 | The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory by Brian Greene
Buy new: £6.69 / Used from: £2.84 Thorough guide to string theory, with exemplary explanations of quantum theory and relativity thrown in for good measure.
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 | The Cosmic Code: Quantum Physics as the Language of Nature (Penguin Science) by Heinz R. Pagels
Buy used from: £16.00 Clear, no-nonsense introduction to quantum theory. A bit dated, but only in details.
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 | Quantum Reality: Beyond the New Physics by Nick Herbert
Buy new: £7.59 / Used from: £6.38 Quirky philosophical musings on the implications of quantum theory. Readable; slightly strange.
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 | DNA: The Secret of Life by James D. Watson
Buy new: £6.73 / Used from: £3.36 Punchy, concise, hugely informative. Say what you like about Watson as a man, but he can't half write.
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 | Uncle Tungsten by Oliver Sacks
Buy new: £6.54 / Used from: £0.21 An offbeat guide to the history of chemistry, masquerading as autobiography. A highly successful mix of the personal and the pedagogic.
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 | Oxygen: The molecule that made the world (Popular Science) by Nick Lane
Buy new: £6.25 / Used from: £3.20 Describes why all life forms age, and why antioxidant supplements are a waste of money. Thorough, demanding and deeply philosophical: hard work, but fascinating.
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 | The Nature of Consciousness: A Hypothesis by Susan Pockett
Buy new: £11.99 / Used from: £10.80 Is consciousness a function of the electromagnetic field that the brain produces - and therefore, by implication, of all electromagnetic fields? Susan Pockett presents a strong case to suggest it is.
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 | The Conscious Universe by Dean Radin
Buy used from: £7.31 A controversial choice... Describes the most significant lab research into psychic phenomena, and subjects the results to meta-analysis. Unsensational and, at least on the face of it, persuasive.
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 | The Space Between Our Ears: How the brain represents visual space by Michael Morgan
Buy new: £17.10 / Used from: £9.50 Vision is not a matter of direct apprehension, but of "controlled hallucination". Could be better written, but this is a well-conceived book that gets its point across clearly. Good illustrations.
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 | Phantoms in the Brain: Human Nature and the Architecture of the Mind by V.S. Ramachandran
Buy new: £5.97 / Used from: £4.23 Engagingly written survey of freak mental conditions which give insight into how the brain works.
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