Book: "The Oxford Book of Science Writing", edited by Richard Dawkins.

The most important word in the title is the last – “writing”. Dawkins’ defining criterion for selection is the quality of the writing. From the giants – Einstein, Crick  and Leakey to name but three –  to those merely sitting on their shoulders, every entry is a linguistic delight. I defy anyone, however, uninterested in science, not to be moved by the passion, imagination and delight of the scientists here talking about what they love. There is something for everyone – cosmology to entomology, genetics to consciousness, the periodic table to the meaning of mathematics.

As with everything he does, Dawkins, himself a giant of genetics, is always supremely confident and this is both good and bad. On the one hand there is a notable bias to subjects related to his own – genetics, evolution, biology. On the other hand, his comments on each entry are sometimes outrageous, often brilliant, always beautifully written and sometimes even better than the article they accompany. The only shame is that he modestly (not an epithet normally attached to him), refuses to include any of his own extraordinary work.

This is a book for dipping into and savouring the odd tasty mouthful or, for avid science fans like me, devouring whole. Above all, this is a celebration of the glorious wonder of science, the breathtaking beauty that awes great scientists in the world they examine, whether it be massive black holes or invisible bacteria. No book-lovers’ collection should be without this book.