Best Science Books 2015: Goodreads Choice Awards: Best Science and Technology

As you all have no doubt noticed over the years, I love highlighting the best science books every year via the various end of year lists that newspapers, web sites, etc. publish. I've done it so far in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014.

And here we are in 2015!

As in previous years, my definition of "science books" is pretty inclusive, including books on technology, engineering, nature, the environment, science policy, history & philosophy of science, geek culture and whatever else seems to be relevant in my opinion.

Today's list is Goodreads Choice Awards: Best Science and Technology.

• Beneath the Surface: Killer Whales, SeaWorld, and the Truth Beyond Blackfish by John Hargrove, Howard Chua-Eoan
• Headstrong: 52 Women Who Changed Science-and the World by Rachel Swaby
• Voices in the Ocean: A Journey into the Wild and Haunting World of Dolphins by Susan Casey
• Forensics: What Bugs, Burns, Prints, DNA and More Tell Us About Crime by Val McDermid
• Come as You Are: The Surprising New Science that Will Transform Your Sex Life by Emily Nagoski
• Elon Musk: Inventing the Future by Ashlee Vance
• What Stands in a Storm: Three Days in the Worst Superstorm to Hit the South's Tornado Alley by Kim Cross
• On the Move: A Life by Oliver Sacks
• Brain Maker: The Power of Gut Microbes to Heal and Protect Your Brain–for Life by David Perlmutter
• How Music Got Free: The End of an Industry, the Turn of the Century, and the Patient Zero of Piracy by Stephen Witt
• Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel by Carl Safina
• Becoming Steve Jobs: The Evolution of a Reckless Upstart into a Visionary Leader by Brent Schlender
• The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness by Sy Montgomery
• The Brain's Way of Healing: Remarkable Discoveries and Recoveries from the Frontiers of Neuroplasticity by Norman Doidge
• Bold: How to Go Big, Create Wealth and Impact the World by Peter H. Diamandis
• Future Crimes: Everything Is Connected, Everyone Is Vulnerable, and What We Can Do About It by Marc Goodman
• Spare Parts: Four Undocumented Teenagers, One Ugly Robot, and the Battle for the American Dream by Joshua Davis
• NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and The Future of Neurodiversity by Steve Silberman
• Rain: A Natural and Cultural History by Cynthia Barnett

And check out my previous 2015 lists here!

Many of the lists I use are sourced via the Largehearted Boy master list.

(Astute readers will notice that I kind of petered out on this project a couple of years ago and never got around to the end of year summary since then. Before loosing steam, I ended up featuring dozens and dozens of lists, virtually every list I could find that had science books on it. While it was kind of cool to be so comprehensive, not to mention that it gave the summary posts a certain statistical weight, it was also way more work than I had really envisioned way back in 2008 or so when I started doing this. As a result, I'm only going to highlight particularly large or noteworthy lists this year and forgo any kind of end of year summary. Basically, all the fun but not so much of the drudgery.)