Past reads
Internal Combustion Engine
John Heywood
Great in-depth (if at times, slightly outdated) overview of working principles behind internal combustion engines, ranging from chemistry to physics.
The Cuckoo's Egg
Clifford Stoll
A real story about network intrusions, espionage, and data theft in 1980s' UC Berkeley. Dotted with technical details, compelling writing, and thriller-like suspense, it's amusing and informative at the same time.
Midnight in Chernobyl
Adam Higginbotham
"Neutral" overview of Chernobyl, with minute-by-minute descriptions of events in great detail, the history behind RBMK's design faults, and superb journalistic work.
Voices of Chernobyl
Svetlana Alexievich
Compilation of recountings from over 500 eyewitness interviews, presenting the human side of the Chernobyl disaster, and how post-disaster life was affected.
Command and Control
Eric Schlosser
A dive into the US' nuclear weapon arsenal management policy and weapon safety design, including details from missile silo safety/security incidents.
The Particle Zoo
Gavinr Hesketh
Basic overview of particle physics principles, looking to offer an introduction to demystifying the view presented by the media, with great metaphors for concepts such as quarks, spin and particle interaction.
Where Wizards Stay Up Late
Katie Hafner and Matthew Lyon
An enthralling "low-level" exploration of the development of ARPANet, email, TCP/IP and internet's literal backbones, rife with technical details, whilst not shying away from inserting itself into the politics that pressured the various projects.
How to Build a Car
Adrian Newey
A recollection of Adrian Newey's career, from Fittipaldi to Red Bull. Throuroughly amusing, with a number of stories that shine a light on the world of vehicle design, whilst providing plenty of technical detail.
The Emperor of All Maladies
Siddhartha Mukherjee
A tart, brutally honest history of cancer treatment, diagnosis, prevention, and the sociocultural battles surrounding it. Not overly technical, it presents the disease as less of a personal struggle, and more as humanity's continued battle against cancer.
Dark Sun
Richard Rhodes
Lacking in technical detail, but well written (if a bit unprosaic). Delivers a great narration of the development of nuclear weapons during and after WWII, and the spy networks surrounding it.