The March for Science is rapidly approaching this weekend, and whether you are planning on attending or not, it has certainly stirred quite a bit of conversation already. In that vein, here are some books to keep the conversation going, all of which I'm either reading right now or hoping to pick up soon. Maybe one of these will pique your interest, too.



This one has been a mixed bag for me so far. Author Shawn Otto tries to do a lot here, and he tries to do it quickly. The result, at times, feels oversimplified. When I first picked this one up, it was all too easy to feel that Otto was attacking everyone who is not a scientist, which felt unfair. (I'm an English major. And I love science. I love data. I love well-constructed arguments based on carefully gathered research. I'm on your side, I kept thinking in the first pages of the book.) In all fairness, the further into the book I get, I am increasingly convinced that Otto gets that the relationship between science and religion and politics is complicated. It's just that, in his attempt to provide such an all-encompassing look at our relationship to science, the nuances might seem to get a bit glossed over at points.

All that said, this book is certainly fascinating, and it has gotten me thinking a lot more about the ways societies have thought about science over time. It certainly feels like a very good starting point, in that sense. I still have a lot of questions as I'm working my way through this one, but it's also giving me an excellent starting point for the kinds of questions I should be asking both myself and my politicians about some of the big science-related questions of our time. The very beginning of the book, for example, offers a litany of the science-related questions our political debates absolutely should be focused on (and often aren't). And I have a feeling that the last portion of the book, the "what we can do about it" part, is actually going to be the most helpful. Here, Otto proposes 12 "battle plans," 12 concrete steps for moving the conversation forward and for combatting "antiscience."

This book is newly released as of April 18, and it looks like one worth picking up. Whereas The War on Science is a sweeping survey of attitudes toward science, this book looks more focused, making it a good candidate for a follow-up read. With chapters such as "Oversimplification," "The Cherry-Pick," and "The Ridicule and Dismiss," author Dave Levitan dives into the various ways U.S. politicians talk about science in the political arena (whether for better or worse and whether well meaning or, well, not). Grounded in specific and current examples, this looks like the book to read if you want a better sense of how science is being talked about on the Senate floor, in your State House, and on the debate stage today.

And to complement these two very recent books on my current reading list, I'd also like to pick up this newly re-released classic.

In this 1939 essay, author Abraham Flexner, the original director of Yale's Institute for Advanced Study, extols the value of basic research—a reminder that we seem to need now just as much as ever. Yes, you can also find this essay online if you like, but this hardback copy gives you a physical version to keep on hand and is also paired with a new companion essay from the current director of the Institute, if you're interested. For anyone wanting to be able to articulately make the case for why funding for organizations ranging from the National Institutes of Health to the National Endowment for the Arts is important (more than important—critical), this is your go to.

Do you have other reading suggestions? Leave them below in the comments!