Science · Similar reads
Books like Transformer
The best books like Transformer are A Brief History of Time, The Selfish Gene, and A Crack in Creation: Gene Editing and the Unthinkable Power to Control Evolution. Transformer by Nick Lane is about metabolism, evolution, origins of life. If that's what drew you in, here are 12 books that share its DNA — each summarized on Superbook, and ready to chat with in the app.
- A Brief History of Time
01
Stephen Hawking · Science
A Brief History of Time is Stephen Hawking's attempt to explain the biggest questions in physics — where the universe came from, how it behaves, and where it might be going — to readers with no scientific training.
A kindred science read.
Read the summary → - The Selfish Gene
02
Richard Dawkins · Science
The Selfish Gene reframes evolution from the organism's point of view to the gene's.
Both dig into evolution.
Read the summary → - A Crack in Creation: Gene Editing and the Unthinkable Power to Control Evolution
03
A Crack in Creation: Gene Editing and the Unthinkable Power to Control Evolution
Jennifer A. Doudna and Samuel H. Sternberg · Science
A Crack in Creation is Jennifer Doudna and Samuel Sternberg's account of how CRISPR-Cas9 works, what it can do, and why its possibilities should give everyone pause.
Both dig into evolution.
Read the summary → - The Double Helix
04
James D. Watson · Science
The Double Helix is James Watson's account of the race to determine the structure of DNA, which he and Francis Crick solved in 1953 at Cambridge.
A kindred science read.
Read the summary → - The Gene: An Intimate History
05
Siddhartha Mukherjee · Science
The Gene is Siddhartha Mukherjee's account of the gene — what it is, how it was discovered, and what humanity has done and might yet do with that knowledge.
Both dig into evolution.
Read the summary → - Life Ascending
06
Nick Lane · Science
Life Ascending is Nick Lane's examination of what he calls evolution's ten greatest inventions: the origin of life itself, DNA, photosynthesis, the complex cell, sex, movement, sight, hot blood, consciousness, and death.
Shares evolution and origins of life with Transformer.
Read the summary → - The Vital Question
07
Nick Lane · Science
The Vital Question asks why life is the way it is — why all complex life is eukaryotic, why eukaryotes all have mitochondria, why sex exists, why organisms age and die, and why life may be exceedingly rare in the universe.
Shares evolution and origins of life with Transformer.
Read the summary → - A Short History of Nearly Everything
08
A Short History of Nearly Everything
Bill Bryson · Science
A Short History of Nearly Everything is Bill Bryson's attempt to understand the scientific story of everything — from the Big Bang to the emergence of modern humans — by spending three years talking to scientists and reading science history.
Both dig into evolution.
Read the summary → - Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?
09
Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?
Frans de Waal · Science
Frans de Waal's central argument is that we've spent most of the last century asking the wrong questions about animal intelligence.
Both dig into evolution.
Read the summary → - Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst
10
Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst
Robert M. Sapolsky · Science
Behave is Robert Sapolsky's attempt to explain why humans do what they do — the violence, the altruism, the tribalism, the heroism — by working through every layer of biology that contributes to a single act.
Both dig into evolution.
Read the summary → - Climbing Mount Improbable
11
Richard Dawkins · Science
Climbing Mount Improbable is Richard Dawkins's response to the persistent intuition that complex biological structures — the vertebrate eye, insect wings, spider webs — are too improbable to have evolved by chance.
Both dig into evolution.
Read the summary → - Cosmos
12
Carl Sagan · Science
Cosmos is Carl Sagan's attempt to tell the full story of the universe and humanity's place in it — from the Big Bang to the origins of life to the rise of science as a way of knowing.
Both dig into evolution.
Read the summary →
Books like Transformer: quick answers
What are the best books like Transformer?
The best books like Transformer by Nick Lane are A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking, The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins, A Crack in Creation: Gene Editing and the Unthinkable Power to Control Evolution by Jennifer A. Doudna and Samuel H. Sternberg, The Double Helix by James D. Watson, The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee, plus 7 more below. Each was chosen for themes it shares with Transformer, such as metabolism, evolution, origins of life.
What should I read after Transformer?
A natural next read after Transformer is A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking. A kindred science read. Other strong choices are The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins, A Crack in Creation: Gene Editing and the Unthinkable Power to Control Evolution by Jennifer A. Doudna and Samuel H. Sternberg, The Double Helix by James D. Watson.
What books are similar to Transformer by Nick Lane?
Transformer centers on metabolism, evolution, origins of life. Books with a similar feel include A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking, The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins, A Crack in Creation: Gene Editing and the Unthinkable Power to Control Evolution by Jennifer A. Doudna and Samuel H. Sternberg, The Double Helix by James D. Watson, The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee, Life Ascending by Nick Lane — all free to read and chat with on Superbook.
