So now that I’ve relaxed my own criteria, here’s my list:
World History
Atlas of World History by John Haywood (unfortunately out of print): Really excellent for getting a detailed balanced understanding of world history. Also excellent at pointing out causes and effects. Good coverage of political, demographic, and economic history, but very poor for cultural and intellectual history.
Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari (LW summary): Some controversial positions presented as accepted fact, but otherwise very good overview of the social science aspects of the history of humanity.
Biology
The Machinery of Life: Hand-drawn pictures gives an excellent sense of how the cell operates.
So now that I’ve relaxed my own criteria, here’s my list:
World History
Atlas of World History by John Haywood (unfortunately out of print): Really excellent for getting a detailed balanced understanding of world history. Also excellent at pointing out causes and effects. Good coverage of political, demographic, and economic history, but very poor for cultural and intellectual history.
Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari (LW summary): Some controversial positions presented as accepted fact, but otherwise very good overview of the social science aspects of the history of humanity.
Biology
The Machinery of Life: Hand-drawn pictures gives an excellent sense of how the cell operates.
Life Unfolding: How the Human Body Creates Itself
Your Inner Fish: Good introduction to evolution. Also available as DVD from PBS.
Physics: See here
I guess that Haywood’s Atlas is out of print because there is something like a second edition, although I could be wrong in that characterization.