagell (Dorling Kindersley)
This practical and inspiring book takes readers on an amazing journey across the night sky, bringing this enthralling subject to life with easy-to-follow guides to understanding and recognising the most obscure night sky phenomena. With state of the art space photography, unique see-through pages and detailed diagrams pinpointing constellations and fascinating stars, this book is perfect for any budding astronomer.
Kingfisher Knowledge: Microscopic Life
by Richard Walker (Kingfisher)
Winner of the Aventis Junior Prize in 2002, Richard Walker makes another appearance on the long-list with his guide to exploring the fascinating miniature world all around us. Microscopic Life investigates the tiny creatures that live around us, inside us and even on us - creatures so small they cannot be seen without microscopes. Part of the spectacular Kingfisher Knowledge series, this book has brilliant photography and digital artwork bursting with information to get the child?s mind racing.
What Makes Me, Me?
by Robert Winston (Dorling Kindersley)
Written by acclaimed author, scientist and TV presenter, Robert Winston, this book is the first children's book to attempt to unravel how biology and experience make each person individually themselves. Questions such as "why do we have hairy fingers?", "which of my parents is to blame for my fear of spiders?" and "why are some people left handed?" are all debated and discussed in this innovative book. A revolutionary design and user-friendly text tell the story of the human mind and body from a child's point of view, while the tests and quizzes make reading the book an interactive experience and help children to see how the information relates back to themselves.
The full shortlist for the 2004 General Prize:
A Short History of Nearly Everything
by Bill Bryson (Doubleday/Transworld)
The incomparable Bill Bryson travels through time and space to show us the world, the universe and everything.
Bill Bryson describes himself as a reluctant traveller: but even when he stays safely in his own study at home he can't contain his curiosity about the world around him. This book is his quest to understand everything that has happened from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization.
This is how he describes it:
This is a book about how we went from there being nothing at all to there being something, and then how a little of that something turned into us, and also what happened in between and some of what happened since.
How did we end up with a sun in the middle of our planet and how do they know how hot it is? And if it is there burning away, why isn't the ground under our feet hot. Why isn't the rest of the interior melting, or is it?
How do they know what goes on inside an atom. And how, come to that - or perhaps above all - can scientists so often seem to know nearly everything but then still can't predict an earthquake or even tell us whether we should take an umbrella with us to the races next Wednesday?
Bill started out with little more in the way of base knowledge than the average dad and, as he says, much of the work depended on his finding saintly experts to answer these and other, as he puts it, outstandingly dumb questions to see if it isn't possible to understand - or even marvel - at the wonders of science.
In The Beginning Was The Worm: Finding the Secrets of Life in a Tiny Hermaphrodite
by Andrew Brown (Simon & Schuster)
This book is an account of the first great triumph of genomics: the thirty-year struggle to decode the complete DNA of a nematode worm. Success in this was what made the human genome project possible. In the Beginning was the Worm is an exciting but scrupulous account of a genuine scientific triumph, which will delight both those who know the subject and those who don't.
In the Beginning was the Worm tells of some remarkable characters who have changed our approach to science irrevocably, among them Sydney Brenner, a heroic dreamer who first thought of understanding an animal as a sort of biological Meccano; John Sulston, his first post-doctoral student, who managed to raise £30 million; his friend, Bob Horvitz, who has, to all intents and purposes, spent more than thirty years studying the 22 cells of a worm's vulva; and Fred Sanger, the only man to have won two Nobel Prizes in the same discipline.
Decades of painstaking research triumphed in 1998, when this worm was the first creature to have all its DNA mapped - but now what? We still don't know how to build a single worm. In this intriguing story of dreams and disillusionment, Andrew Brown contemplates the next fifty years of biological science, and the way that ignorance expands to surround all available knowledge.
Magic Universe: A Grand Tour of Modern Science
by Nigel Calder (Oxford University Press)
Magic Universe brings current science to the general reader in an imaginative and wholly original way. It offers an exhilarating tour of the horizons of knowledge, from quarks to linguistics, climate change to cloning, and chaos to superstrings, presented as a set of self-contained stories. The stories are arranged as A - Z entries, but this is not a conventional encyclopaedia. Each story unfolds in a totally unpredictable way, seamlessly crossing disciplines, and told in engaging, accessible language.
Mutants: On Genetic Variety and the Human Body
by Armand Marie Leroi (Penguin: Viking USA)
"Who are the mutants? We are all mutants."
Why are most of us born with one nose, two legs, ten fingers and twenty-four ribs? and some of us not? Why do most of us stop growing in our teens? while others just keep going? Why do some of us have heads of red hair? and others no hair at all? The human genome, we are told, makes us what we are. But how?
This is a book of stories: of a French convent girl who found herself changing sex upon puberty and her miserable death in a Parisian garret; children, who echoing Homer's Cyclops, are born with a single eye in the middle of their foreheads; a village of long-lived Croatian dwarves; a hairy family who were kept at the Burmese royal court for four generations (and from whom Darwin took one of his keenest insights into heredity) and the ostrich-footed Wadoma of the Zambezi river valley.
In Mutants, Armand Marie Leroi gives a brilliant narrative account of our genetic grammar and the people whose bodies have revealed it. Stepping effortlessly from myth to molecular biology, this elegant, humane and illuminating book is about us all.
Nature Via Nurture: Genes, Experience, and What Makes Us Human
by Matt Ridley (Fourth Estate)
Armed with the extraordinary new discoveries about our genes, Matt Ridley turns his attention to the nature versus nurture debate to bring the first popular account of the roots of human behaviour. This is the story of the first glimpses inside the genome, which reveals the surprising truth that because of the mechanism for switching genes on and off, genes consist largely of devices for extracting experience from the outside world.
In February 2001 it was announced that the genome contains not 100,000 genes as originally expected but only 30,000. This startling revision led some scientists to conclude that there are simply not enough human genes to account for all the different ways people behave: we must be made by nurture, not nature. Yet again biology was to be stretched on the Procrustean bed of the nature-nurture debate.
Matt Ridley argues that the emerging truth is far more interesting than this myth. Nurture depends on genes, too, and genes need nurture. Genes not only predetermine the broad structure of the brain; they also absorb formative experiences, react to social cues and even run memory. They are consequences as well as causes of the will.
Published fifty years after the discovery of the double helix of DNA, Nature via Nurture chronicles a new revolution in our understanding of genes. Ridley recounts the hundred years' war between the partisans of nature and nurture to explain how this paradoxical creature, the human being, can be simultaneously free-willed and motivated by instinct and culture. Nature via Nurture is an enthralling, up-to-the-minute account of how genes build brains to absorb experience.
The Backroom Boys
by Francis Spufford (Faber & Faber)
Britain is the only country in the world to have cancelled its space programme just as it put its first rocket into orbit. Starting with this forgotten episode, The Backroom Boys tells the bittersweet story of how one country lost its industrial tradition and got back something else.
Sad, inspiring, funny and ultimately triumphant, it follows the technologists whose work kept Concorde flying, created the computer game, conquered the mobile-phone business, saved the human genome for the human race - and who now are sending the Beagle 2 probe to burrow in the cinnamon sands of Mars.
The Backroom Boys is a vivid love-letter to quiet men in pullovers, to those whose imaginings take shape not in words but in mild steel and carbon fibre and lines of code. Above all, it is a celebration of big dreams achieved with slender means.
The shortlisted books for the 2004 Junior Prize:
Really Rotten Experiments
by Nick Arnold and Tony De Saulles (Scholastic Children's Books)
Ever wanted to experiment with the sick side of science? Really Rotten Experiments is packed with loud, noisy, wet and soggy experiments that are guaranteed to make your friends and teachers squirm! Are you itching to find out...
Plus learn to dance like a skunk, eat like a chimp and chat in cat language. With crazy cartoons, queasy quizzes and a terrible term at Rotten Road School, Really Rotten Experiments is simply oozing with info!
The Beginning: Voyages Through Time
by Peter Ackroyd (Dorling Kindersley)
The Voyage Begins... the first title in an epic illustrated history of the world for children.
The Beginning is the story to end all stories, the most astonishing story of them all. It is the story of who we are, where we are, and how we came to be here. It is the story of life itself. Fourteen billion years ago there was a great explosion out of nothingness ? and the Universe was born.
Beautifully illustrated throughout, and containing a wealth of factual information to complement the extraordinary narrative, The Beginning will take you on a journey of wonder: from alien landscapes to "upside down" continents, violent collisions and mass extinction; from worms with jaws and pigs as big as men to sabre-toothed cats and monstrous dinosaurs. A time when humans were the victims, not masters, of their world - a world of blazing heat and falling meteorites, of enormous rodents and metre-long scorpions; where eventually, out of the violence and the chaos, the first humans emerged.
Riotous Robots
by Mike Goldsmith (Scholastic Children's Books)
First they were a figment of our imaginations. Then they started to replace large numbers of people in factories. Now they're doing our housework and performing brain-surgery (though not at the same time).
Yes, Riotous Robots are taking over the world, and this cybernetic guide tells you just how they're doing it. From underwater discovery to space travel, these metallic marvels are getting the most exciting jobs on the planet. But read on and you'll discover a robot that's forced to snack on slugs for a living and a robo-alligator that works as a scarecrow. PLUS - you'll learn how to tell your cyborgs from your cyberpets into the bargain.
Start Science: Forces and Motion
by Sally Hewitt (Chrysalis Children's Books)
Catch paperclips with a bouncing, magnetic spider, discover how submarines sink and how friction slows you down. Six topics introduce children to fascinating facts about forces and motion. Magnifiers pick out details in the colourful illustrations. Facts about the forces that make things move, speed up, slow down and change direction are explained in clear, simple language. Projects and activities are included throughout that encourage children to make their own observations about the forces at work around them.
Tell Me: Who Lives in Space?
by Clare Oliver (Chrysalis Children's Books)
How can a belt be made of rock? Can I fly around the solar system? Which planet came as a big surprise? Find out the answers to these and other questions about the universe in this informative book, packed full of facts, quizzes, activities and internet links. The Tell Me series also includes: How Does My Body Fit Together? Where is the Top of the World? and Why Don't Mummies have Brains?
Survivors Science: In The Rainforest
by Peter D. Riley (Hodder Wayland)
This book examines the science skills you would need to survive in the rainforest. It begins with a map showing where rainforests are in the world. The text then looks at this habitat's unique features and at how these features might help you to survive if you were on an expedition here.
Aspects of survival are considered and each one is supported by a science activity which readers can perform using everyday materials and equipment. For example, it shows you what to wear, how to find food and drinking water, how to make a shelter, find your way, stay safe and, if necessary, be rescued.
There is an easy-to-follow activity on every other spread.
The full shortlist for the 2003 general prize:
Right Hand, Left Hand: The Origins of Asymmetry in Brains, Bodies, Atoms and Cultures
by Chris McManus (Weidenfeld & Nicolson)
In this sweeping and penetrating investigation into the lop-sided universe, Chris McManus takes familiar, deceptively simple questions about handedness and asymmetry and attempts to answer them: Why are most people right-handed? Why is the heart always on the left-hand side of the body? Why does European writing go from left to right while Arabic scripts go from right to left? Why are male testicles unbalanced? Why are muppets left-handed? Right Hand, Left Hand uses sources as diverse as the paintings of Rembrandt and the drawings of Leonardo, the origins of medieval iconography, the history of medicine, molecular biology, particle physics and sport to explain the vast repertoire of ?left-right? symbolism that permeates our everyday lives. Chris McManus addresses questions about why the universe, the human body and our societies and cultures are so full of distinctions between left and right. He concludes his grand tour by arguing that many of these differences have a single ultimate cause that can be traced back to an underlying asymmetry long, long ago in the depths of space.
About the author: Chris McManus is Professor of Psychology and Medical Education at University College London. He is the author of Psychology in Medicine and is the co-editor of The Cambridge Handbook of Psychology, Health and Medicine. His writing has appeared in numerous magazines and magazines and journals, he is one of the world's foremost experts on handedness and lateralization. He is the winner of the Wellcome Trust Prize, 1999.
What the judges said: "An accomplished celebration of asymmetry and a perfect balance between science and culture."
Small World: Uncovering Nature's Hidden Networks
by Mark Buchanan (Weidenfeld & Nicolson)
Is it conceivable that there could be mathematical laws for the human world? Mark Buchanan believes that it may be possible. In Small World he reveals how "small world networks" have been unearthed in all aspects of human life from the spread of HIV to the structure of the Internet. Most of us have had the familiar experience of running into a friend of a friend far away from home ~ and feeling that the world is somehow smaller than it should be. According to a new generation of physicists, this "small-world" phenomenon is no coincidence. Rather, it is a manifestation of a hidden and powerful design that binds the world together. In Small World, Mark Buchanan tells the story of how a stunning discovery in complexity science is revolutionizing the way we understand networks. The Internet, the brain, power-grids and the global economy are all networks that seem to have evolved a "small-world" geometry, with properties independent of the nature of the things themselves. Small World argues that this underlying pattern may be one of nature's greatest design tricks. The discovery promises to change the way we see the web of relationships that weaves our lives together. What's more, it may well provide the foundation for a new kind of physics that searches for the laws not of substance but of pure form.
About the author: Mark Buchanan earned a PhD in theoretical physics from the University of Virginia, USA. Following several years of research into nonlinear dynamics and chaos theory, he moved to London to join the staff of Nature. He later spent two years as features editor at New Scientist, before moving to Normandy, France. He is the author of Ubiquity: The History of Science... Or Why the World is Simpler Than We Think, which was shortlisted for the 2001 Guardian First Book Prize.
What the judges said: "A perfect example of how to show that science and maths underpin everything. Clear, gripping and beautifully written."
Reckoning With Risk: Learning to Live with Uncertainty
by Gerd Gigerenzer (Allen Lane)
However much we want certainty in our lives, it feels as if we live in an uncertain and dangerous world. But are we guilty of wildly exaggerating the chances of some unwanted event happening to us? Are we misled by our ignorance of the reality of risk? Far too many of us, argues Gigerenzer, are hampered by our own innumeracy, while statistics are often presented to us in highly confusing ways. Using real world examples, such as the incidence of errors in tests for breast cancer or HIV, or in DNA fingerprinting, and the manipulation of statistics for evidence in court, he shows that our difficulty in thinking about numbers can easily be overcome. Reckoning with Risk illustrates how, with a few simple techniques, we can learn to uncloud our minds, demand helpfully presented information and turn ignorance into insight.
About the author: Gerd Gigerenzer is Director of the Center for Adaptive Behaviour and Cognition (ABC) at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin and a former Professor of Psychology at the University of Chicago.
What the judges said: "A book that makes an enormous impression and does a very good job of explaining a counter-intuitive idea. It makes you think, explains statistics and shows you how to handle them."
The Extravagant Universe: Exploding Stars, Dark Energy and the Accelerating Cosmos
by Robert P. Kirshner (Princeton University Press)
In a remarkable adventure of discovery, supernova expert and leading astronomer Robert P. Kirshner brings readers inside a lively research team on the quest that led them to an extraordinary cosmological discovery: the expansion of the universe is accelerating under the influence of a dark energy that makes space itself expand. Measurements of light from exploding stars ~ some of them halfway across the universe ~ enable these astronomers to trace the history of cosmic expansion. The results have been amazing. Instead of a universe slowing down due to gravity as theory predicted, observations reveal a universe whose expansion is speeding up. This measurement of dark energy ~ a quality of space itself that causes cosmic acceleration ~ points to a gaping hole in our understanding of fundamental physics.
About the author: Robert P. Kirshner is Clowes Professor of Science at Harvard University and Head of the Optical and Infrared Division at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. He teaches Harvard's large undergraduate course "Matter in the Universe" and is the author of over 200 scientific publications. He has also written for National Geographic, Natural History, Scientific American, and Sky & Telescope. He was elected President of the American Astronomical Society in 2003.
What the judges said: "A true adventure story. An honest and exciting account of what it's actually like to work in the front line of science."
The Blank Slate: The Denial of Human Nature and Modern Intellectual Life
by Steven Pinker (Allen Lane)
In The Blank Slate, Steven Pinker explains why many of today's intellectuals deny the existence of human nature, claiming that each of us is born a blank slate upon which the environment writes, and that these inscriptions define every aspect of who we are. Pinker shows that this thesis is no longer tenable, nor is it particularly desirable. By disentangling the moral and political issues from the scientific facts, Pinker examines who and what we are. He shows that our commitments to equality, compassion, responsibility and purpose can be strengthened by a clear conception of human nature. Pinker explains how the new sciences of mind, brain, genes and evolution, far from being corrosive of human values, complement observations about the human condition made by millennia of artists and philosophers.
About the author: Steven Pinker is the best-selling author of The Language Instinct and How the Mind Works ~ both books were shortlisted for the Rhone-Poulenc Prizes for Science Books (the forerunner to the Aventis Prizes) in 1995 and 1999 respectively. He is Professor of Psychology and Director of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at MIT.
What the judges said: "A powerful, provocative and challenging book that explains the bridges between biology and culture and pulls the reader along with its arguments."
If the Universe is Teeming With Aliens? Where Is Everybody? Fifty Solutions to Fermi's Paradox and the Problem of Extraterrestrial Life
by Stephen Webb (Copernicus Books)
During a lunchtime conversation at Los Alamos more than 50 years ago, four world-class scientists agreed, given the size and age of the Universe, that advanced extraterrestrial civilizations simply had to exist. The sheer numbers demanded it. But one of the four, the renowned physicist Enrico Fermi, asked the telling question: If the extraterrestrial proposition is true, "Where is Everybody?" Stephen Webb presents a detailed discussion of the 50 most cogent and intriguing answers to Fermi's famous question, divided into three distinct groups: aliens are already here among us; aliens exist but have not yet communicated and aliens do not exist. The varieties of arguments ~ from first-rate scientists, philosophers, historians, and science fiction authors - are astonishing, entertaining and vigorous intellectual exercises.
About the author: Stephen Webb is a physicist working at the Open University in England and the author of Measuring the Universe. He lives in Milton Keynes.
What the judges said: "A cleverly handled account of the interface between science and science fiction. Ingenious, bold and fun to read."
The shortlisted books for the 2003 junior prize:
The DK Guide to the Oceans
by Dr Frances Dipper (Dorling Kindersley, Age: 8-10)
An illuminating exploration of the world's saltwater environments ? their wildlife, ecosystems, structure and natural history. Close-up photography and illustrations show microscopic ocean life in vivid detail, while stunning large-scale images invite the reader into an amazing world both above and below the waves.
About the author: Dr Frances Dipper is an independent marine consultant, photographer and author. She has written numerous books and articles on marine biology and ocean environments for both children and adults. She was consultant on DK?s acclaimed Animal project. She lives in Cambridgeshire.
What the judges said: "An excellent insight to the oceans, which touches upon a great deal of marine and ecological diversity with expertise and outstanding photography."
Horrible Science: The Terrible Truth About Time
by Nick Arnold (Scholastic, Age: 8-12)
Part of the best-selling Horrible Science series, The Terrible Truth About Time answers some thought-provoking questions with a mixture of humour, fact files, quirky quizzes and crazy cartoons. Find out how flies tell the time, what happens if you go too close to a black hole and who was killed for changing the calendar.
About the author: Nick Arnold has been writing for Scholastic for over seven years, clocking up 20 titles in the Horrible Science series, as well as Sticky and The Knowledge ~ Archeology. When he is not writing, he spends his time travelling around the UK, giving talks to children in bookshops, schools and libraries. He was shortlisted for the Aventis Prizes in 2001 for Horrible Science: Suffering Scientists. Nick Arnold lives in Devon.
What the judges said: "A really enjoyable book that deals with a difficult concept with imagination and humour. Nick Arnold manages to tell the story of the human comprehension of time in a way that will engage many young readers."
Hands-on-Science: Get In Gear
by Sholly Fisch (Innovative Kids, Age: 8-12)
Get in Gear takes a hands-on look at the concept of transferring motion through the use of gears. Guided by Doc Sprocket, a robot who lives in a scrapyard, kids can build wacky gear contraptions directly on the pages, using real gears that are stored at the back of the book and a built in motor.
About the author: Sholly Fisch is the author of several books for children and adults, and co-editor of an academic book on the educational impact of Sesame Street. His other writing credits include numerous comic book stories (featuring popular characters such as Batman, Bugs Bunny, Spider-Man, Ren and Stimpy, and the X-Men), as well as television scripts, short stories, magazine articles, and material for the World Wide Web. A developmental psychologist and former vice-president at Sesame Workshop (a.k.a. Children's Television Workshop), Sholly is founder and president of MediaKidz Research & Consulting, through which he provides educational consulting, hands-on testing, and writing services for children's media. He lives in New Jersey, USA.
What the judges said: "A fun, inspirational and hands-on book that, through it's own built-in technology, allows readers to learn about the principles of gears."
Leap Through Time: Dinosaur
by Nicholas Harris (Orpheus Books, Age: 8-10)
Leap Through Time: Dinosaur is part of a unique series that allows the reader to fast forward through a period of history in a lively and imaginative way. Following the story of an individual from hatchling to fossil, this is an innovative book about dinosaurs with detailed illustrations and a thumb index that lets you whizz through time ~ days, years or even centuries.
About the author: Following a childhood obsession with the accumulation of facts (anything from the kings and queens of England or stars and planets to the great composers, FA cup winners and, yes, dinosaurs) Nicholas Harris founded his own company, Orpheus Books in 1992. Inevitably, Nicholas found himself turning author as well, writing books on a whole range of subjects including animals, the human body, the oceans, space, and, of course, dinosaurs. Nicholas and co-author Trevor Day, were shortlisted for the 1997 Rhone-Poulenc Junior Science Book Prize (the forerunner of the Aventis) with The Incredible Journey (Kingfisher 1996). He lives in Herefordshire.
What the judges said: "A novel, engaging and informative approach to dinosaurs, which addresses the difficult question of timescale. It weaves a wonderfully educational story starting with a dinosaur hatching and ending with modern archaeology."
Why Can't I...? Series
Why Can't I... Jump to the Moon? and Other Questions about Energy
Why Can't I... Sleep on a Bed of Bubbles?
Why Can't I... Live Underwater with the Fish?
Why Can't I... Slide Down a Rainbow?
Why Can't I... Fly like a Superhero?
Why Can't I... Roar like a Lion? and Other Questions about Sound
by Sally Hewitt (Belitha Press, Age: Under 8)
What Makes a Rainbow so bright? Why can't I hear a dog whistle? Four new titles in this amazing series from Belitha Press that explain the basic principles of science in an understandable and thought provoking way. The Why Can't I? series looks at the questions that children so often ask, and answers them using clear, simple explanations accompanied by fun eye-catching photographs.
About the author: Sally Hewitt taught in primary schools for 10 years. She is now a full time writer of children's non-fiction books and has written over 100 titles including the well-known Start Maths, Fun with Maths and Why Can't I? books for Belitha Press. Amongst other new projects she has a new series called Start Science out in the summer. She lives in Richmond.
What the judges said: "An impressive, stimulating and brilliantly designed series that addresses science ideas at a very young age. Each book asks the question why, answers it extremely well and in a way that will stimulate a continuing curiosity."
The Way Science Works
by Robin Kerrod & Dr Sharon Ann Holgate (Dorling Kindersley)
Whether you want to learn about the colours that make up the Aurora Borealis, how a mobile phone works, or what makes you float in the Dead Sea, The Way Science Works holds the answers. From carbon chemistry to computer animation and lightning bolts to liquid density, key scientific theories are explained in clear and accessible language and vibrant colour pictures. Each theory is supported by several exciting hands-on experiments, which include making a camera, building a rocket and making polymer slime.
About the authors:
Robin Kerrod writes for young people on all aspects of science and technology, and also on astronomy and space for a wider audience. He won the very first Science Book Prize in 1988 with Science Alive - Living Things. He lives near Salisbury in Wiltshire.
Sharon Ann Holgate is a science writer and broadcaster. She has written for New Scientist, Focus and The Times Higher Education Supplement and broadcast for the BBC World Service and regional stations. She won a Merit Award in the 1994 Daily Telegraph Young Science Writer of the Year competition. She lives in Worthing, West Sussex.
What the judges said: "A rich store of information and ideas that coherently develops scientific themes and ideas. Very well written with exciting design and illustrations. A book you can go back to again and again."
General Prize Shortlist 2002
Measuring Eternity: The Search for the Beginning of Time
by Martin Gorst (Fourth Estate)
Was published under the title Aeonsin 2001 by Fourth Estate, a Division of HarperCollins Publishers, this book takes us on the intriguing journey through the history of humankind?s attempts to give the world a starting point. Recounting the exploded paradigms of past scientific quests, Aeons is a story as much about the politics of reconciliation between the Biblical creation story and the empirical evidence that violently contradicted the belief that the world could have been made in seven days, as about the attempts to date the age of the world. Gorst brings the book to a close full of hope that we could be on the verge of discovering this elusive date, but reminds us that we have been here before many times.
About the Author: Martin Gorst is a writer and director of science documentaries for, among others, Channel 4 and the Discovery Channel.
What the Judges said: ?A fascinating, well-written account of the quest to discover how old the universe is, which combines a historical sweep with a scientific pursuit."
The Universe in a Nutshell
by Stephen Hawking (Bantam Press)
The sequel to the best-selling A Brief History of Time, which sold over 10 million copies worldwide. In this new, lavishly illustrated book, Professor Hawking turns to the most important breakthroughs that have occurred in the years since his acclaimed first book. He brings the reader to the cutting edge of theoretical physics, where truth is often stranger than fiction and explains, in layman's terms, the principals that control our universe. In The Universe in A Nutshell, Professor Hawking guides the reader on his search to uncover the secrets of the universe, "to combine Einstein's General Theory of Relativity and Richard Feynman's idea of multiple histories into one complete unified theory that will describe everything that happens in the universe."
About the author: Professor Stephen Hawking is the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge.
What the judges said: "Authoritative, hugely ambitious and beautifully illustrated."
The Secret Life of Dust: From the Cosmos to the Kitchen Counter, the Big Consequences of Little Things
by Hannah Holmes (John Wiley & Sons)
Humble dust built the very planet we walk upon. It tinkers with the weather and spices the air that we breathe. Billions of tons of tiny particles rise into the air annually - the dust of deserts and forgotten kings mixing with volcanic ash, seal salt, leaf fragments, shreds of T-shirts and scales from butterfly wings. In the hands of Hannah Holmes dust becomes a dazzling and mysterious force. She tracks the story of restless dust from its beginnings among exploding stars, through the dinosaur beds of the Gobi Desert, digging into Antarctic Glaciers and probing the dark underbelly of the living-room couch. Holmes gathers together a fascinating cast of characters - the scientists who study dust. Some investigate its dark side - how it killed off dinosaurs and how its industrial descendants are killing us today. Others sample the shower of Saharan dust that nourishes Caribbean jungles. All of them unveil the mayhem - and the magic - wrought by little things.
About the author: Hannah Holmes is a science and natural history writer for the Discovery Channel Online. Her freelance work has been widely published in journals including National Geographic Traveller and The New York Times Magazine.
What the judges said: "Magnified the microscopic into something magnificent. An unusual perspective on the things we don't notice and a very clever synthesis of a wide range of science."
The Madness of Adam & Eve - How Schizophrenia Shaped Humanity
by David F. Horrobin (Bantam Press)
In this controversial new book, Schizophrenia expert David Horrobin examines the link between schizophrenia and human evolution, and argues that madness may have played a critical role in the emergence of modern humans. He presents a new understanding of our origins, a new respect for the "schizophrenic genome" and discusses a groundbreaking new approach to the treatment of this devastating illness
About the author: David Horrobin has been Medical Advisor to the Schizophrenia Association of Great Britain for the 25 years he has spent researching the disease. He has founded two biotech companies and currently runs Laxdale Ltd, which specialises in developing new drugs for psychiatric and neurological disorders. He also founded and still edits the journal Medical Hypothesis, the leading forum for new ideas in medicine. He lives in Scotland.
What the judges said: "A well-argued piece of scientific and medical advocacy, which although possibly contentious, brings a richness and humanity to a very important area."
A Primate's Memoir: A Neuroscientist's Unconventional Life Among the Baboons
by Robert M. Sapolsky (Jonathan Cape)
Book-smart and more than a little naïve, Robert Sapolsky left the comforts of college in the US for a research project studying a troop of baboons in Kenya. Whether he is relating his adventures with his neighbours, Masai tribesmen, or his experiences learning how to sneak up and dart suspicious baboons, Sapolsky combines irreverence and humour with the best credentials in his field. The culmination of over two decades of experience and research - an exhilarating, daring and ultimately very moving memoir on the people and nature of Africa.
About the author: Robert Sapolsky is Professor of Biology and Neurology at Stanford University, and a research associate with the Institute of Primate Research, National Museums of Kenya. He lives in San Francisco.
What the judges said: "An exciting, epic and honest account of a scientist's life and work. Hugely funny."
Rivals - Conflict as the Fuel of Science
by Michael White (Secker & Warburg)
Rivalry has been a key feature of scientific endeavour and a powerful impetus for the greatest advancements in Western science. Michael White examines eight instances in the history of science and technology that changed the world, in all of which the stress of rivalry played a pivotal role. Rivals presents the human aspect of science, where the protagonists in this book find themselves caught in battles for supremacy, battles born of jealousy, pettiness and simple personality clashes ~ as well as more noble instincts. The stories of Newton and Leibniz, Lavoisier and Priestley, Darwin and Wallace, Edison and Tesla, the race for the Atom Bomb, Crick and Watson, the Space Race and the feuds between Bill Gates and Larry Ellison illustrate the varying forms of rivalry can take, and the eternal impulse for scientists not only to be right, but also to be first.
About the author: Michael White was formally a professional musician before becoming a lecturer at d'Overbroeck's College and then Science Editor of GQ. He became a full-time writer in 1988, since when he has published twenty books including the bestsellers Stephen Hawking: A Life in Science (with John Gribbin) and the award-winning Isaac Newton, The Last Sorcerer. He has been a columnist for the Sunday Times, the Mail on Sunday and the Daily Telegraph and has become a regular consultant and presenter for TV and radio.
What the judges said: "A behind-the-scenes look at the role of competition in driving forward scientific discovery. Filled with human emotion, fury and passion."
Junior Prize Shortlist 2002
Life Finds its Feet
by Jacqui Bailey (A&C Black)
A vibrant, action-packed, comic style book bursting with information and stories about the beginnings of life on Earth. Explores how life started as jelly blobs, and went on to become giant fish, sea scorpions, swamp monsters to name a few.
About the author: Jacqui Bailey has been creating, editing and writing children's books for over 20 years. During that time she has worked on everything from a 22-volume encyclopaedia to a slim collection of very silly stories.
What the judges said: "A delightful book that tackled difficult scientific ideas with a real lightness of touch. The use of cartoons made the story clear and interesting."
The Kingfisher Illustrated Dinosaur Encyclopedia
by David Burnie (Kingfisher)
World-famous dinosaur hunter, Susan Hendrickson introduces you to a dramatic journey from the dawn of life on Earth through each dinosaur era from the Triassic to the Cretaceous, exploring every dinosaur family along the way. Packed with facts and figures, timelines, all the latest discoveries and powerful, atmospheric pictures.
About the author: David Burnie is a zoology graduate. He worked as a nature reserve ranger before becoming a natural history author and editor. He has written a number of books, many of which have won educational awards and prizes.
What the judges said: "This is much more than an encyclopaedia. Beautifully produced and written, it is excellent at explaining not just what we know but how we know it."
Dead Famous: Albert Einstein and his Inflatable Universe
by Mike Goldsmith (Scholastic)
A rip-roaring journey through the life of Albert Einstein, which discovers some amazing facts along the way. Did you know that he was expelled from school and spied on by the FBI? A funny, gripping look at the man and the theories that changed the entire cosmos - that won't give you a headache.
About the author: Mike Goldsmith is a doctor of astrophysics who worked as a research scientist before becoming an author. This is his first book.
What the judges said: "At last, a book to help everyone understand what the theory of relativity is all about. An engaging, lively book that makes you laugh out loud. A magical way of explaining some very difficult physics."
Mega Bites: Bugs
by Christopher Maynard (Dorling Kindersley)
A guided tour through the wonders of the insect world. Crammed full of megabite-sized facts and figures from the gross to the gigantic to the downright peculiar. Did you know that the longest insect tongue is a whopping 28 cm? Dramatic photographs and an easy to use reference section including websites.
About the author: Chris Maynard has over 55 children's books under his belt and won the 1996 Rhone-Poulenc Prizes for Science Books Junior Prize with The World of Weather.
What the judges said: "An exuberant book that is immensely successful at presenting a lot of interesting information in an engaging way and in a small format."
The Usborne Internet-Linked Library of Science: Materials
by Alastair Smith, Phillip Clarke & Corinne Henderson (Usborne)
Taking examples from everyday life, this fascinating book explores the chemistry of solids, liquids and gases, explaining exactly what they are and how they behave. An ideal revision tool, this book also contains experiments, activities and recommended Web sites designed to enhance learning.
About the authors:
Phil Clarke has been working at Usborne for about two years. Titles he has worked on include The Usborne Internet-linked Science Encyclopedia, the Spotter's Guide to Wild Animals, the Spotter's Guide to Weather and Baby Animals (Lift-the-flap). He is currently deep in the Usborne Book of Ocean Facts & Lists.
Corinne Henderson has been writing for Usborne for nearly 20 years, on science subjects as diverse as computers, the weather, cell biology, microscopes and animal behaviour. Her main work to date has been the much-acclaimed Illustrated Dictionary of Science, now into its 19th reprint.
Alastair Smith, has worked at Usborne Publishing since 1990. He has authored and edited way over 20 books for the company, on subjects ranging from the workings of the human body to the physics of outer space, and from drawing people to telling really corny jokes.
What the judges said: "An engaging way into chemistry through print, illustration and internet links. Congratulations to the publisher for using the internet in such an innovative way."
DK Guide to the Human Body
by Richard Walker (Dorling Kindersley)
The DK Guide to the Human Body takes readers on a remarkable journey through the incredible systems of the body - from the tiniest cells to the largest organs. Revealed in fantastic computer-enhanced, three-dimensional pictures, the ingenious processes involved in moving, breathing, digesting food, producing babies, growing and fighting off disease are all explained with clear, lively text.
About the author: Richard Walker, BSc, PhD, has taught biology at school and university levels and is an accomplished author of numerous books on human biology and anatomy, including Dorling Kindersley's Eyewitness Visual Dictionary of Human Anatomy. He has also written many titles on health and science for children and adults.
What the judges said: "This is a visually stunning book which, through the use of incredible pictures, conveys some of the trickiest parts of science really well."
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1 comment:
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Salam
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