Most studies of how people acquire information about science focus on the news media-newspapers, magazines, radio, and television . Widely read books, however, also make an important contribution. Less condensed than news reports, they have a greater opportunity to introduce readers to the workings and philosophy of science. They can describe how scientists get their ideas, carry out their experiments, interpret the results, and fit new ideas into the context of a field. They can also present science as a human endeavor individually fashioned by the men and women who participate.
Publishers introduce a large number of trade books about science each year.
Those that will have the strongest influence on public are those that reach the most readers. The AAAS WWW server is maintained by the AAAS Webmaster . Please forward all comments or corrections to the appropriate person.