Steve's Herpetological Blog

An insight into the life of Steve, his research and the many books he reads

Popular Science

#StevesLibrary: I, Mammal

My reading tendencies lead to me reading books on all kinds of topics, depending on what I decide to pick up off of the shelf at that moment time. Sometimes I pick a book on a topic, with which I…

#StevesLibrary: The Brilliant Abyss

This may be one of the newest books I’ve reviewed in a while, as The Brilliant Abyss was published only earlier on this year. I was lucky enough to pick up my copy second-hand in a charity shop, which I…

#StevesLibrary: Guns, Germs, and Steel

To me, Guns, Germs and Steel is one of those books that has revolutionised our thinking about the modern world. It is in the same realm of The Selfish Gene and Sapiens, in having helped disseminate ideas with far reaching…

#StevesLibrary: Symphony in C

When I first picked up Symphony in C, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Unfortunately, the hardback I read did not have the frog on the cover (as that shown below), but instead had a periodic table. I’m happy to…

#StevesLibrary: The Orchid Hunter

After reading The Butterfly Isles earlier on in the year, I went looking for other books that had a similar story to them. Just to recap, in Barkham’s fantastic book, he spends the summer trying to see every species of…

#StevesLibrary: The Dinosaurs Rediscovered

As a six-year-old, there was nothing that captivated me more than dinosaurs. This obsession always seems to take hold at the moment in time, I’m also sure that most people have had a similar experience (who doesn’t love a good…

#StevesLibrary: Liquid

After recently finishing Stuff Matters by Mark Miodownik, I knew I had to read his other book, Liquid. Mark Miodownik has a very engaging writing style which makes it effortless to learn about new things (such as material science). Just…

#StevesLibrary: The Humans Who Went Extinct

Something that I’m sure I’ve mentioned on this blog is that I’ve always been fascinated by the origins of our species. To me, the scientific origins of our species are far more interesting than the biblical one, and I always…

#StevesLibrary: No Need for Geniuses

It’s very easy as a Brit to forget that there are other countries out there that have made important contributions to science and engineering. In my mind, it is frustrating that throughout our schooling, our attention is made only to…

#StevesLibrary: Secrets of the Human Body

Something that has always fascinated me is the human body, how it works and how we figured out how so. Therfore in my mind, Secrets of the Human Body was going to be a fantastic read. I think I’m right…