John Brockman – This idea is brilliant
A rollercoaster ride through a laundry list of hot topics in science today.
Financial modelling is not the physics of markets
Emanuel Derman – Models.Behaving.Badly.
Derman’s discussion of models in life, physics, and finance is not a juicy as the title suggests, but it offers some good one-liners nontheless.
Developing nuclear physics required a lot tinkering and failing
Atomic Adventures – James Mahaffey
Refreshing view on history of nuclear physics with emphasis on ‘failures’ like cold fusion and nuclear rocket engines in this often counter-intuitive branche of science.
Deborah Blum – The poisoner’s handbook
Treasure trove of slightly lugubrious annecdotes on crimes, accidents and government schemes.