# Recommend me some good science-themed books for a smart teenage girl. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 11, 2010, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-science-themed-books-for-a-smart-teenage-girl/560363 "2010-11-11T22:17:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-science-themed-books-for-a-smart-teenage-girl/560363/1 "2010-11-11T22:17:06Z")
She’s about to turn sixteen, if that matters. Interested in science but not a genius so far as I know. This is what she wants for a birthday present. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-science-themed-books-for-a-smart-teenage-girl/560363/2 "2010-11-11T22:20:29Z")
What kind of science? Biology? Physics? Geology, astronomy, natural history? ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-science-themed-books-for-a-smart-teenage-girl/560363/3 "2010-11-11T22:23:49Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > What kind of science? Biology? Physics? Geology, astronomy, natural history? She specifically said “science” and didn’t want to be pinned down further, but I suspect her biggest interests are in biology or ecology. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-science-themed-books-for-a-smart-teenage-girl/560363/4 "2010-11-11T23:13:13Z")
She would probably enjoy many of Jane Goodall’s books, then. I read Through A Window when I was fourteen and just loved it. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-science-themed-books-for-a-smart-teenage-girl/560363/5 "2010-11-11T23:15:24Z")
Not biology or ecology, but most of Carl Sagan’s stuff is great. His [Contact](http://www.amazon.com/Contact-Carl-Sagan/dp/0712695036/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1289517126&sr=1-1) could be perfect for a teenager so long as she doesn’t mind (soft) SciFi. Of course, if SciFI is allowed, there is only one choice for a youngster - [the Foundation Trilogy](http://www.amazon.com/Foundation-Novels-Isaac-Asimov/dp/0553382578/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1289517157&sr=1-1) by Isaac Asimov. Changed the lives of a number of people I know (including yours truly). Getting away from science fiction and focusing on ‘science’, everything by [Simon Singh](http://www.amazon.com/Simon-Singh/e/B000APSATI/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1289517240&sr=1-1) that I’ve read has been excellent and very readable. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-science-themed-books-for-a-smart-teenage-girl/560363/6 "2010-11-11T23:20:07Z")
Surely You’re Joking Mr. Feynman, although that’s about the man more than the science. Also not biology. I enjoyed the Selfish Gene. A know of lot of Dawkins’ books are explicitly atheistic; is The Greatest Show on Earth? If that wouldn’t matter either way, try him out. ---
**Author:** ![StarsApart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecc23a/32.png) [@StarsApart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarsApart)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-science-themed-books-for-a-smart-teenage-girl/560363/7 "2010-11-11T23:29:35Z")
Here are a few nonfiction science books I’ve liked recently… _Thinking in Pictures_ by Temple Grandin - includes some stuff about the author’s teenage years that I think would be interesting. _The Greatest Show on Earth_ by Richard Dawkins - I found myself totally immersed by this book and couldn’t put it down, and I’m not that science-minded, myself. _Quirkology_ by Richard Wiseman _Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping_ by Paco Underhill ---
**Author:** ![redtail23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3e96dc/32.png) [@redtail23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/redtail23)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-science-themed-books-for-a-smart-teenage-girl/560363/8 "2010-11-11T23:31:51Z")
Another vote for “Surely you’re joking, Mr. Feynman”. There’s not real science in it, but it’s about science and is a very fun read. I’d recommend Stephen Jay Gould’s stuff. A lot of them are essay collections, so they’re easy to pick up & put down. Some of his stuff is a little outdated (that dern science, always changing!) but good basics and very readable. I started with “Hen’s Teeth and Horse’s Toes” and got completely hooked. “The Mismeasure of Man” ought to be required reading for everyone. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-science-themed-books-for-a-smart-teenage-girl/560363/9 "2010-11-11T23:47:25Z")
Michael Pollan’s _Botany of Desire_, about the coevolution of various plants and human beings. The “desire” in the title refers to humans’ desire for sweetness (apples), beauty (tulips), intoxication (cannabis), and control (potatoes). Not sure if the third section would create problems with her parents or not. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-science-themed-books-for-a-smart-teenage-girl/560363/10 "2010-11-11T23:49:11Z")
I enjoy Martin Gardner’s _Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science_. For that matter, anything by Martin Gardner would probably be good. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-science-themed-books-for-a-smart-teenage-girl/560363/11 "2010-11-11T23:54:11Z")
How about a biography of somebody like Da Vinci, Einstein, etc? Maybe Marie Curie for the female thing… ---
**Author:** ![Parenchyma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Parenchyma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Parenchyma)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-science-themed-books-for-a-smart-teenage-girl/560363/12 "2010-11-11T23:55:31Z")
Okay, this is a really random assortment of stuff, not really hard science but dependent on science. Lewis Thomas’ [\* Lives of a Cell\*](http://www.amazon.com/Lives-Cell-Notes-Biology-Watcher/dp/0140047433/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1289517860&sr=1-1) is a beautifully written set of essays about biology. Diane Ackerman’s [A _Natural History of the Senses_](http://www.amazon.com/Natural-History-Senses-Diane-Ackerman/dp/0394573358/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1289517413&sr=1-1); there’s science here but I think it would go especially well with a teenager’s intense experience of the sensory world. For science fiction, long before I had any training in genetics or molecular biology, I loved reading about genetic engineering in Octavia Butler’s [Xenogenesis](http://www.amazon.com/Dawn-Xenogenesis-Bk-Octavia-Butler/dp/0446603775/ref=pd_sim_b_1) series. CJ Cherryh’s [Cyteen](http://www.amazon.com/Cyteen-C-J-Cherryh/dp/B0044KN1Q2/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_4) series really gets into the psychological and political effects of genetic manipulation. If she has any interest in medicine, both the [_Anatomy Coloring Book_](http://www.amazon.com/Anatomy-Coloring-Book-Wynn-Kapit/dp/0805350861/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1289519253&sr=1-1) and the [_Physiology Coloring Book_](http://www.amazon.com/Physiology-Coloring-Book-Wynn-Kapit/dp/0321036638/ref=pd_sim_b_1) are nice and easy for starting to learn about the body. I also like the [_Anatomy of Movement_](http://www.amazon.com/Anatomy-Movement-Revised-Blandine-Calais-Germain/dp/0939616572/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1289519417&sr=1-1), with great drawings that show what parts do which movements, nice for learning about exercise and injury. Mary Roach’s [_Stiff_](http://www.amazon.com/Stiff-Curious-Lives-Human-Cadavers/dp/0393324826/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1289519563&sr=1-1') gets into all kinds of funny details about death and cadavers. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-science-themed-books-for-a-smart-teenage-girl/560363/13 "2010-11-12T00:12:45Z")
hands down > **[A Short History of Nearly Everything: Bryson, Bill: 9780767908177: Amazon.com:...](https://www.amazon.com/Short-History-Nearly-Everything/dp/0767908171)** > > Buy A Short History of Nearly Everything on Amazon.com ✓ FREE SHIPPING on qualified orders > [@](#): > > “This is a book about how it happened,” the author writes. “In particular 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 since.” What follows is a brick of a volume summarizing moments both great and curious in the history of science, covering already well-trod territory in the fields of cosmology, astronomy, paleontology, geology, chemistry, physics and so on. Bryson relies on some of the best material in the history of science to have come out in recent years. ---
**Author:** ![Waterman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b2d939/32.png) [@Waterman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waterman)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-science-themed-books-for-a-smart-teenage-girl/560363/14 "2010-11-12T00:24:15Z")
\*Physics and Technology for Future Presidents: An Introduction to the Essential Physics Every World Leader Needs to Know \* is an excellent book. It can be found here: [http://www.amazon.com/Physics-Technology-Future-Presidents-Introduction/dp/0691135045/ref=sr\_1\_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1289521131&sr=1-2](http://www.amazon.com/Physics-Technology-Future-Presidents-Introduction/dp/0691135045/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1289521131&sr=1-2) ---
**Author:** ![GythaOgg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/49beb7/32.png) [@GythaOgg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GythaOgg)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-science-themed-books-for-a-smart-teenage-girl/560363/15 "2010-11-12T01:55:56Z")
> [@redtail23](#): > > Another vote for “Surely you’re joking, Mr. Feynman”. There’s not real science in it, but it’s about science and is a very fun read. > > I’d recommend Stephen Jay Gould’s stuff. A lot of them are essay collections, so they’re easy to pick up & put down. Some of his stuff is a little outdated (that dern science, always changing!) but good basics and very readable. > > I started with “Hen’s Teeth and Horse’s Toes” and got completely hooked. “The Mismeasure of Man” ought to be required reading for everyone. Another vote here for Feynman. I WAS a teenage girl (although several decades ago) who enjoyed reading about science and whose family was very into the subject as a whole. Though it’s mostly NOT about science, the book is chock-full of his sheer love of the subject. Any of Oliver Sacks’ books could probably be read by a smart teen. At that age, I also loved the compilations that were available of Berton Roueche’s real-life medical detective stories. I think one compilation is still in print under the title “The Medical Detectives.” Another suggestion - why not get her a subscription to one of the more accessible science magazines that she can enjoy every month? I’d suggest Discover, because they cover a broad range of sciences and are interesting. Hope this helps! ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-science-themed-books-for-a-smart-teenage-girl/560363/16 "2010-11-12T03:06:21Z")
Guy Murchie _The Music of the Spheres_ ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-science-themed-books-for-a-smart-teenage-girl/560363/17 "2010-11-12T03:28:09Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > Not biology or ecology, but most of Carl Sagan’s stuff is great. His [Contact](http://www.amazon.com/Contact-Carl-Sagan/dp/0712695036/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1289517126&sr=1-1) could be perfect for a teenager so long as she doesn’t mind (soft) SciFi… I actually think the movie is far superior to the book. She likes biology and ecology, does she? Can’t go wrong with _Tuf Voyaging_ by George R.R. Martin, about a guy who finds a long-abandoned starship with awesome ecological-engineering capabilities and goes around to different planets, renting his services. Funny, witty, thought-provoking and a helluva read. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-science-themed-books-for-a-smart-teenage-girl/560363/18 "2010-11-12T03:43:57Z")
Does she like manga? I’ve seen these at Fry’s–can’t vouch for them, but O’Reilly does a lot of geek books. > **[O'Reilly Media - Technology and Business Training](https://www.oreilly.com?q=manga%2Bguide)** > > Gain technology and business knowledge and hone your skills with learning resources created and curated by O'Reilly's experts: live online training, video, books, our platform has content from 200+ of the world's best publishers. ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-science-themed-books-for-a-smart-teenage-girl/560363/19 "2010-11-12T13:50:18Z")
Have you already given her Heinlein’s juveniles? Because, while much of the science is outdated, they’re still darn good stories, and Heinlein does a good job of instilling an interest in and respect for science. Although it sounds as if she already has that, which is good. I don’t know if they’re "science"y enough, but Jared Diamond’s books _Germs, Guns and Steel_ and _Collapse!_ are quite good. Maybe a little weighty for a teen. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-science-themed-books-for-a-smart-teenage-girl/560363/20 "2010-11-12T14:07:43Z")
Another vote for Bill Bryson’s _Short History of Nearly Everything_. I think Richard Preston is great. Get her _The Hot Zone_ if you want to give her nightmares, or _The Wild Trees,_ which is about redwoods and people who do free-climbing. If she’s socially conscious, she might like Barbara Kingsolver’s _Animal, Vegetable, Miracle_. Kingsolver’s teenage daughter figures prominently in the book as a contributor of recipes, etc. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-science-themed-books-for-a-smart-teenage-girl/560363.md?page=2)