WHAT do theoretical physicist Janna Levin and psychiatrist-broadcaster Raj Persaud have in common? A passionate interest in getting complicated ideas across to an interested public, for one thing. So they’re worthy judges for this year’s Science Book Prize, sponsored by Aventis.
Now in its 13th year, this £10,000 award goes to the best populariser of science. Winners include a clutch of professors—Stevens Pinker and Rose and the late Stephen Jay Gould, Roger Penrose, and Jared Diamond (the only person to win twice), plus science writers such as Pat Shipman and Roger Lewin. It’s a distinguished crowd.
This year’s…
