The 22 best non-fiction and popular science books of 2023

by New Scientist

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22 books

THIS year’s best science books are marked by striking new perspectives on the world and on ourselves. From artificial intelligence and space exploration to our relationships with non-humans, there’s plenty to think about this holiday.

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See the source list and commentary at www.newscientist.com

Unmasking AI

My Mission to Protect What Is Human in a World of Machines

Joy Buolamwini, 2023

The Worlds I See

Curiosity, Exploration, and Discovery at the Dawn of AI

Fei-Fei Li, 2023

Benny the Blue Whale

A Descent into Story, Language and the Madness of ChatGPT

Andy Stanton, 2023

Beautiful Experiments

An Illustrated History of Experimental Science

Philip Ball, 2023

The Globe

How the Earth Became Round

James Hannam, 2023

Starborn

Roberto Trotta, 2023

White Holes

Carlo Rovelli, 2023

In Light-Years There's No Hurry: Cosmic Perspectives on Everyday Life

Marjolijn van Heemstra, 2023

Interstellar

The Search for Extraterrestrial Life and Our Future in the Stars

Bird Day

A Story of 24 Hours and 24 Avian Lives

Mark E. Hauber, 2023

Meetings with Remarkable Mushrooms

Forays with Fungi across Hemispheres

Alison Pouliot, 2023

Many Things Under a Rock: The Mysteries of Octopuses

David Scheel, 2023

Koala: A Natural History and an Uncertain Future

Danielle Clode, 2023

The Lost Supper

Searching for the Future of Food in the Flavors of the Past

Taras Grescoe, 2023

Unprocessed

How the Food We Eat Is Fuelling Our Mental Health Crisis

Kimberley Wilson, 2024

Who's a Good Dog?

And How to Be a Better Human

Jessica Pierce, 2023

Bangs and silences

The Deorhord

An Old English Bestiary

Hana Videen, 2024

A Book of Noises

Notes on the Auraculous

Caspar Henderson, 2023

Is Math Real?

How Simple Questions Lead Us to Mathematics' Deepest Truths

Eugenia Cheng, 2023

Nuts and Bolts

Seven Small Inventions That Changed the World (in a Big Way)

Roma Agrawal, 2024

A City on Mars

Can we settle space, should we settle space, and have we really thought this through?

Kelly Weinersmith, Zach Weinersmith, 2023

The First City on Mars: An Urban Planner’s Guide to Settling the Red Planet

Justin B. Hollander, 2023