We live in confusing times, so is it any wonder many of the best non-fiction books in 2018 offer instructions for untangling the threads of 21st century life? From algorithms to ecological collapse, most of us would like some idea of what’s going on, and Twitter threads only get you so far. Here’s our pick of the most insightful, entertaining reads from the past year, across technology, science, business and ideas.

Technology

Hello World: How to be Human in the Age of the Machine, by Hannah Fry


Hello World is an illuminating book on the ethical issues around data. Mathematician and presenter Hannah Fry leads us through the not-too-distant worlds of AI politics, healthcare and culture, probing the complex roles of data and algorithms through a range of eye-opening examples. ‘AI’ is a much-used but oft-misunderstood term, and here Fry lays out its impact with ease.

Hello World is also the subject of our inaugural WIRED Book Club. On January 18, 2019 we'll be discussing the book on the WIRED Podcast. Click the link below to get involved and read the introduction to the book.

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WIRED Book Club: We're reading Hello World, by Hannah Fry Books WIRED Book Club: We're reading Hello World, by Hannah Fry

New Dark Age: Technology and the End of the Future, by James Bridle

The subject of artist and writer James Bridle’s first book is the ungraspable nature of the modern age. He argues that we are unable to understand the technological systems that underpin society, but instead of smashing the looms, we should work in coalitions to reclaim the network we’re all tangled within. It’s an unsettling but perceptive read.


Picnic Comma Lightning: In Search of a New Reality, by Laurence Scott

Laurence Scott’s book on the signs and symbols of the digital age is insightful, in part for its academic nuance but also for its humane, personal style. In trying to make sense of the digital world, Scott takes on everything from the Internet of Things to the changing nature of truth. A moving meditation of reality in the 21st century.

Sara Wachter-Boettcher sets out to demystify the insidious power of algorithms in this illuminating study of tech design. Thoughtful and entertaining, the book encourages its readers to give their apps a critical eye, considering the many ways biased programming can influence users. This argument for greater diversity in the technology industry is an important call-to-arms.

Science

Brief Answers to the Big Questions, by Stephen Hawking

Billed by its publisher as the final book from Stephen Hawking, this posthumous collection of essays is personal and wide-ranging, structured around questions posited to the cosmologist during his lifetime. “Is there a God?”, “Can we predict the future?”, “Will artificial intelligence outsmart us?” Betteridge’s law aside, this is a stimulating and warmly written book about life, the universe and everything.

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On the Future: Prospects for Humanity, by Martin Rees

How can science help us deal with the challenges facing humanity? That’s the question at the heart of Martin Rees’ absorbing book about our future on Earth. This wide-ranging study touches on nuclear threats, climate change, biotech, AI, spaceflight and the limits of reality. It argues that humanity has reached a critical point, and we need to think about the long-term if we are to survive.


Inventing Ourselves: The Secret Life of the Teenage Brain, by Sarah-Jayne Blakemore

What could be more mysterious than the inner workings of the human teenager? Neuroscientist Sarah-Jayne Blakemore sheds some light on what’s going on in the brain during adolescence – an important time for development and one at which many mental illnesses first manifest. There’s still plenty we don’t know about the brain, but Blakemore’s book goes some way to explaining what we do, and how that may affect teenage behaviour.

Around the World in 80 Trees, by Jonathan Drori

Jonathan Drori’s deep-seated love of nature is contagious in this tree-by-tree journey across countries and continents. He tells the story of each selected species with anecdotes about science and culture, from the pollution-busting London plane tree to Tonga’s paper mulberry, cultivated for its fibrous bark. Beautifully detailed illustrations by Lucille Clerc make this a book to take your time over.

Business

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup, by John Carreyrou

The shocking rise and fall of multimillion-dollar biotech startup Theranos is captured in this book by John Carreyrou, the Wall Street Journal reporter behind the investigation that toppled the company. Theranos claimed its technology could run multiple tests on minute amounts of blood – something Carreyrou and his sources helped to expose as a lie. The biggest question: how did the fraudulent firm get so far?

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Brotopia: Breaking Up the Boys' Club of Silicon Valley, by Emily Chang

Silicon Valley might like nothing more than to huff on about its utopian ideals, but this exposé by Bloomberg journalist Emily Chang shows the tech scene for the misogynistic quagmire it is. Based around interviews with high-profile women across the industry, the book builds a damning picture of toxic workplaces where sexual harassment is rife, and calls for women to take down the boys’ club.

The Billionaire Raj: A Journey Through India’s New Gilded Age, by James Crabtree

The new generation of India’s super-rich is the subject of James Crabtree’s vivid study of wealth and inequality in the country. The number of billionaires in India has leapt since the introduction of economic liberalisation in 1991, and Crabtree characterises this emerging class as a ruling ‘raj’ regime. There is optimism here as well as grotesqueries, and the book builds a comprehensive portrait of a nation in flux.

The former vice chair of GE has a lot of business nous to share, and she does so with oodles of enthusiasm. In Imagine It Forward, Comstock urges readers to embrace change no matter their level or industry, and to take the lead in assessing and addressing future challenges and opportunities. It’s a healthy dose of inspiration, with plenty of useful advice too.

Ideas

Nervous States: How Feeling Took Over the World, by William Davies

An excavation of our age of anxiety. William Davies convincingly argues that declining trust in the authority of experts and the expanding mechanisms of disinformation have produced a world where emotions rule. From the connection between populism and bodily pain to the effects of Mark Zuckerberg’s “attention economy”, this book nimbly draws on the disparate threads of our current time.

The Value of Everything: Making and Taking in the Global Economy, by Mariana Mazzucato

Economist Mariana Mazzucato made waves with her 2013 book The Entrepreneurial State. Her latest once again takes a critical look at our economy, asking fundamental questions about modern capitalism and what it would take to reform. Where does wealth come from? And how do we attribute value? Could there be another way?

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Attention: Dispatches from a Land of Distraction, by Joshua Cohen

Fittingly, this bulky collection of essays swivels its attention between a multitude of subjects, from Donald Trump to Edward Snowden to Google to a big-top circus. Cohen writes with jittery eloquence, and while there’s little of a cohesive through-line to follow, the idea of attention is held up, expounded, digressed, felt out and flipped over. It’s information saturation in book form, but there’s plenty to enjoy in the author’s witty insights.

21 Lessons for the 21st Century, by Yuval Noah Harari

The latest book from the bestselling author of Sapiens and Homo Deus scampers across today’s issues, from fake news to ecological cataclysm. The range brings its fair share of generalisations and sweeping statements, but there are beautiful observations peppered throughout, and the globe-trotting ambition of this essay collection makes for a fun, freewheeling read.

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