The Royal Society’s prestigious annual science book prize has short listed six books for the science book prize. The award includes prize money of £10,000. The previous recipients of the award include names like
Bill Bryson, Stephen Hawking and Brian Greene. The shortlist was chosen by a team of jury headed by the Open University scientist and head of the destined Beagle 2 Mars probe, Colin Pillinger. The winner is to be announced on 15th of May.
The six contenders are:
Homo Britannicus
By Chris Stringer who is a professor at the Natural History Museum and one of Britain’s foremost experts on human origins.
In Search of Memory
By Eric R Kandel, a Kavli professor at Columbia University, New York. Recipient of the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine in 2000.
Lonesome George
By Henry Nicholls, writer for Nature and Science. A PhD in evolutionary ecology.
One in Three
By Adam Wishart, who is also a writer and television director.
Stumbling on Happiness
By Daniel Gilbert, a professor of psychology at Harvard University.
The Rough Guide to Climate Change
By Robert Henson, writes and edits for the National Centre for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).
The winner would be difficult to choose as the list, on one hand includes authors like Eric Kandel, a Nobel prizewinner, whose memoir, In Search of Memory, traces the scientist’s career from childhood in Nazi-occupied Vienna to his wide-ranging investigation of the psyche. In Homo Britannicus, Chris Stringer, describes the human invasion of Britain from the first steps of about 700,000 years ago.
Books like Robert Henson’s Rough Guide to Climate Change, and Henry Nicholls’s Lonesome George deals with environmental issues. Lonesome George unravels the tale of a 200lb giant tortoise, aged somewhere between 60 and 200. In Stumbling on Happiness, Daniel merges the latest scientific research, philosophy and case studies to give us a psychological analysis that examines and studies the never ending human quest to be happy and also its failure. Adam Wishart is also short listed for One in Three, the story of his father’s fight against cancer and his deal with the disease.
Source: Guardian
Image credit: Penguin/Amazon/Walmart/Amazon/Amazon/Amazon
