Strange Matters: Undiscovered Ideas at the Frontiers of Space and Time

by Tom Siegfried

Berkley, $15

“Not just a tour of current theoretical speculation on time, space and matter, but rather a cogent argument as to why we should take these exotic ideas seriously.” Marc Kamionkowski Nature 420, 362–363 (2002)10.1038/420362a.

Rare Earth: Why Complex Life is Uncommon in the Universe

by Peter D. Ward & Donald Brownlee

Copernicus, £15.50, $16.95

Small Worlds: The Dynamics of Networks between Order and Randomness

by Duncan J. Watts

Princeton University Press, $24.95, £16.95

Spying with Maps: Surveillance Technologies and the Future of Privacy

by Mark Monmonier

University of Chicago Press, $16, £11.50