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Examining the past can sometimes be boring, but Scientific American’s celebration of 150 years in the science business is riveting. A crisp collection of chronologies, interspersed with thoughtful essays by the likes of Niles Eldredge, Steven Weinberg and Carl Sagan, plus a speculative look at the future, is bound to please. So if you have £20 to spare, try Scientific American: Triumph of Discovery (Henry Holt in the US, Helicon in Britain, ISBN 1 85986 128 8).