[sciencehistoryguru]

I recommend the following books which I have read within the past few months:
--Fabric of the Cosmos by Brian Greene
--Einstein's Equation by Amir Aczel (about the feild equation-cosmological constant fudge factor--or not fudge factor)
--The Planets by Dava Sobel

[TheBigDog]

I am suprised that there is no Ayn Rand mentioned in this thread (or did I mis it?) I read something of hers every 6 months to calibrate my good vs. evil sensors.

Bill

[Zilali]

Currently i'm reading 'the man who mistook his wife for a hat' by Oliver Sacks.
Its basically a collection of stories of people with some of the wierdest neurological conditions that he has encountered during his career.

Also, im reading Mitchio Kaku Hyperspace and Michael Tablots the Holographic universe which are both very good reads.

[Erasmus00]

For the mathematically inclined, I recent started going through the Landau and Lifshitz course in theoretical physics. The mechanics book was good, very elegant. The classical theory of fields, though, its truly amazing. Even better then Jackson.
-Will

[Loricybin]

A Breif History of Time

[Eclogite]

I have just finished:
Mars: The Living Planet Digregorio et al Examination of evidence for life on Mars
The Dinosaur Hunters Deborah Cadbury A story of scientific rivalry and the discovery of the prehistoric world
Man of Everest Tenzing Norgay/James Ullman Autobiography of Tenzing

These are on my bedside table and are what I am currently reading.
Before The Flood Ian Wilson Dramatic new evidence the Biblical Flood was a real-life event
The Ancestor's Tale Richard Dawkins A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Life
Lorna Doone R.D.Blackmore
In The Kingdom of Gorillas Bill Webber and Amy Vedder The Quest to save Rwanda's mountain gorillas
RedemptionArk Alastair Reynolds Science fiction novel
The Tesseract Alex Garland Complex novel by the author of The Beach
Black, White & Gold Kelly Holmes Autobiography of double gold Olympic medallist
Venus II Bougher et al Geology, geophysics, atmosphere and solar wind environment
Chasing the Molecule John Buckingham The development of the understanding of molecular structure
The Whig Supremacy 1714-1760 Basil Williams Vol 11 of The Oxford History of England
The Age of Reform 1815-1870 Sir Llewellyn Woodard Vol 13 of The Oxford History of England
National Geographic Encylopedia of Space
Origins Ron Redfern The evolution of continents, ocean and life

[Pyrotex]

1776 by McCoullagh. I think I misspelled his name. A very refreshing read on the people and events in American history that led to our independence.
The Ancestor's Tale by Richard Dawkings. Anything by RD is going to be a literate and mind expanding treat. He is one of the three best living writers of the English language, IMHO.
Illiad and Olympos by Simmons. Science fiction epic that makes all other epics look like limericks. What if the Trojan War was being directed by <real> Gods on a <real> Mount Olympos? The great volcano on Mars? And humans living right now had been resurrected after their deaths [over the next ten years from now] to serve as stage managers and journalists of the greatest war in recorded Human history? Boggles to the max.
Darwin's Dangerous Idea by Daniel C. Dennett. My second time through this amazing book. He is another of the three BLWOTEL, IMHO. A tour de force defense of Evolution as the only plausible explanation for the diversity and complexity of not just biologic Life, but of damn near everything.

[Buffy]

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell: I just got into it and I don't have an opinion yet...he sure likes to sound controversial though!

The Undercover Economist by Tim Harford: If you liked Freakonomics you'll love this one: I like it better...

Ex Libris,
Buffy

[Tormod]

I just finished the Manifold trilogy by Stephen Baxter - read them all on my Palm Tungsten E... Incredible science fiction.

Reading Obsessive Genius - a biography about Marie Curie. Very well written.

[Jay-qu]

Reading: The Elegant Universe - Brian Green

and I read the first chapter of 'Why Europe will run the 21st century' which is fairly interesting