Elusive snow leopards and evasive particles: Books in brief

Wonders of the Quantum World

Danni Holmes Melbourne Univ. Press (2026)

“If a fully-fledged quantum computer arrived on our doorstep today, it would be like giving a caveman a smartphone,” writes physicist Danni Holmes. Her first book is a sparkling analysis of the quantum world. It takes the non-physicist reader through the laws of classical physics discovered by Isaac Newton and James Clerk Maxwell to more-recent fascinating facets of the field, such as the reason why black holes don’t last forever and whether human consciousness could have a quantum origin.

The Age of Cures

Barry Werth Simon & Schuster (2026)

Any study of the US pharmaceutical industry involves finance as well as science, as journalist Barry Werth unpacked in his first book, The Billion-Dollar Molecule. His latest book discusses the United States’ “eighty-year-long preeminence in drug research”, which began during the Second World War under the direction of presidential science adviser Vannevar Bush. Focusing on Bush and five post-war leaders in the field of pharmacology, such as Max Tishler, Werth illuminates the value of long-term investment in science.

Divination Engines

Xiaochang Li Univ. Chicago Press (2026)

Communication researcher Xiaochang Li describes her complex book as a cultural history of both technology and communication. It analyses “how words became data, how data became imperative, and how the problem of language came to shape the very foundations of algorithmic culture” — including for large language models and artificial intelligence. Li recounts vigorous debates between linguists, computer scientists and communication engineers, triggered by the thorny relationship between speech and writing.

The Matter of Architecture

Paul Dobraszczyk Reaktion (2026)

Competing Interests

The author declares no competing interests.