What books does Brian Cox recommend?
The Brian Cox book recommendations here come from the particle physicist and CERN researcher who has made a second career translating the cosmos into accessible, awe-inspiring stories. Sixteen titles are drawn from his interviews, his official Twitter account, book blurbs, and reading lists tied to his radio show The Infinite Monkey Cage. Science and technology dominate, alongside philosophy, history and biography. Carl Sagan runs through the list like a thread, with Cosmos as a defining pick and The Demon-Haunted World singled out as a book that reignited his fascination with science and a great introduction to why scientific thinking will improve your life. Arthur C. Clarke's Childhood's End, he says, had a massive influence on him, remaining a great book but also strange and unusual on rereading. Cox has also authored seven of his own science books, including Why Does E=mc squared? and The Quantum Universe.
Last updated February 2026 · Every recommendation cited to its original source.
Cosmos
A Personal Voyage
byCarl Sagan
2013432 Pages(159,381)
“We are the cosmos made conscious and life is the means by which the universe understands itself.”
— Brian Cox
Source: Interviews / BBC Wonders of the Universe
byArthur C. Clarke
1953256 Pages“It had a massive influence on me. I just re-read it; it's really a great book, but also strange and unusual.”
— Brian Cox
Source: China Daily Lifestyle Premium Interview
The Demon-Haunted World
Science as a Candle in the Dark
byCarl Sagan
1997480 Pages“One of the books that reignited my fascination with science and is a great introduction to why scientific thinking will improve your life.”
— Brian Cox
Source: Robin Ince's Blog (The Infinite Monkey Cage Reading List)
Read by Larry Page, Brian Cox
What Do You Care What Other People Think?
Further Adventures of a Curious Character
byRichard P. Feynman, Ralph Leighton
1988256 Pages“Includes a long piece on Feynman's involvement in the Challenger Space Shuttle enquiry and a very moving piece about how he met his first wife.”
— Brian Cox
Source: Robin Ince's Blog (The Infinite Monkey Cage Reading List)
The Secret Body
How the New Science of the Human Body Is Changing the Way We Live
byDaniel M. Davis
2021224 Pages“A beautifully rendered picture of the startling new discoveries in human biology which are radically altering our understanding of how we function and what our future holds.”
— Brian Cox
Source: Official Book Blurb
What Is Real?: The Unfinished Quest for the Meaning of Quantum Physics
The Unfinished Quest for the Meaning of Quantum Physics
byAdam Becker
2018384 Pages“Introduced me to a terrific book - What is Real? by Adam Becker. It's fascinating on the history of QM, Bell's theorem, Many Worlds...”
— Brian Cox
Source: Official Twitter (@ProfBrianCox)
byNick Lane
2009352 Pages“A great book for many reasons.”
— Brian Cox
Source: Official Twitter (@ProfBrianCox)
Empire of the Clouds: When Britain's Aircraft Ruled the World
When Britain's Aircraft Ruled the World
byJames Hamilton-Paterson
2011376 Pages“There is a great book called Empire of the Clouds which describes how we damaged our aviation industry with a series of short-sighted political decisions in the late 60s and 70s.”
— Brian Cox
Source: Official Twitter (@ProfBrianCox)
The Big Picture
On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself
bySean Carroll
2016480 Pages“It's very much in the tradition of Carl Sagan's Cosmos... Books like that are not only about science, they put science in the wider context of our society.”
— Brian Cox
Source: The Guardian
byRebecca Wragg Sykes
2020400 Pages“This is indeed a superb book!”
— Brian Cox
Source: Official Twitter (@ProfBrianCox)
The Black Hole War
My Battle with Stephen Hawking to Make the World Safe for Quantum Mechanics
byLeonard Susskind
2008480 Pages“A good place to start on the Black Holes thing is 'The Black Hole War' by Leonard Susskind.”
— Brian Cox
Source: Official Twitter (@ProfBrianCox)
The Nine Billion Names of God
The Best Short Stories of Arthur C. Clarke
byArthur C. Clarke
1974240 Pages“I like Arthur C Clarke's 1953 story... The story ends with the great line, 'One by one the stars started going out'.”
— Brian Cox
Source: The Guardian Interview
Annie's Box
Charles Darwin, His Daughter and Human Evolution
byRandal Keynes
2001334 Pages“I would recommend Annie's Box by Randal Keynes as a good starting point to read about his [Darwin's] life and work.”
— Brian Cox
Source: Robin Ince's Blog (The Infinite Monkey Cage Reading List)
Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space
A Vision of the Human Future in Space
byCarl Sagan
1994429 Pages“Quoted in the show and is well worth buying, though try and buy a secondhand illustrated edition.”
— Brian Cox
Source: Robin Ince's Blog (The Infinite Monkey Cage Reading List)
Knocking on Heaven's Door
How Physics and Scientific Thinking Illuminate the Universe and the Modern World
byLisa Randall
2011464 Pages“A good place to start if you want to understand the LHC and why scientists ask the questions they ask.”
— Brian Cox
Source: Robin Ince's Blog (The Infinite Monkey Cage Reading List)
Read by Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Peter Thiel and 3 others
Superintelligence
Paths, Dangers, Strategies
byNick Bostrom
2014352 Pages“You might want to try Nick Bostrom's Superintelligence.”
— Brian Cox
Source: Robin Ince's Blog (The Infinite Monkey Cage Reading List)
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Frequently asked questions
What books does Brian Cox recommend?
His 16 recommendations include Cosmos by Carl Sagan, Arthur C. Clarke's Childhood's End, Sagan's The Demon-Haunted World, Feynman's What Do You Care What Other People Think?, and Sean Carroll's The Big Picture.
What is Brian Cox's favorite science book?
Carl Sagan looms large for Cox, who cites Cosmos and singles out The Demon-Haunted World as one of the books that reignited his fascination with science and a great introduction to why scientific thinking will improve your life.
Where do Brian Cox's book recommendations come from?
They come from his interviews with outlets like The Guardian and China Daily, his official Twitter account, book blurbs, and reading lists compiled for The Infinite Monkey Cage on Robin Ince's blog.
Has Brian Cox written any books?
Yes. Seven of his own titles appear here, including Why Does E=mc squared?, The Quantum Universe, Human Universe, Forces of Nature, Wonders of the Universe, and Black Holes.
What genres does Brian Cox read most?
His picks are dominated by science and technology, with philosophy, history and biography threaded throughout, plus some science fiction such as Clarke's Childhood's End and The Nine Billion Names of God.
All 16 Books Brian Cox Has Recommended
- Cosmos · Carl Sagan
- Childhood's End · Arthur C. Clarke
- The Demon-Haunted World · Carl Sagan
- What Do You Care What Other People Think? · Richard P. Feynman
- The Secret Body · Daniel M. Davis
- What Is Real?: The Unfinished Quest for the Meaning of Quantum Physics · Adam Becker
- Life Ascending: The Ten Great Inventions of Evolution · Nick Lane
- Empire of the Clouds: When Britain's Aircraft Ruled the World · James Hamilton-Paterson
- The Big Picture · Sean Carroll
- Kindred: Neanderthal Life, Love, Death and Art · Rebecca Wragg Sykes
- The Black Hole War · Leonard Susskind
- The Nine Billion Names of God · Arthur C. Clarke
- Annie's Box · Randal Keynes
- Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space · Carl Sagan
- Knocking on Heaven's Door · Lisa Randall
- Superintelligence · Nick Bostrom