What's Out There? May's new science books

Below you'll find a selection of new science books added to our collection! Are you interested in space exploration and the existential questions that come from wondering what's "out there"? Or maybe you're more interested what can be learned from your own backyard garden? These new science books combine fascinating discoveries with gripping stories to offers what are surely some unmissable reads!

• Mixed signals : alien communication across the Iron Curtain / Charbonneau, Rebecca
  An exploration of scientists from both sides of the Cold War working together on the search for extraterrestrial life. Inspired by the collaboration between Carl Sagan and Iosif Shklovsky, two scientists who worked together despite the political tension between their countries, Charbonneau's book takes the reader down a rabbit hole of espionage, the threat of nuclear war and quest for the answer to one of humanity's biggest questions; are we alone in the universe? Critics are calling this book “eye-opening … a vigorous blend of scientific and political history." and praise Charbonneau for bringing this scientific history to life with "a good eye for eccentric characters, who abound in this story."

• The meteorites : encounters with Outer Space and deep time / Gordon, Helen (Freelance journalist)
  Another fascinating looking book which takes the huge topic of our place in the universe and grounds that in human stories. This book chronicles meteorites that have fallen to Earth, and the people whose lives they fell into. In this book, meteorites are not just an object of scientific discovery, but also a gateway into fascinating human stories, including collector's fair, ancient Egypt and a global network on the lookout for future meteors which risk causing catastrophic destruction.

• The allure of the multiverse : extra dimensions, other worlds, and parallel universes / Halpern, Paul, 1961-
  Deeply ingrained in humanities history and culture is the fascination with the potential existence of other universes; what is there are alternative timelines, what would our lives be like if one little detail was different, what if there are universes running parallel to us that we can't see? In this book the author introduces the reader to an array of physics principles and then draws on both research and pop-culture to explore such topics as the many worlds theory, multiverses and even time travel. Readers report that this is a fascinating read, but may be a bit of a challenging one if the reader does not have much experience reading books on theoretical physics.

• The accidental garden : gardens, wilderness and the space in between / Mabey, Richard, 1941-
  Shortlisted for the Richard Jeffries Award, a Waterstones Best Nature Writing Book of 2024 pick and a BBC Wildlife Book of the Year. Part nature book, part memoir, the books asks what if instead of trying to control a gardener, we treat it as an equal a "gardener itself". Readers are praising this book for its witty and meditative narrative of a writer observing their garden and the wider world around them. This new book sounds like a great read for anyone desiring to reflect on their place in time and their relationship with nature.

• Accidental : the greatest (unintentional) scientific breakthroughs and how they changed the world / James, Tim
  Another book about the beauty of accidents. Accidental is a collection of mistakes that lead to huge scientific discoveries, including concepts such as antibiotics, microwaves and the telephone. Described by reviewers as short, entertaining facts brought to life by amusing stories of the mishaps behind them, this sounds like a great book to dip in and out of. You won't an in-depth look at any of its topics with this, but the book is filled with lots of fun facts that might be handy for kickstarting a conversation, or at a pub quiz. Plus, it's nice to have a reminder that sometimes mistakes can lead to unexpected wins.

• Intertidal : the hidden world between land and sea / Aves, Yuvan
  A personal and poetic diary of the author's deep knowledge and connection to Chennai. The word "intertidal" refers to the sometimes present, sometimes submerged part of a shoreline. The author explores this subject both literally and as a broader theme in relation to the coastal city, through diary-like prose on the topics of coasts and wetlands, but also the self and our place in nature. The publisher's blurb describes this book as a call to "see beyond the binaries of sea and coast, mindscape and landscape, human and not human", and reviewers are praising Intertidal as a "startlingly brilliant and moving debut" and a beautiful meditation on the unseen world of our coastlands.