Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize – 2025 shortlist revealed
As always, it features six recently published scientific titles. And as usual it is light on technology angles, favouring more natural sciences, but it’s still worth flagging.
Science Book Prize
The six books competing for the prestigious science book prize are, alphabetically by title:
Ends of the Earth: Journeys to the Polar Regions in Search of Life, the Cosmos, and our Future (Oneworld) by Neil Shubin- Music as Medicine: How We Can Harness Its Therapeutic Power (Cornerstone Press, Penguin) by Daniel Levitin
- Our Brains, Our Selves: What a Neurologist’s Patients Taught Him About the Brain (Canongate) by Masud Husain
- The Forbidden Garden of Leningrad: A True Story of Science and Sacrifice in a City under Siege (Sceptre, Hachette) by Simon Parkin
- Vanished: An Unnatural History of Extinction (Allen Lane, Penguin) by Sadiah Qureshi
- Your Life is Manufactured: How We Make Things, Why It Matters and How We Can Do It Better (Faber & Faber) by Tim Minshall
Latest technology
Perhaps #1 and #6 are of most interest to this blog.
Ends of the Earth by Neil Shubin meets the intrepid physicists, climatologists, and geologists working in polar extremes.
Your Life is Manufactured by Tim Minshall deals with cutting edge manufacturing and supply systems. The blurb reads:
“There exists a nearly invisible, awe-inspiring global system of manufacturing that enables virtually every aspect of our existence. The things we surround ourselves with take surprising and often byzantine journeys to reach us – be it the thousands of litres of water needed to make a single pair of jeans or the components of our smartphones travelling over six times around the world to reach us.”
“From mega-factory floors, engineering laboratories and seaports to distribution hubs, supermarkets and our own homes, Tim Minshall traces these journeys to reveal the hidden world of manufacturing.”
Interesting, and treading a similar path, perhaps, to The Magic Conveyor Belt, by MIT Professor Yossi Sheffi (“I came for the robotics and AI but stayed for the supply chain”).
Good luck to all the authors. Last year, the winner was A City On Mars, and I still haven’t got around to reading it!
See also: Shortlist for 2024 Science Book competition announced
