Christine Sutton is editor of CERN Courier. She began writing about particle physics as an editor at New Scientist and is author of several books, including The Particle Odyssey with Frank Close and Michael Marten. Before joining CERN, she spent a decade at Oxford University
What are the three best popular-science books?
The Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. An account of the effects of the overuse of DDT, this is a classic story of an unfolding environmental disaster. It was recommended by my chemistry teacher, who hardly seemed the activist type, so I was surprised to discover that a book dealing with a scientific subject could be both moving and compelling.
Brighter than a Thousand Suns by Robert Jungk. This was the first popular-science book on a physics topic to have an impact on me. Somehow my father had got hold of a copy. Recounting the story of the development of the atomic bomb, it conveyed the excitement of the birth of quantum physics in Europe. It also dealt with the tragedy of Hiroshima as well as Oppenheimer’s trial. I found it stimulating and thought provoking, and it helped to sway me from maths towards physics.
The Quest for Absolute Zero by Kurt Mendelsohn. I read this as a student, when it proved an antidote to the dryness of physics textbooks. By one of the experts in the field, it tells a fascinating detective story, blending history and real physics. It treats the reader with respect and so does not shy away from a few equations and graphs where they help to clarify the text.
What science books are you currently reading?
None. The last one I read was Fermat’s Last Theorem by Simon Singh; the next will be The Millennium Problems by Keith Devlin.
What else are you reading?
Baudolino by Umberto Eco. This is an entertaining reflection of Europe in the Middle Ages, seen through the eyes of a fictional adventurer, Baudolino, attached to the court of Frederick the Great. Less intense than Eco’s The Name of the Rose, it reflects the author’s intellectual breadth. It also refers to the scientific ideas that held sway at the time, although that is not why I chose it.
Which popular-science book have you never read, but feel you ought to have tackled?
A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking. I have never read it because of all the “hype” that has surrounded it. I have a copy that I bought in a charity shop with the intention of one day gaining a more informed opinion.
