Reading lists

Every list we’ve made: our own picks, curated lists across every subject, and collections like Cambridge’s reading lists.

A Mathematician's Apology

G. H. Hardy info

First published 1940

The Feynman Lectures on Physics, Volume I: Mainly Mechanics, Radiation, and Heat

Richard P. Feynman info, Robert B. Leighton info, Matthew Sands info

First published 1963

Quantum Mechanics: Non-Relativistic Theory

Lev Landau info, Evgeny Lifshitz info

First published 1958

AI × MATH

Fermat's Last Theorem

Simon Singh

First published 1997

Capital: A Critique of Political Economy, Volume I

Karl Marx info

First published 1867

Minds, Brains and Science

John Searle info

First published 1984

The New Quantum Universe

Tony Hey, Patrick Walters

First published 2003

The Particle at the End of the Universe

Sean Carroll

First published 2012

Closing the Gap: The Quest to Understand Prime Numbers

AI × MATH

Closing the Gap: The Quest to Understand Prime Numbers

Vicky Neale

First published 2017

AI × MATH

The Music of the Primes

Marcus du Sautoy

First published 2003

The Communist Manifesto

Karl Marx info, Friedrich Engels info

First published 1848

End Times Fascism: And the Fight for the Living World

Naomi Klein info, Astra Taylor info

First published 2026

For when the ‘essential reading’ isn’t enough

Higher Algebra

H. S. Hall info, S. R. Knight info

First published 1887

Plane Trigonometry, Part I

S. L. Loney info

First published 1893

Advanced Problems in Mathematics: Preparing for University

Stephen Siklos

First published 2016

Problems in General Physics

I. E. Irodov info

First published 1979

An Introduction to Mechanics

Daniel Kleppner, Robert J. Kolenkow

First published 1973

Advanced Problems in Core Mathematics

Stephen Siklos

First published 2014

200 Puzzling Physics Problems

Péter Gnädig, Gyula Honyek, Ken Riley

First published 2001

Aptitude Test Problems in Physics

S. S. Krotov

First published 1990

AI × MATH

A Mathematical Olympiad Primer

Geoff Smith

First published 2007

The Elements of Coordinate Geometry

S. L. Loney info

First published 1895

Algebra: An Elementary Text-Book, Part I

George Chrystal info

First published 1886

Gatekept: Mathematics

Higher Algebra

H. S. Hall info, S. R. Knight info

First published 1887

Plane Trigonometry, Part I

S. L. Loney info

First published 1893

The Elements of Coordinate Geometry

S. L. Loney info

First published 1895

Algebra: An Elementary Text-Book, Part I

George Chrystal info

First published 1886

The Thirteen Books of Euclid's Elements, Volume 1 (Books I–II)

AI × MATH

The Thirteen Books of Euclid's Elements, Volume 1 (Books I–II)

Euclid info, Thomas L. Heath info

First published 300 BC

A Course of Pure Mathematics

G. H. Hardy info

First published 1908

Cambridge reading list: Mathematics

How to Think Like a Mathematician

Kevin Houston

First published 2009

How to Solve It

George Pólya info

First published 1945

Closing the Gap: The Quest to Understand Prime Numbers

AI × MATH

Closing the Gap: The Quest to Understand Prime Numbers

Vicky Neale

First published 2017

Euler's Pioneering Equation

Robin Wilson

First published 2018

A Mathematician's Apology

G. H. Hardy info

First published 1940

AI × MATH

Fermat's Last Theorem

Simon Singh

First published 1997

AI × MATH

The Man Who Loved Only Numbers

Paul Hoffman

First published 1998

AI × MATH

The Music of the Primes

Marcus du Sautoy

First published 2003

Calculus for the Ambitious

T. W. Körner

First published 2014

Chaos and Fractals: An Elementary Introduction

David P. Feldman

First published 2012

Mathematics: A Very Short Introduction

Timothy Gowers

First published 2002

What Is Mathematics?

Richard Courant info, Herbert Robbins info

First published 1941

Essential reading

The Thirteen Books of Euclid's Elements, Volume 1 (Books I–II)

AI × MATH

The Thirteen Books of Euclid's Elements, Volume 1 (Books I–II)

Euclid info, Thomas L. Heath info

First published 300 BC

The Art of Computer Programming, Volume 1: Fundamental Algorithms

Donald E. Knuth info

First published 1968

Mechanics

Lev Landau info, Evgeny Lifshitz info

First published 1960

Ion Channels of Excitable Membranes

Bertil Hille info

First published 1984

Theoretical Neuroscience

Peter Dayan info, L. F. Abbott info

First published 2001

Reinforcement Learning: An Introduction

Richard S. Sutton info, Andrew G. Barto info

First published 1998

The Republic

Plato info

First published 375 BC

Organic Chemistry

Jonathan Clayden info, Nick Greeves info, Stuart Warren info

First published 2000

On the Origin of Species

Charles Darwin info

First published 1859

Molecular Biology of the Cell

Bruce Alberts info

First published 1983

The Wealth of Nations

Adam Smith info

First published 1776

History of the Peloponnesian War

Thucydides info

First published 400 BC

The books each subject is built on.

The classics

The Thirteen Books of Euclid's Elements, Volume 1 (Books I–II)

AI × MATH

The Thirteen Books of Euclid's Elements, Volume 1 (Books I–II)

Euclid info, Thomas L. Heath info

First published 300 BC

The Art of Computer Programming, Volume 1: Fundamental Algorithms

Donald E. Knuth info

First published 1968

Mechanics

Lev Landau info, Evgeny Lifshitz info

First published 1960

Ion Channels of Excitable Membranes

Bertil Hille info

First published 1984

Reinforcement Learning: An Introduction

Richard S. Sutton info, Andrew G. Barto info

First published 1998

The Republic

Plato info

First published 375 BC

The Nature of the Chemical Bond

Linus Pauling info

First published 1939

On the Origin of Species

Charles Darwin info

First published 1859

Molecular Biology of the Cell

Bruce Alberts info

First published 1983

The Wealth of Nations

Adam Smith info

First published 1776

History of the Peloponnesian War

Thucydides info

First published 400 BC

The Concept of Law

H. L. A. Hart info

First published 1961

Read for generations, and still worth it.

Hidden gems

The Thirteen Books of Euclid's Elements, Volume 1 (Books I–II)

AI × MATH

The Thirteen Books of Euclid's Elements, Volume 1 (Books I–II)

Euclid info, Thomas L. Heath info

First published 300 BC

The Mathematical Theory of Communication

Claude E. Shannon info, Warren Weaver info

First published 1949

Experimental Researches in Electricity, Volume I

Michael Faraday info

First published 1839

The Computer and the Brain

John von Neumann info

First published 1958

Eye, Brain, and Vision

David H. Hubel info

First published 1988

The Problems of Philosophy

Bertrand Russell info

First published 1912

The Chemical History of a Candle

Michael Faraday info

First published 1861

What Is Life?

Erwin Schrödinger info

First published 1944

Introduction to Protein Structure

Carl Branden info, John Tooze info

First published 1991

Essence of Decision

Graham T. Allison info

First published 1971

Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature

Erich Auerbach info

First published 1946

Language: An Introduction to the Study of Speech

Edward Sapir info

First published 1921

Less well known, and better than their fame.

Vintage

The Thirteen Books of Euclid's Elements, Volume 1 (Books I–II)

AI × MATH

The Thirteen Books of Euclid's Elements, Volume 1 (Books I–II)

Euclid info, Thomas L. Heath info

First published 300 BC

A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism

James Clerk Maxwell info

First published 1873

The Nature of the Chemical Bond

Linus Pauling info

First published 1939

On the Origin of Species

Charles Darwin info

First published 1859

The Mathematical Theory of Communication

Claude E. Shannon info, Warren Weaver info

First published 1949

The Computer and the Brain

John von Neumann info

First published 1958

The Organization of Behavior

D. O. Hebb info

First published 1949

The Problems of Philosophy

Bertrand Russell info

First published 1912

The Principles of Psychology

William James info

First published 1890

The Mind of a Mnemonist

A. R. Luria info

First published 1968

Course in General Linguistics

Ferdinand de Saussure info

First published 1916

Argonauts of the Western Pacific

Bronisław Malinowski info

First published 1922

Older editions with a character of their own.

Reading lists

Books everyone’s talking about

For when the ‘essential reading’ isn’t enough

Gatekept: Mathematics

Cambridge reading list: Mathematics

Essential reading

The classics

Hidden gems

Popular

Vintage

Collections

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