Reading beyond the chemistry textbook

If you have just started your studies in A-level or international A-level Chemistry, it is highly probable that your sixth form college will have put together a recommended reading list to broaden your studies. I have read quite a few science books over the years and have my own relatively short list that I have provided below.

Why another list?

Well, there are a few books that appear to be on most chemistry reading lists that I consider to be very poor reading. I can only assume that the lists are just copied from one school to another. I really didn’t enjoy the Disappearing Spoon and Periodic Tales and these two feature on all the lists AND I liked chemistry enough to study it for over a decade! Some of these books and TV programs are either too dry, dull or dumbed down for a more general audience (like Brian Cox, at least when he is on BBC1 prime time).

Also, there needs to be greater appreciation of the other sciences in those lists because chemistry is the central science. In fact, it is at the boundaries between chemistry and the other sciences where the majority of the exciting new discoveries are being made.

So here are a few of the books and magazines I recommend. Please consider supporting your local bookstores by purchasing from Hive using the links below.

Magazines

The New Scientist and Scientific American – these both cover general science at a level accessible to A-level students. Both are available at local libraries (often electronically) and in some school libraries.

Physics books

Quantum: A Guide For The Perplexed by Jim Al-Khalili.

I also recommend viewing any videos Jim has done on Physics on BBC Four or on YouTube, this though is a decent primer on the strange things that happen when viewing matter at the atomic scale.

Our Mathematical Universe: My Quest for the Ultimate Nature of Reality by Max Tegmark.

A much grander view of the entire cosmos as seen through the eyes of modern day Physics. Well worth reading through if you have an interest in cosmology and a basic appreciation of Quantum Mechanics. Max is considered to be a ‘Rock Star’ Physicist amongst the scientific community.

Physics and Technology for Future Presidents by Richard A. Muller.

There is also a shorter version of this book titled ‘Physics for future presidents’. The longer version is an entertaining account of the Physics people encounter in everyday life.

Chemistry books

What is Chemistry? by Peter Atkins.

Not everybody likes Peter’s writing style, but he certainly knows chemistry and every living chemistry undergraduate since 1990 knows his name for good reason. This is a good introduction to some of the concepts encountered during A-level.

A Short History of Chemistry by Isaac Asimov.

One of the greatest science fiction writers of all time explains how our understanding of chemistry changed over time. If this didn’t cost a fortune, I would have a genuine copy rather than a photocopy. His other books on Physics are equally great (‘Understanding Physics’) and his non-fiction books are legendary.

Napoleon’s Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History by Penny Le Couteur and Jay Burreson.

Some of this will make more sense after you have done a little more organic chemistry, but it is excellent (a rare thing for a pop-sci book on Chemistry).

Biology books

The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins

To be fair, Richard’s other books on evolution such as The Extended Phenotype are all equally brilliant, this is the origin of his ideas and worth a read. Read any of them, if you have the time.

General Science books

Rare Earth: Why Complex Life is Uncommon in the Universe by Peter D. Ward and Donald Brownlee.

This covers ideas from all three main branches of science and was revolutionary at the time. There appear to be good reasons why we are alone.

A Taste for Poison by Neil Bradbury.

This is an interesting read about biochemistry masquerading as a book on poisons and poisoners. It also covers the use of radioisotopes so ticks the physics, chemistry and biology boxes.