Schools and universities have started again after summer. Why not use 10 gems of our catalogue to catch up on the vast field of science?

Now…where to start… Well, probably at the beginning: Charles Darwin waited over 10 years before publishing his results on evolution, and his seminal work applying it to humans The Descent of Man caused a great stir among scientists and the general public alike.

Once man climbed down the trees, shed his fur and started to walk upright, new challenges presented themselves: Finding food and shelter, producing clothes and weapons, watching the fire… Follow Ugh-lomi and his tribe as H. G. Wells tells A Story of the Stone Age.

At that time the world must have been an overwhelming sight: Enormous forests, vast grasslands, huge herds of all kinds of animals… Read Robert S. Yard’s Book of the National Parks for a tiny glimpse into that world.

Going Green is considered a good thing to do. Mostly. But… what if it goes too far? In Greener Than You Think by Ward Moore, a green invasion takes place – not of Martians, no, but of grass…

Scientists do have to push the boundaries to gain new insights. And often they have to leave their safe havens and explore unknown lands. This is what a square does when it leaves the realms of Flatland to explore life on a line and in space. Read the delightful novel with a mathematical tinge by Edwin A. Abbott.

The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus is a classical story of a scientist yearning for knowledge and engaging the help of the devil to do so. Listen to our production of Christopher Marlowe’s drama

Frankenstein is another classic example of a scientist whose unleashed monsters haunt him for the rest of his life. Nothing more needs to be said about the best know book by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley.

Electricity is the spark standing at the core of our modern world. In 1913, Robert A. Millikan published his famous oildrop experments in On the Elementary Electrical Charge, which won him the Nobel Prize 10 years later.

In our technological world, the majority of people have all they need and even more they want. But what would you do if there was a forseeable end to all the comfort? Check out E. M. Forster’s short novel The Machine Stops and decide for yourself.

Let’s finish with poetry: To Science is contained in a collection of Edgar Allan Poe Poems. Unusual topic you mean? Well, yes, but so are love poems written by the master of horror…

Enjoy – and never stop studying!