The Greatest Books of All Time on Biology

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This list represents a comprehensive and trusted collection of the greatest books. Developed through a specialized algorithm, it brings together 759 'best of' book lists to form a definitive guide to the world's most acclaimed books. For those interested in how these books are chosen, additional details can be found on the rankings page.

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Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
3861 The Soul of the White Ant Eugène N. Marais 1925 South African Afrikaans
4643 Micrographia Robert Hooke 1665 British English
5996 The Dialectic Of Sex Shulamith Firestone 1970 American English
7083 The Art of the Soluble Peter B. Medawar 1967 British English
8242 Bully For Brontosaurus Stephen Jay Gould 1991 American English
8393 Junk Food Monkeys Robert Sapolsky 1997 American Unknown
9018 Climbing Mount Improbable Richard Dawkins 1996 British English
9089 Pluto's Republic Peter B. Medawar 1982 British English
10305 The Dancing Bees Karl von Frisch 1953 German German
11001 Naturalist E. O. Wilson 1994 American English
12076 Rosewater Tade Thompson 2016 Nigerian English
12324 The Ant And The Peacock Helena Cronin 1991 British English
12324 Huxley Adrian Desmond 1997 British English
12324 Life Richard Fortey 1997 British English
12642 The Restless Clock Jessica Riskin 2016 American English
14519 Where Good Ideas Come From Steven Johnson 2010 American English
14679 The Vital Question Nick Lane 2015 British English
14984 Wonderful Life Stephen Jay Gould 1989 American English
14984 Gulp Mary Roach 2013 American English
15561 The Mosquito Timothy C. Winegard 2019 Canadian English
15898 A Critique of the Theory of Evolution Thomas Hunt Morgan 1916 American English
15898 First Principles Herbert Spencer 1862 British English
15898 The Theory Of The Gene Thomas Hunt Morgan 1926 American English
17120 Defenders Of The Truth Ullica Segerstrale 1986 American English
17120 Life On The Edge Johnjoe McFadden, Jim Al-Khalili 2015 British English
17120 Cannibalism Bill Schutt 2017 American English
17120 Mythbusters Science Fair Book Samantha Margles 2011 American English
17120 Nature Via Nurture Matt Ridley 2003 British English
17120 Darwin Among The Machines George B. Dyson 1997 American English
17120 Bright Air, Brilliant Fire Gerald M. Edelman 1992 American English
17120 Darwin's Dreampond Tijs Goldschmidt 1994 Dutch Dutch
17120 Human Nature After Darwin Janet Radcliffe Richards 2000 British English
17120 The Darwin Wars Andrew Brown 1999 British English
17120 Parasite Rex Carl Zimmer 2000 American English
17120 The Blind Watchmaker Richard Dawkins 1986 British English