Modern classics

1. The Code Book by Simon Singh, Fourth Estate

2. Genome by Matt Ridley, Fourth Estate

3. Trilobite by Richard Fortey, Flamingo

4. Just Six Numbers by Martin Rees, Orion

5. The Private Life of the Brain by Susan Greenfield, Penguin

6. Galileo’s Daughter by Dava Sobel, Fourth Estate

7. Almost Like a Whale by Steve Jones, Black Swan

8. Alas, Poor Darwin by Hilary Rose & Steven Rose, Vintage

9. The End of Time by Julian Barbour, Phoenix

10. The Maths Gene by Keith Devlin, Orion

Booksellers are getting ruthless about how long they will keep stock on their shelves. It sometimes seems down to chance that a book survives…