Recommend your favorite technology-related (nonfiction) books

One that I read recently and found enjoyable was a bio of Nikola Tesla called Man Out of Time. The author's grasp of the science involved may be shaky at times, but it would be hard to write a dull book about Tesla's life, and this one wasn't.

"Techgnosis: Myth, Magic and Mysticism in the Age of Information" by Erik Davis

I don't have many recommendations in the aero-spacey area, although you might enjoy reading about the Skunk Works, if that's your cup of tea. (BTW, I, too, enjoyed The Making of the Atomic Bomb.)

In the general realm of science writing I have enjoyed the writings of both Stephen Jay Gould (esp. Wonderful Life and Full House) and David Quammen (esp. The Song of the Dodo) on biology.

John McPhee's excellent books on geology were gathered into one big volume, Annals of the Former World, but they're widespread in the earlier individual volumes, such as Basin and Range and Assembling California.

There's a lot of OK books out there on science subjects. Chaos by James Gleick is pretty good. Some people really go for the stuff by Douglas Hofstaeder (sp?), like Goedel, Escher, Bach, but I just can't stand his kitchen-sink and garbage-pail approach to writing a book.

Just go for the subjects that prick your interest and weed out the crap books until you find one that puts the subject across to you.

Quincie - I've recently undertaken a major re-arrangement of my bookcases and can't get to my space-related case right now - once I can get there, I'll have some specific titles for you. In the meantime:
Boggs Space Books
The Space Store
An excellent quarterly publication: Quest
Mark Wade's Recommendations
Encyclopedia Astronautica

I just started reading Brian Greene's new book "The Fabric of the
Cosmos". Very, very good.

Yes. I also just started Greene's "Fabric of the Cosmos." You've probably finished it by now.

I recently spent five years managing a bookstore with an emphasis on science and technical material and yet I am close to drawing a complete blank of my favorites and have scanned the shelves to little avail. Must still be packed from the move. You know, the one three years ago? No aerospace choices from me, but you have read Richard Rhodes "Dark Sun" I assume?

"Guns Germs, and Steel" by Jared Diamond

"Genome" by Matt Ridley

"Art and Physics" by Leonard Shlain. I also read and would recommend "The Alphabet Versus the Goddess" and "Sex, Time and Power", by the same author.

"A Short History of Nearly Everything" Bill Bryson

" The Playful World:How Technology is Transforming Our Imagination" by Mark Pesce

Bad book, good story- "In Code: A Mathematical Journey by Sarah Flannery