Nonfiction for SciFi Lovers

Updated June 15, 2026
Rochester Public Library RPL Staff
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Nonfiction for SciFi Lovers

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The disordered cosmos : a journey into dark matter, spacetime, and dreams deferred
Prescod-Weinstein, Chanda
Paper Book
From a star theoretical physicist, "a love letter to the wonderous universe we call home, and an urge to think critically about how we explore its depths" (Smithsonian Magazine) In The Disordered Cosmos, Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein...
Homo deus : a brief history of tomorrow
Harari, Yuval N.
Paper Book
Official U.S. edition with full color illustrations throughout. NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Yuval Noah Harari, author of the critically-acclaimed New York Times bestseller and international phenomenon Sapiens, returns with an equally original,...
The sixth extinction : an unnatural history
Kolbert, Elizabeth.
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW'S 10 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FINALIST A major book about the future of the world, blending intellectual...
Astrophysics for people in a hurry
Tyson, Neil deGrasse
Paper Book
Over a year on the New York Times bestseller list and more than a million copies sold. The essential universe, from our most celebrated and beloved astrophysicist. What is the nature of space and time? How do we fit within the universe? How does the universe fit...
The science of aliens : the real science behind the gods and monsters from space and time
Brake, Mark
Paper Book
Discover the real science behind 2001, ET, Signs, and all your favorite fictional alien civilizations. As space telescopes continue to search for life in this unearthly Universe, the crucial questions remain unanswered. Are we awake to the revolutionary...
Out there : the science behind sci-fi film and tv
Waldman, Ariel
Paper Book
Explore the science behind some of your favorite popular science fiction tropes--from escaping a black hole to riding a space elevator to the stars--in this illustrated guide from NASA advisor and host of the popular Tested podcast Offworld. 
The future was now : madmen, mavericks, and the epic sci-fi summer of 1982
Nashawaty, Chris
Paper Book
"Hollywood boldly went where it hadn't gone before and Nashawaty chronicles the journeys." --Los Angeles Times ("Books You Need To Read This Summer") "Written with a fan's enthusiasm . . . An important inflection point in Hollywood filmmaking." --New York Times<...
Dead air : the night that Orson Welles terrified America
Hazelgrove, William Elliott
Paper Book
A "granular history" (Wall Street Journal) of the greatest hoax in radio history and the panic that followed, which Publishers Weekly calls "a rollicking portrait of a director on the cusp of greatness" and Booklist, in a starred...
A brief history of time
Hawking, Stephen
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A landmark volume in science writing by one of the great minds of our time, Stephen Hawking's book explores such profound questions as: How did the universe begin--and what made its start possible? Does time always flow forward? Is the universe...
The biggest ideas in the universe : space, time, and motion
Carroll, Sean M.
Paper Book
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER"Most appealing... technical accuracy and lightness of tone... Impeccable."--Wall Street Journal"A porthole into another world."--Scientific American"Brings science dissemination to a...
The big picture : on the origins of life, meaning, and the universe itself
Carroll, Sean
Paper Book
The instant New York Times bestseller about humanity's place in the universe--and how we understand it. "Vivid...impressive....Splendidly informative."--The New York Times"Succeeds spectacularly."--Science"A tour de...
The elegant universe : superstrings, hidden dimensions, and the quest for the ultimate theory
Greene, Brian
Paper Book
The international bestseller that inspired a major Nova special and sparked a new understanding of the universe. Brian Greene, one of the world's leading string theorists, peels away layers of mystery to reveal a universe that consists of eleven dimensions, where the...
Reality is not what it seems : the journey to quantum gravity
Rovelli, Carlo
Paper Book
"The man who makes physics sexy . . . the scientist they're calling the next Stephen Hawking." --The Times Magazine From the New York Times-bestselling author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, The Order of Time, and Helgoland...
The order of time
Rovelli, Carlo
Paper Book
One of TIME's Ten Best Nonfiction Books of the Decade "Meet the new Stephen Hawking . . . The Order of Time is a dazzling book." --The Sunday Times From the bestselling author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, Reality Is Not What It...
White holes
Rovelli, Carlo
Paper Book
A mesmerizing trip to the strange world of white holes from the bestselling author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics and The Order of Time Let us journey, with beloved physicist Carlo Rovelli, into the heart of a black hole. We slip beyond its horizon and tumble...
Black holes : the key to understanding the universe
Cox, Brian
Paper Book
By the star physicist and author of multiple #1 Sunday Times bestsellers, a major and definitive narrative work on black holes and how they can help us understand the universe.  At the heart of our galaxy lies a monster so deadly it can bend space, throwing vast jets of radiation...
Six easy pieces : essentials of physics explained by its most brilliant teacher
Feynman, Richard P.
Paper Book
Learn how to think like a physicist from a Nobel laureate with these six classic and beloved lessons "If one book was all that could be passed on to the next generation of scientists it would undoubtedly have to be Six Easy Pieces."―John Gribbin,...
Physics of the future : how science will shape human destiny and our daily lives by the year 2100
Kaku, Michio.
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * The renowned theoretical physicist and national bestselling author of The God Equation details the developments in computer technology, artificial intelligence, medicine, space travel, and more, that are poised to happen over the next century.  "Mind...
Beyond infinity : an expedition to the outer limits of mathematics
Cheng, Eugenia
Paper Book
"[Cheng] does a great service by showing us non-mathematician schlubs how real mathematical creativity works." -- Wall Street Journal How big is the universe? How many numbers are there? And is infinity + 1 is the same as 1 + infinity? Such questions occur to young children and...
Sapiens : a brief history of humankind
Harari, Yuval N.
Paper Book
#1 New York Times Bestseller * New York Times Readers' Pick: Top 100 Books of the 21st Century * The Summer Reading Pick for President Barack Obama and Bill Gates Official U.S. edition with full color illustrations throughout. From renowned historian...
A short history of nearly everything
Bryson, Bill.
Paper Book
This new edition of the acclaimed bestseller is lavishly illustrated to convey, in pictures as in words, Bill Bryson's exciting, informative journey into the world of science. In A Short History of Nearly Everything, the bestselling author of A Walk in the...
Challenger : a true story of heroism and disaster on the edge of space
Higginbotham, Adam
Paper Book
Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award in Nonfiction * Winner of the Kirkus Nonfiction Prize * Shortlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction * A New York Times Notable Book NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * "Stunning...A heart-pounding...
Space shuttle stories : firsthand astronaut accounts from all 135 missions
Jones, Tom
Paper Book
Experience all 135 NASA space shuttle missions ever flown through the words of the astronauts themselves in this spectacularly illustrated volume With more than 600 photos from the NASA archives, this guide is perfect for fans of space history and spaceflight Winner of...
Packing for Mars : the curious science of life in the void
Roach, Mary.
Paper Book
Space is a world devoid of the things we need to live and thrive: air, gravity, hot showers, fresh produce, privacy, beer. Space exploration is in some ways an exploration of what it means to be human. How much can a person give up? How much weirdness can they take? What happens to you when you can...
October sky : a memoir /
Hickam, Homer H.,
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The "nostalgic and entertaining memoir" (People), originally published as Rocket Boys, that inspired the Universal Pictures film. "A message of hope in an age of cynicism. . . . Perhaps we all have something to learn from a...
Hidden figures : the American dream and the untold story of the Black women mathematicians who helped win the space race
Shetterly, Margot Lee
Paper Book
The #1 New York Times bestseller -WINNER OF ANISFIELD-WOLF AWARD FOR NONFICTION -WINNER BLACK CAUCUS OF AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION BEST NONFICTION BOOK -WINNER NAACP IMAGE AWARD BEST NONFICTION BOOK -WINNER NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES, ENGINEERING...
To infinity and beyond : a journey of cosmic discovery
Tyson, Neil deGrasse
Paper Book
This enlightening illustrated narrative by the world's most celebrated astrophysicist explains the universe from the solar system to the farthest reaches of space with authority and humor. No one can make the mysteries of the universe more comprehensible and fun than Neil...
Starry messenger : cosmic perspectives on civilization
Tyson, Neil deGrasse
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Bringing his cosmic perspective to civilization on Earth, Neil deGrasse Tyson shines new light on the crucial fault lines of our time--war, politics, religion, truth, beauty, gender, and race--in a way that stimulates a deeper sense of unity...
Origins : fourteen billion years of cosmic evolution
Tyson, Neil deGrasse
Paper Book
"An accessible and extremely well-written exploration of the deep waters of cosmology, astrophysics, and exobiology." --Kirkus Reviews Our true origins are not just human, or even terrestrial, but in fact cosmic. Drawing on recent scientific breakthroughs and the current cross...
The Milky Way : an autobiography of our galaxy
McTier, Moiya
Paper Book
In this approachable and fascinating biography of the galaxy, an astrophysicist and folklorist details everything humans have discovered--from the Milky Way's formation to its eventual death, and what else there is to learn about the universe we call home.  ...
The future of humanity : terraforming Mars, interstellar travel, immortality, and our destiny beyond Earth
Kaku, Michio
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The #1 bestselling author of The Future of the Mind traverses the frontiers of astrophysics, artificial intelligence, and technology to offer a stunning vision of man's future in space, from settling Mars to traveling to distant galaxies....
A city on Mars : can we settle space, should we settle space, and have we really thought this through?
Weinersmith, Kelly
Paper Book
* THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * Winner of the Hugo Award * Scientific American's #1 Book for 2023 * Winner of Royal Society's Trivedi Prize * A Guardian Best Book of 2024 * A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice * A Times Best Science and...
Extraterrestrial : the first sign of intelligent life beyond Earth
Loeb, Abraham
Paper Book
New York Times Bestseller | Wall Street Journal Bestseller | Publishers Weekly Bestseller | Publishers Marketplace 2020 Buzz Book  | Amazon Best Book of the Year | Longlisted for the 2022 PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science...
Interstellar : the search for extraterrestrial life and our future in the stars
Loeb, Abraham
Paper Book
"The world's leading alien hunter" -- New York Times Magazine From acclaimed Harvard astrophysicist and bestselling author of Extraterrestrial comes a mind-expanding new book explaining why becoming an interstellar species is imperative for humanity's survival and detailing a game plan for...
UFO : the inside story of the US government's search for alien life here--and out there /
Graff, Garrett M.,
Paper Book
"One of the rare books on the topic that manages to be both entertaining and factually grounded." --The Wall Street Journal From the bestselling author of Raven Rock, The Only Plane in the Sky, and Watergate (finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in history)...
The sirens of Mars : searching for life on another world
Johnson, Sarah Stewart
Paper Book
"Sarah Stewart Johnson interweaves her own coming-of-age story as a planetary scientist with a vivid history of the exploration of Mars in this celebration of human curiosity, passion, and perseverance."--Alan Lightman, author of Einstein's Dreams ...
Alien earths : the new science of planet hunting in the cosmos
Kaltenegger, Lisa
Paper Book
"Kaltenegger's breezy narrative style invites you to experience with her the challenges and joys of being a scientist on the frontier of discovery." --Neil deGrasse Tyson, Astrophysicist, American Museum of Natural History "Horizon-expanding... [Kaltenegger] has...
The Martians : the true story of an alien craze that captured turn-of-the-century America
Baron, David
Paper Book
"There is Life on the Planet Mars" --New York Times, December 9, 1906 This New York Times headline was no joke. In the early 1900s, many Americans actually believed we had discovered intelligent life on Mars, as best-selling science writer David Baron...
The coming wave : technology, power, and the twenty-first century's greatest dilemma
Suleyman, Mustafa
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * An urgent warning of the unprecedented risks that AI and other fast-developing technologies pose to global order, and how we might contain them while we have the chance--from a co-founder of the pioneering artificial intelligence company DeepMind...
AI superpowers : China, Silicon Valley, and the new world order
Lee, Kai-Fu
Paper Book
THE NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY, AND WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER "Kai-Fu Lee believes China will be the next tech-innovation superpower and in AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order, he explains why. Taiwan-born Lee is perfectly positioned for the...
The singularity is nearer : when we merge with Al
Kurzweil, Ray
Paper Book
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ONE OF TIME'S 100 MOST INFLUENTUAL PEOPLE IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE The noted inventor and futurist's successor to his landmark book The Singularity Is Near explores how technology will transform the human race in the...
The worlds I see : curiosity, exploration, and discovery at the dawn of AI
Li, Fei Fei
Paper Book
ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S RECOMMENDED BOOKS ON AI * FINANCIAL TIMES BEST BOOKS OF 2023 From Dr. Fei-Fei Li, one of TIME's 100 MOST INFLUENTIAL in AI, comes "a powerful plea for keeping humanity at the centre of our latest technological transformation" (...
Quantum supremacy : how the quantum computer revolution will change everything
Kaku, Michio
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * An exhilarating tour of humanity's next great technological achievement--quantum computing--which may supercharge artificial intelligence, solve some of humanity's biggest problems, like global warming, world hunger, and incurable disease, and eventually...
Code dependent : living in the shadow of AI
Murgia, Madhumita
Paper Book
Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Non-Fiction Named a best book of the year by Esquire, The Spectator and Publishers Weekly A riveting story of what it means to be human in a world changed by artificial...
To be a machine : adventures among cyborgs, utopians, hackers, and the futurists solving the modest problem of death
O'Connell, Mark
Paper Book
"This gonzo-journalistic exploration of the Silicon Valley techno-utopians' pursuit of escaping mortality is a breezy romp full of colorful characters." --New York Times Book Review (Editor's Choice) Transhumanism is a movement pushing the limits of our bodies--our...
The new breed : what our history with animals reveals about our future with robots
Darling, Kate (Research specialist)
Paper Book
For readers of The Second Machine Age or The Soul of an Octopus, a bold, exciting exploration of how building diverse kinds of relationships with robots--inspired by how we interact with animals--could be the key to making our future with robot technology work...
Gods and robots : myths, machines, and ancient dreams of technology
Mayor, Adrienne
Paper Book
The fascinating untold story of how the ancients imagined robots and other forms of artificial life--and even invented real automated machines The first robot to walk the earth was a bronze giant called Talos. This wondrous machine was created not by MIT Robotics Lab, but by...
Soonish : emerging technologies that'll improve and/or ruin everything
Weinersmith, Kelly
Paper Book
The instant New York Times bestseller! A Wall Street Journal Best Science Book of the Year! A Popular Science Best Science Book of the Year!  From a top scientist and the creator of the hugely popular web comic Saturday...
The future is faster than you think : how converging technologies are transforming business, industries, and our lives
Diamandis, Peter H.
Paper Book
From the New York Times bestselling authors of Abundance and Bold comes a practical playbook for the future of technology and technological convergence in our modern era. In their book Abundance, bestselling authors and futurists Peter Diamandis and...
The code breaker : Jennifer Doudna, gene editing, and the future of the human race
Isaacson, Walter
Paper Book
A Best Book of 2021 by Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Time, and The Washington Post The bestselling author of Leonardo da Vinci and Steve Jobs returns with a "compelling" (The Washington Post) account of how Nobel Prize winner Jennifer Doudna...
The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks
Skloot, Rebecca
Paper Book
A New York Times Bestseller -- Henrietta Lacks, a poor Southern tobacco farmer, was buried in an unmarked grave sixty years ago. Yet her cells -- taken without her knowledge, grown in culture and bought and sold by the billions -- became one of the most important tools in medical research. Rebecca...
Hacking Darwin : genetic engineering and the future of humanity
Metzl, Jamie Frederic
Paper Book
"A gifted and thoughtful writer, Metzl brings us to the frontiers of biology and technology, and reveals a world full of promise and peril." -- Siddhartha Mukherjee MD, New York Times bestselling author of The Emperor of All Maladies and The Gene A groundbreaking exploration of genetic...
Stuff matters : exploring the marvelous materials that shape our man-made world
Miodownik, Mark
Paper Book
ANew York Times Bestseller An eye-opening adventure deep inside the everyday materials that surround us, packed with surprising stories and fascinating science Why is glass see-through? What makes elastic stretchy?...
Entangled life : how fungi make our worlds, change our minds & shape our futures
Sheldrake, Merlin
Paper Book
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER WITH OVER ONE MILLION COPIES SOLD WORLDWIDE A "brilliant [and] entrancing" (The Guardian) journey into the hidden lives of fungi--the great connectors of the living world--and their astonishing and intimate roles in human life, with...
The light eaters : how the unseen world of plant intelligence offers a new understanding of life on Earth
Schlanger, Zoë
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The New Yorker's Best Books of 2024 * TIME's 10 Best Nonfiction Books of 2024 * New York Magazine's 10 Best Books of the Year * Washington Post's 50 Notable Works of Nonfiction of 2024 *...
Otherlands : a journey through Earth's extinct worlds
Halliday, Thomas (Paleobiologist)
Paper Book
"Immersive . . . bracingly ambitious . . . rewinds the story of life on Earth--from the mammoth steppe of the last Ice Age to the dawn of multicellular creatures over 500 million years ago."--The Economist LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE * "One of those rare...
Darwin comes to town : how the urban jungle drives evolution
Schilthuizen, Menno
Paper Book
*Carrion crows in the Japanese city of Sendai have learned to use passing traffic to crack nuts. *Lizards in Puerto Rico are evolving feet that better grip surfaces like concrete. *Europe's urban blackbirds sing at a higher pitch than their rural cousins, to be heardover...
The demon-haunted world : science as a candle in the dark
Sagan, Carl
Paper Book
A prescient warning of a future we now inhabit, where fake news stories and Internet conspiracy theories play to a disaffected American populace "A glorious book . . . A spirited defense of science . . . From the first page to the last, this book is a manifesto for clear thought."-...
Braiding sweetgrass : indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge and the teachings of plants
Kimmerer, Robin Wall.
Paper Book
A New York Times Bestseller A Washington Post Bestseller Named a "Best Essay Collection of the Decade" by Literary Hub As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member...
What if? : serious scientific answers to absurd hypothetical questions
Munroe, Randall
Paper Book
A special 10th anniversary edition of the million-copy bestseller What If? from the creator of the wildly popular webcomic xkcd--revised and annotated with brand-new illustrations and answers to the most absurd hypothetical questions you never thought to ask. Fans of...
What if? 2 : additional serious scientific answers to absurd hypothetical questions
Munroe, Randall
Paper Book
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! An NPR Best Book of 2022 "The questions throughout What If? 2 are equal parts brilliant, gross, and wonderfully absurd and the answers are thorough, deeply researched, and great fun. . . . Science isn't easy, but...
The end of everything : (astrophysically speaking)
Mack, Katie
Paper Book
A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK * AN NPR SCIENCE FRIDAY BOOK CLUB SELECTION * NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POST, THE ECONOMIST, NEW SCIENTIST, PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, and THE GUARDIAN From the cohost of the podcast The...
The uninhabitable earth : life after warming
Wallace-Wells, David
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * "The Uninhabitable Earth hits you like a comet, with an overflow of insanely lyrical prose about our pending Armageddon."--Andrew Solomon, author of The Noonday Demon NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY...
The heat will kill you first : life and death on a scorched planet
Goodell, Jeff
Paper Book
An Instant New York Times Bestseller!   New York Times best-selling journalist Jeff Goodell presents an important examination of the impact that temperature rise will have on our lives and on our planet,...
The world without us
Weisman, Alan.
Paper Book
Time #1 Nonfiction Book of 2007 Entertainment Weekly #1 Nonfiction Book of 2007 Finalist for the 2007 National Book Critics Circle Award Salon Book Awards 2007 Amazon Top 100 Editors' Picks of 2007 (#4) Barnes and Noble 10 Best of 2007: Politics...
Nuclear war : a scenario
Jacobsen, Annie
Paper Book
Every generation, a journalist has looked deep into the heart of the nuclear military establishment: the technologies, the safeguards, the plans, and the risks. These projects are vital to how we understand the world we really live in: where one nuclear missile begets one in return; where the...
This is how they tell me the world ends : the cyberweapons arms race
Perlroth, Nicole
Paper Book
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * Winner of the Financial Times & McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award * Bronze Medal, Arthur Ross Book Award (Council on Foreign Relations) "Part John le Carré and more parts Michael Crichton . . . spellbinding." The New Yorker
The knowledge : how to rebuild our world from scratch
Dartnell, Lewis.
Paper Book
How would you go about rebuilding a technological society from scratch? If our technological society collapsed tomorrow, perhaps from a viral pandemic or catastrophic asteroid impact, what would be the one book you would want to press into the hands of the postapocalyptic...
How to invent everything : a survival guide for the stranded time traveler
North, Ryan
Paper Book
An NPR Best Book of 2018 "How to Invent Everything is such a cool book. It's essential reading for anyone who needs to duplicate an industrial civilization quickly." --Randall Munroe, xkcd creator and New York Times-bestselling author of What If? The...
Sand talk : how indigenous thinking can save the world
Yunkaporta, Tyson
Paper Book
A paradigm-shifting book in the vein of Sapiens that brings a crucial Indigenous perspective to historical and cultural issues of history, education, money, power, and sustainability--and offers a new template for living. As an indigenous person, Tyson Yunkaporta looks at global systems...
Space oddities : the mysterious anomalies challenging our understanding of the universe /
Cliff, Harry (Harry Victor),
Paper Book
Experimental physicist at CERN and acclaimed science presenter Harry Cliff offers an eye-opening account of the inexplicable phenomena that science has only recently glimpsed, and that could transform our understanding of the fundamental nature of reality. Something strange is...
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