The year in reviews: Books and more that stood out in 2019

Here are five books, all of them reviewed this year in Physics Today, that would make great gifts for the science enthusiasts in your life.

Freedom’s Laboratory: The Cold War Struggle for the Soul of Science by Audra J. Wolfe (Johns Hopkins U. Press, 2018, $29.95; buy at Amazon ). Science historian Audra Wolfe provides a particularly timely account of the politicization of science during the Cold War. Her book traces a through line from scientists’ complicated roles in post–World War II culture to current issues of scientific integrity. In her review, cosmologist Chanda Prescod-Weinstein called the book “essential reading for both students and scientists who have been immersed in the idea of science as an apolitical pursuit.”

The Second Kind of Impossible: The Extraordinary Quest for a New Form of Matter by Paul J. Steinhardt (Simon & Schuster, 2019, $27.00; buy at Amazon ). Materials scientist Dan Shechtman won the 2011 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his early-1980s discovery of a quasicrystal—a material whose structure is ordered but not periodic. At the same time Shechtman was performing his experiments, physicist Paul Steinhardt was exploring the theoretical underpinnings of such a material. Steinhardt’s book provides a firsthand account of his ensuing scientific journey, which ended with the author traveling to Earth’s farthest reaches in search of natural quasicrystals. Chemical engineer Michael Engel commented that “a fiction writer could hardly have thought of better plot twists.”

Apollo to the Moon: A History in 50 Objects by Teasel Muir-Harmony (Smithsonian Institution and National Geographic, 2018, $35.00; buy at Amazon ). With 2019 marking the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission, there are plenty of recent books on the subject. Smithsonian curator Teasel Muir-Harmony uses her curatorial expertise to create a standout book that, according to director of Aerolite Meteorites Nick Howes, “leaves you wanting more—more objects, more backstory, more VIP tales.” The book’s historical objects take readers on a journey exploring flight from the Wright brothers to today, and interspersed profiles of Apollo VIPs provide depth to the already engaging narrative.

Liquid Rules: The Delightful and Dangerous Substances That Flow Through Our Lives by Mark Miodownik (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019, $26.00; buy at Amazon ). Have you ever wondered how a towel dries your hands, or what’s behind a ballpoint pen’s steady stream of ink? Materials scientist Mark Miodownik answers those questions and many more as he narrates a transatlantic plane trip through the stories of the fluids he encounters. The chapters, which cover liquids including wine, coffee, kerosene, and liquid crystals, can also be read individually. Soft-matter physicist Michelle Driscoll described the volume as “a well-written and entertaining popular science book highlighting all the ways fluids touch our lives.”

Einstein’s Wife: The Real Story of Mileva Einstein-Marić by Allen Esterson and David C. Cassidy, with Ruth Lewin Sime (MIT Press, 2019, $29.95; buy at Amazon ). Was Albert Einstein’s first wife, Mileva Marić, behind his scientific successes? Physicist Allen Esterson and historian David Cassidy tackle that question in a narrative that focuses on Marić as more than just Einstein’s wife. Their book, which includes an essay by chemist and historian Ruth Lewin Sime about 20th-century women in science, outlines the challenges faced by Marić throughout her schooling and gives an honest description of her scientific abilities and contributions. Historian Alberto Martínez described the book as “informative” and “a fascinating account for curious readers.”

New Books & Media picks

Introduced last year, Physics Today‘s New Books & Media column highlights a range of titles—including books, movies, podcasts, and more—each month that piqued our editors’ interest. Here are six notable selections from 2019.

1. Donald Goldsmith’s fortuitously timed book Exoplanets: Hidden Worlds and the Quest for Extraterrestrial Life lays out one of this year’s Nobel Prize in Physics topics for a nonexpert audience. The book covers past work in the field and the evolution of detection methods and offers a look to the future (Harvard U. Press, 2018, $24.95).
2. Todd Douglas Miller’s documentary Apollo 11 , which relies only on existing historical audio and video recordings , does an outstanding job of guiding viewers through the suspenseful days leading up to, during, and after the historic mission (CNN Films/Statement Pictures, 2019, $19.98).
3. For 15 years the second edition of David Griffiths’s Introduction to Quantum Mechanics has been a tried-and-true resource for university undergrads. Recently Griffiths teamed up with Darrell Schroeter to update his trusty volume with more on symmetries, conservation laws, and solid-state physics, as well as additional practice problems (Cambridge U. Press, 2018, 3rd ed., $74.99).
4. In Randall Munroe’s lighthearted book How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems , the familiar stick figures from the author’s xkcd comics offer readers physics-based guidance for dealing with unlikely and sometimes absurd scenarios (Riverhead Books, 2019, $28.00).
5. Two recent books explore the line between science and science fiction. In The Science of Breaking Bad , Dave Trumbore and Donna Nelson fact-check the chemistry behind the popular TV series (MIT Press, 2019, $19.95, paper). In another universe, Sebastian Alvarado’s The Science of Marvel: From Infinity Stones to Iron Man’s Armor, the Real Science Behind the MCU Revealed! uses characters and plotlines from Marvel movies to inspire discussions of real-world physics, biology, and neuroscience (Adams Media, 2019, $16.99, paper).