A few weeks ago I came across Magnetism: A Very Short Introduction while looking at other books in the same category as mine. It’s written by a physics professor at Oxford, and it’s completely fascinating and entertaining. Not what I expected at all. I was expecting something pretty dry, and focused on the physics. Instead, Stephen Blundell, the author, gives a whole historical background complete with descriptions of how people used to think magnets could heal them of psychic illnesses.

He also tells the stories of the physicists who discovered these phenomena. I loved seeing them as human beings, with personalities, rivalries, getting passed up for jobs/promotions, and being embarrassed that they weren’t very good at math.

It doesn’t have any equations or math in, it’s all about the concepts and the history.