Science & Technology Biographies

The amazing story of one man's obsession with an enigmatic and deadly reptile. Raymond Ditmars (1876–1942), the first curator of reptiles at New York's famous Bronx Zoo, brought cold-blooded animals to public attention as never before. Through wildly successful books and films, he inspired a generation of zoologists with his fascination for snakes, insects, and other misunderstood creatures. Ditmars was...

In his lifetime, Isambard Kingdom Brunel towered over his profession. Today, he remains the most famous engineer in history, the epitome of the volcanic creative forces which brought about the Industrial Revolution and brought modern society into being. Brunel's extraordinary talents were drawn out by some remarkable opportunities - above all his appointment as engineer to the new Great Western...

'Marcus Chown rocks!' - Brian May How does it feel to know something about the universe that no one has ever known before? And why is mathematics so good at revealing nature's secrets? This is the story of the scientists who, using mathematics, predicted the existence of unknown planets, black holes, invisible force fields, ripples in the fabric of space-time,...

The inspiring story of a young Mexican immigrant who became a renowned neurosurgeon. Today he is known as Dr. Q, an internationally renowned neurosurgeon and neuroscientist who leads cutting-edge research to cure brain cancer. But not too long ago, he was Freddy, a 19-year-old undocumented migrant worker toiling in the tomato fields of Central California. In this gripping memoir, Alfredo...

A soul-satisfying journey through the wilderness that uncovers hope, healing, and the abiding grace of wild things. A Wild Path is author Douglas Wood's highly anticipated follow-up to the critically acclaimed memoir Deep Woods, Wild Waters. He again leads readers along a meditative path through a wilderness of many dimensions—from the lakes and islands of his beloved Canoe Country to...

'The saying goes that time heals. I guess that's partly true. But time also makes you more aware of what has been lost. We find new points of reflection, like lookouts that offer fresh perspectives on a valley you've walked through or gazed at many times. From one vantage point the valley is a glorious feat of nature. From another,...

A sweeping biography of the visionary behind bone marrow transplantation and the story of the diseases cured by Don Thomas's discovery. In the last half of the twentieth century, Thomas himself discovered a cure for every marrow-based disease—like leukaemia, lymphoma, and sickle-cell anaemia—forever changing treatment for some of the deadliest illnesses. His feats were extraordinary, earning him a Nobel Prize,...

In this lucid biography, Andreas Daum offers a succinct and novel interpretation of the life and oeuvre of Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859). A Prussian nobleman born into the age of European Enlightenment, Humboldt was a contemporary of Napoleon, Simón Bolívar, and Charles Darwin. As a naturalist and scholar, he travelled the world, from the Americas to Central Asia, and recorded...

As well as being an important medieval theologian, Albertus Magnus (Albert the Great) also made significant contributions to the study of astronomy, geography, and natural philosophy. His studies of the natural world led Pope Pius XII to declare Albertus the patron saint of the natural sciences. Dante Alighieri acknowledged a substantial debt to Albertus's work, and in The Divine Comedy...

Marie Curie's insatiable passion for science allowed her to achieve the unthinkable, in doing so becoming the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and the only person ever to win Nobel Prizes in two disciplines. Curie is most famous for her pioneering work in the field of radioactivity and for discovering two new elements, polonium and radium. However, Curie...

The nineteenth century in the United States witnessed the end of slavery and the expansion of another form of confinement: the asylum. How did enslaved and free Black people encounter psychiatric institutions? How were notions of mental disability used to reinforce slavery and Jim Crow? And how did Black people express alternative ideas about individual and communal mental health? Diana...

The inspiring story of Mary Penfold, the mother of the Australian wine industry - a self-taught vintner and business genius who emigrated to a frontier settlement and built her family's small vineyard into one of the world's most respected winemakers. Bestselling author and biographer Grantlee Kieza turns his focus to the birth of the Australian wine industry and the mother,...

Chris Dombrowski was playing a numbers game: two passions—poetry and fly-fishing; one child, with another on the way; and an income hovering perilously close to zero. Enter a miraculous email: Can't go, it's all paid for, just book a flight to Miami. Thus began a journey that would lead to the Bahamas and to David Pinder, a legendary bonefishing guide....

Don’t Miss the Apple TV+ Docuseries Streaming Now! “This book is as engrossing as anything by Agatha Christie, as unsettling as a novel by Stephen King, and reported with a vigorous empathy that leaves Truman Capote in the dust. Scott Johnson’s courage, his relentless quest for the truth behind a set of brilliantly obscured cruelties, and his examination of the...

Winning the war of the air and airwaves helped the Allies win World War II. This is the thrilling story of the maverick genius Reginald Jones who made that possible. 'Deeply researched and engagingly written' – The Times 'Has the pace and style of a well-crafted thriller' – Mail on Sunday 'Chock full of memorable characters and written with all...

Before the Manhattan Project, before nuclear warfare and the horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there was the twentieth century's great scientific quest to fathom the secrets of the atom. The unlikely story of an Antipodean friendship that changed the world forever. Centred on the inter-war years - within the ivy-clad walls of Cambridge University's famed Cavendish Laboratory, amid the windswept...

What can we learn about the world and ourselves if we think like scientists? A scientist's journey from observation to discovery is anything but straightforward. It is littered with failure, unexpected diversions, and joyous realisations. Science helps us to understand ourselves in a world where we often feel like strangers—but what we know about the world around us, what has...

In this #3 New York Times bestselling memoir, TikTok star and hospice nurse Hadley Vlahos demystifies death with inspiring patient stories. What can people at the end of their lives teach us about living well today? In this heart-warming memoir of wisdom, redemption, and even joy, Hadley Vlahos shares stories from being a palliative care nurse and how patients informed...

Who was Nikola Tesla? Find out in this comprehensive volume that includes Tesla’s autobiography and scientific writings, as well as other works that examine his life and career in detail. Nikola Tesla came from a humble upbringing in what is now Croatia and reached the heights of science and technology in the United States at the turn of the twentieth...

‘Perhaps the truth is that severe mental illness is just as frightening, just as stigmatising, just as much a taboo as it has always been . . .’ Over the course of her forty-year career, psychiatrist and psychotherapist Penelope Campling has worked with patients from all walks of life, from survivors of abuse to ICU doctors struggling under the strain...

Has an animal saved your life? Studying Arctic birds helped resuscitate those suffering from hypothermia. An ECG on the 150kg heart of a humpback whale has extended the lives of patients with heart failure. Understanding giraffes' long necks has led to improved asthma treatment. Learning how animals survive and thrive has led to life-saving advances for human health. But we...

The incredible story of a woman who took the path less travelled to work for the Royal Flying Doctor Service in outback Australia, and what the experience taught her about life, death, and human connection. It was 1988. I had no time for makeup and wore a crushed heart on my sleeve. My life was up in the air. Being...

The extraordinary story of the famous 'Birdman' John Gould and his talented wife Elizabeth, who revealed the astonishing world of Australian birds and wildlife in one of the most important naturalist expeditions in history - from the bestselling author of Sister Viv, Flinders, Banks, Mrs Kelly and The Remarkable Mrs Reibey. Longlisted for the Indie Book Awards 2025 John and...

One of Esquire's 50 Best Biographies of All Time One of The Economist's Best Books of 2022 A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice Nominated for The Next Big Idea Club The Week Magazine Book of the Week From Alec Nevala-Lee, the author of the Hugo and Locus Award finalist Astounding, comes a revelatory biography of the visionary designer...

This Is Going to Hurt meets Emergency Sex (And Other Desperate Measures) — a rollicking, smart and self-aware memoir about the extremes of the human experience, the limits to compassion, and what trying to save the world actually entails. In her early 30s, Katie Treble felt stuck — in her life, in her career as an emergency doctor, and in...

How one woman's extraordinary determination saved millions of lives—the inspiring memoir from the Winner of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Medicine. Katalin Karikó began life as a butcher's daughter in communist Hungary. Raised in a one-room home of clay and straw with no running water, she saw potential everywhere—in the promise of a seed, in the alchemy of soap, in...

Raw, honest and compelling, Scrubbed is Dr Nikki Stamp's account of her life as one of Australia's leading cardiothoracic surgeons. A life lived at the very edge of modern medicine, where heart surgeons walk the thinnest of lines between life and death, and yet where the greatest challenge can be the medical system itself. From childhood, Nikki Stamp wanted to...

Featured in The Economist’s Best Books of 2024 USA Today Bestseller How did a shaky startup defy expectations and become the world’s leading spaceflight company? Get the untold story of the team of game-changers, led by a well-known billionaire, who are sending NASA astronauts to space—and just might carry the human race to Mars. One company dominates the modern space...

The “delightfully macabre” (The New York Times) true tale of a brilliant and eccentric surgeon... and his quest to transplant the human soul. In the early days of the Cold War, a spirit of desperate scientific rivalry birthed a different kind of space race: not the race to outer space that we all know, but a race to master the...

Insane Mode is the astounding story of the most revolutionary car company since Ford, revealing how, under Elon Musk's leadership, it is bringing to an end the era of gasoline-powered transportation. Hamish McKenzie, journalist and former writer for Tesla, explores how an unlikely West Coast start-up with an audacious dream to create a new successful US car company, went up...

The Big Hop tells the powerful true story of the first flight across the Atlantic and the ordinary heroes who risked their lives in the pursuit of progress. 'David Rooney is an expert storyteller with a big heart, capturing not only the perils faced by the intrepid airmen who attempted the flight, but also their humanity.’ – JOHN LANCASTER, author...

The New York Times Bestseller Winner of the Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing Award Omaha Beach legend Ray Lambert's unforgettable firsthand account of D-Day “Lambert landed on [Omaha Beach] as a 23-year-old Army medic. ... As the bullets cut down his comrades, he raced repeatedly back into the sea to drag out wounded soldiers.” —New York Times Seventy-five years ago,...

THE INTERNATIONAL BEST SELLER FEATURING INTERVIEWS WITH DR ANTHONY FAUCI, DAME SALLY DAVIES AND DR JIM DOWN For every doctor, there is that one patient whose story touches them in a way they didn’t expect, changing their entire outlook on life. This inspiring and deeply moving book is the story of those patients. Every weekend, in Holland’s most popular newspaper,...

My Steve is a deeply personal and moving tribute to a man adored by millions of people who never met him, and cherished by those who did. I’d never, ever believed in love at first sight. But I had the strangest, most overwhelming feeling that it was destiny that took me into that little wildlife park that day. Here, Terri...

Indecently entertaining. A Daily Mail Book of the Week An Amazon US Best Book of 2022 'A fascinating tale of poisons and poisonous deeds which both educates and entertains.' — Kathy Reichs As any reader of murder mysteries can tell you, poison is one of the most enduring — and popular — weapons of choice for a scheming murderer. It...

Now a docuseries from Ken Burns on PBS! The #1 New York Times bestseller from Walter Isaacson brings Leonardo da Vinci to life in this exciting new biography that is “a study in creativity: how to define it, how to achieve it…Most important, it is a powerful story of an exhilarating mind and life” (The New Yorker). Based on thousands...

'A must read for anyone who wants to start a mobile app business' Riccardo Zacconi, founder and CEO King Digital (maker of Candy Crush Saga) 'A fascinating deep dive into the world of billion-dollar apps. Essential reading for anyone trying to build the next must-have app' Michael Acton Smith, Founder and CEO, Mind Candy THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO BUILDING AN...

The compelling story of one woman's journey to find out the truth about her paternity—and to come to grips with the rewriting of her own history and sense of identity. 'Now you're over twenty-one and back from overseas, I've decided it's time to tell you something.' When Lauren Burns learns she is donor conceived, she begins a turbulent journey to...

A hugely accessible history of science that reveals the human stories behind the biggest discoveries. Scientists have been participants in the best reality show of all time, with all the highs, lows, bust-ups, and strange personalities of any show on telly today. This hugely accessible history of science reveals the human stories behind the biggest discoveries. For example, we meet...

This is Marina Mahathir's story, from her perspective and no one else's. It is, she hopes, the answer to the question: What is it like to be Dr M's daughter? When an apple falls, does it roll far or stay close to its tree? Is it an exact clone of all the other apples the tree produces, or something entirely...

An explosive expose of one of the biggest and most secretive companies in the world, Samsung, as the Korean juggernaut battles Apple and Sony to dominate the world of technology. Longlisted for the 2020 Financial Times & McKinsey Business Book of the Year 'Shines an incisive and entertaining light into the secretive world of the South Korean technology giant shaping...

Meet the world's greatest thinkers - face to face. This stunning visual celebration of the world's most celebrated thinkers tells the fascinating stories of their lives and pioneering ideas. Lavishly illustrated with portraits of each philosopher, alongside photographs of their homes and studies, and personal artefacts, Philosophers Who Changed History offers a unique window into the personalities of each individual,...

A powerful, moving account of an intensive care doctor's life on the frontlines of the Covid-19 pandemic. As a doctor on the intensive care unit at one of London's top hospitals, Jim Down has spent his life working as healthcare's last resort, where each day reveals a new challenge. But nothing could prepare Jim and his colleagues for the events...

A powerful memoir that explores how one Indigenous woman from the Pilbara transformed psychology. From humble beginnings in the remote Pilbara, psychologist and Nyamal woman Tracy Westerman has redefined what's possible at every turn. Despite neither of her parents progressing past primary school, and never having met a psychologist before attending university, Tracy went on to become the first Aboriginal...

When Professor Ian Frazer was awarded the patent for the vaccine to cervical cancer, he knew it could help to save the lives of 275,000 women around the world each year. Respected across the globe, few people know the real story of the Scottish-born Australian of the Year who is behind one of the great medical discoveries of the century....

When Professor Ian Frazer was awarded the patent for the vaccine to cervical cancer, he knew it could help to save the lives of 275,000 women around the world each year. Respected across the globe, few people know the real story of the Scottish-born Australian of the Year who is behind one of the great medical discoveries of the century....

The definitive biography of one of Britain's most iconic heroines, reissued for the 200th anniversary. Whether honoured and admired or criticised and ridiculed, Florence Nightingale has invariably been misrepresented and misunderstood. As the Lady with the Lamp, ministering to the wounded and dying of the Crimean War, she offers an enduring image of sentimental appeal and one that is permanently...

A multi-award-winning Italian debut from a bold new voice in contemporary queer literature. Jonathan is 31 years old, living in Milan with his boyfriend of three years and their two Devon Rex cats when, on a day like any other, he gets a fever. But unlike most, this fever doesn't go away; it's constant, low-level, and exhausting. After spending weeks...

An illuminating history of the man and the science behind the Higgs boson, a piece of scientific history (Spectator). In the summer of 1964, a reclusive young professor at the University of Edinburgh wrote two scientific papers which have come to change our understanding of the most fundamental building blocks of matter and the nature of the universe. Peter Higgs...

One woman's journey from Mao's China to the White House Ping Fu was born on the eve of China's Cultural Revolution; aged just eight she was taken from the arms of her loving family. She suffered appalling treatment and was denied an education. For ten years she lived in bleak dormitories, while protecting her younger sister from Mao's Red Guards....

Two hundred years of modern science and culture, told through one family history. In his early twenties, poor, depressed, stranded in the Coral Sea on the HMS Rattlesnake, hopelessly in love with the young Englishwoman Henrietta Heathorn, Thomas Henry Huxley was a nobody. And yet together he and Henrietta would return to London and go on to found one of...

A profound and provocative journey through the human body from the award-winning writer, broadcaster and surgeon. Exceptional, beautiful and absolutely absorbing - CHRIS VAN TULLEKEN A book of wonder - SARAH MOSS For Gabriel Weston, there was always something missing from the anatomy she was taught at medical school. Medicine teaches us how a body functions, but it doesn't help...

Active Labour is an inspiring, warm and moving memoir by one of the most pioneering and compassionate doctors in Australia, a key advocate for women's reproductive rights. It is a testament to one man's abiding, passionate belief in the power of medicine and the importance of community health. Percy Rogers was no ordinary doctor. Raised in small Western Australian towns,...

In this #3 New York Times bestselling memoir, TikTok star and hospice nurse Hadley Vlahos demystifies death through inspiring stories about her patients. What can people at the end of their lives teach us about living well today? In this heart-warming memoir of wisdom, redemption, and even joy, Hadley Vlahos beautifully shares life lessons and stories from being a palliative...

Frolics from a stroke. Tracy was at the start of her law career and at the cusp of life when she got a debilitating brainstem stroke that affected her breathing, swallowing, speech, eyesight, and severely weakened her left and paralysed her right. She found herself effectively a thinking statue at the age of 35. This is an account of her...

This revisionist, completely accessible and radically inclusive history of mathematics is as entertaining as it is important. Mathematics shapes almost everything we do. But despite its reputation as the study of fundamental truths, the stories we have been told about it are wrong. In The Secret Lives of Numbers, historian Kate Kitagawa and journalist Timothy Revell introduce readers to the...

An enthralling memoir from the inspiring astronaut who spent six months in space—and is going back to the International Space Station just as the paperback is published. In space, the sun rises and sets 16 times a day. You fly over every sea, every mountain and desert, every city and every port. The most ordinary things—eating, sleeping, brushing your teeth...

An intimate exploratory tour of Stephen Hawking's office, providing a unique insight into the mind of a genius and the things that inspired him. A behind-the-scenes tour of the inner sanctum of one of the world's most prominent scientific thinkers. In 2021, the Science Museum made a once-in-a-lifetime acquisition of the contents of Stephen Hawking's office. The Science Museum Stephen...

One of Lit Hub's Most Anticipated Books of 2025 A really moving and heart-rending story. Unshrunk will help and empower so many people. JOHANN HARI, author of Stolen Focus and Lost Connections Unshrunk is the story of a young woman who dared to be herself, and a potent reminder of why human suffering can never be reduced to a diagnostic...

An admiring portrait of the pioneering entrepreneur from the former CNBC host and Forbes editor. One of the most influential figures of our time, Elon Musk is the most talked about man in America who isn’t running for president (yet!). In The Leadership Genius of Elon Musk, veteran business journalist Dennis Kneale chronicles Musk’s extraordinary journey, presenting him as a...

A dedicated doctor. A devastating diagnosis. A chance for a medical revolution. Skin cancer is this country's most common cancer, and melanoma the deadliest form of it. Richard, together with his colleagues at Melanoma Institute Australia, has dedicated years to groundbreaking research and succeeded in transforming even the most advanced forms of melanoma into a largely curable disease, bringing hope...

Forensic pathologist and bestselling author of Unnatural Causes, Dr Richard Shepherd, brings his unparalleled honesty and insight to a new book about life and death. Through 24 intriguing, never-before-told cases, Britain's top forensic pathologist, Dr Richard Shepherd, takes us on a journey through life in death. From old to young, murder to misadventure, and from illness to accidental death, each...

The Invisible Kingdom by Meghan O'Rourke is a New York Times Bestseller and a finalist for the 2022 National Book Award for Nonfiction. It has been named one of the best books of 2022 by NPR, The New Yorker, Time, and Vogue. "Remarkable." - Andrew Solomon, The New York Times Book Review "At once a rigorous work of scholarship and...

The bestselling author of Leonardo da Vinci and Steve Jobs returns with a “compelling” (The Washington Post) account of how Nobel Prize winner Jennifer Doudna and her colleagues launched a revolution that will allow us to cure diseases, fend off viruses, and have healthier babies. When Jennifer Doudna was in sixth grade, she came home one day to find that...

Stories of life, death and bravery by a Kiwi female general surgeon Ruthlessly honest and viscerally beautiful. The book I wish I had read as a medical student. — Emma Espiner The world of surgery is strange, messy, and intense. From a man presenting with fishhooks in his stomach to being punched in the face by a patient, it's all...

From the author of Steve Jobs and other bestselling biographies, this is the astonishingly intimate story of the most fascinating and controversial innovator of our era—a rule-breaking visionary who helped to lead the world into the era of electric vehicles, private space exploration, and artificial intelligence. Oh, and took over Twitter. Australian Financial Review Top 20 Read for 2023​ When...

Immerse yourself in the gripping world of intensive care medicine with Critical by Dr. Matt Morgan, a poignant exploration of the highs and lows experienced within the ICU. In Critical, Dr. Matt Morgan takes readers on an unforgettable journey through the intensive care unit, sharing the deeply personal stories of the patients who have touched his life. The narrative elegantly...

The Man from the Future by Ananyo Bhattacharya paints a riveting portrait of John von Neumann, a polymath whose groundbreaking work laid the foundation for much of modern science and technology. This vivid biography delves into the intricate life of a man whose intellect spanned numerous disciplines, reshaping our understanding of the world and steering the course of history. Born...

From the bestselling author of The Butchering Art and The Facemaker comes the astonishing true story of Joseph Bell, the Scottish surgeon whose extraordinary talent for detection inspired Sherlock Holmes. Edinburgh, 1878. A medical student named Arthur Conan Doyle squeezes into the Royal Infirmary's packed operating theatre, hoping to catch a glimpse of the celebrated professor whose uncanny powers of...

A voyage of discovery, nature and untold histories - in the vein of Clare Wright, Edmund de Waal and Helen Macdonald. When the first woman to circumnavigate the world completed her journey in 1775, she returned home without any fanfare at all. Jeanne Barret, an impoverished peasant from Burgundy, disguised herself as a man and sailed on the 1766 Bougainville...

The essential book on how not to be a doctor – and how to be a better one. Drawn from his popular medical columns over the years, John Launer shares fifty of his best-loved essays, covering topics from essential skills they don't teach you in medical school to his poignant account of being a patient himself as he received treatment...

If you want to read a book that moves you both at the level of sentence and the quality of language and with the emotional depth of its subject matter, then A Fortunate Woman is definitely the book you should be reading - Samanth Subramanian, Baillie Gifford judge When Polly Morland is clearing out her mother's house she finds a...

Things I remember, or was told is the memoir of outspoken Wellington GP Carol Shand, who since the early 1960s has spent her life fighting for change in medical, social and legal issues that she considered important: maternity care, access to contraception, abortion law change, and improved response to sexual assault complaints. Carol is the daughter of Claudia and Tom...

Hospital and Haven tells the story of an Episcopal missionary couple who lived their entire married life, from 1910 to 1938, among the Gwich'in peoples of northern Alaska, devoting themselves to the peoples' physical, social, and spiritual well-being. The era was marked by great social disruption within Alaska Native communities and high disease and death rates, owing to the influx...

Bletchley Park was—so we're told—staffed by a majority of women, who had menial roles while a handful of pipe-smoking male boffins did the brainy codebreaking stuff. As with many urban myths, it's not true: women as well as men had serious full-on codebreaking roles. And not just at Bletchley, but in codebreaking agencies in the US and even in Germany....

An illuminating memoir of life working on the frontline of mental health We Don't Use Words Like Crazy is a 'professional confessional' from Elliot Sweeney, a mental health nurse who works on the frontline of mental health services. His touching and often humorous memoir lifts the lid on the realities of the profession, in an attempt to highlight the need...

In a culture of comic book heroes, it's gratifying to be reminded that there are real heroes out there. Every day, the staff of emergency rooms throughout the world are saving lives — 24/7/365. Dr. Patrick Crocker provides us with an intimate glimpse into the evolving mind of an emergency physician, from residency to retirement. Told in a unique first-person...

How an unknown German and an Englishman on opposite sides of WWI created a scientific revolution In 1916, Arthur Eddington, a war-weary British astronomer, opened a letter written by an obscure German professor named Einstein. The neatly printed equations on the scrap of paper outlined his world-changing theory of general relativity. Until then, Einstein's masterpiece of time and space had...

From Britain's best-known forensic scientist, a book that explains what forensic science is, how it evolved and, through a series of landmark cases, the shocking truth about where it is headed. The relationship between law enforcement, science and the legal system is a complicated one. When it works well, it makes compelling television. Equally, when it does not work well,...

Embark on a captivating adventure through the Argentine Pampas and the little-known Chaco territory of Paraguay with Gerald Durrell, the much-loved author of My Family and Other Animals. A riveting account of one of Durrell's expeditions in search of rare animals, The Drunken Forest is informative, witty and guaranteed to have you laughing out loud. As you journey through the...