Books like The mystery of things by A. C. Grayling

Richard Dawkins argues that belief in God is irrational, harmful, and unnecessary, presenting scientific, historical, and philosophical evidence to refute religious claims and promote a secular, reason‑based worldview.

Bill Bryson turns the universe into a conversational guide, tracing science from the Big Bang through evolution, geology, chemistry, astronomy, and particle physics with humor and clarity.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks follows the story of Henrietta Lacks, a poor black tobacco farmer whose cancer cells were taken in 1951 without her consent and later became the first immortal human cell line, HeLa, driving major scientific breakthroughs while raising questions of ethics, race, and medical exploitation.

Carl Sagan’s classic work urges critical thinking, exposing the myths of pseudoscience—from witchcraft to UFOs—and arguing that scientific literacy is essential for informed, democratic decision‑making in the modern world.

Explains the vision of the universe behind string theory, including new dimensions, black holes, and mysterious phenomena in the cosmos.

Carl Sagan’s Cosmos traces the history of science and the universe’s evolution, from ancient philosophers to modern discoveries, and explores the quest to understand life beyond Earth.

Explore the quirky and dramatic stories behind every element on the periodic table, from Gandhi’s iodine debate to Marie Curie’s radium woes and laboratory pranks with gallium.

Stephen Hawking explores the cutting edge of theoretical physics in layman’s terms, guiding readers through the mysteries that shape our universe.

"Thomas Kuhn's Structure of Scientific Revolutions has sold over a million copies in more than twenty languages and has remained one of the ten most cited academic works for the past half century. In contrast, Karl Popper's seminal book The Logic of Scientific Discovery has lapsed into relative obscurity. Although the two men debated the nature of science only once, the legacy of this encounter has dominated intellectual and public discussions on the topic over since." "Almost universally recognized as the modern watershed in the philosophy of science, Kuhn's relativistic vision of shifting paradigms - which asserted that science was just another human activity, like art or philosophy, only more specialized - triumphed over Popper's more positivistic belief in science's revolutionary potential to falsify society's dogmas. But has this victory been beneficial for science? Steve Fuller argues that not only has Kuhn's dominance had an adverse impact on the field but both thinkers have been radically misinterpreted in the process."--BOOK JACKET

A.C. Grayling’s "Ideas That Matter" is a witty, encyclopedic guide to the essential concepts reshaping our world—from Marxism and feminism to bioethics, animal rights, and neurophilosophy.

This is an introduction to and guide through philosophy. It is intended to orientate, assist, and stimulate the reader at every stage in the study of the subject. Eleven extended essays have been specially commissioned from leading philosophers; each surveys a major area of the subject and offers an accessible but sophisticated account of the main debates. This is real philosophy, not simplified philosophy: it will be accessible for the beginner but equally valuable for the third-year student. Deep and challenging questions are not shirked; the reader will be given a sense of involvement in the practice of philosophy today.