Happiness wins science book prize

A scientific exploration of the various ways people attempt to make themselves happy has won the annual Royal Society Prize for Science Books.Daniel Gilbert's Stumbling on Happiness had been tipped as the favourite to win the prestigious £10,000 award. It beat five other titles including Henry Nicholl's Lonesome George, an account of the last known individual of a subspecies of Galapagos tortoise.Each runner up received £1,000 at a ceremony at the Society's headquarters.

Professor Colin Pillinger, from the Open University in Milton Keynes, chaired the judging panel. He said that all of the books had been "excellent" and deciding on first prize had been "extremely difficult".
Discussing the winner he said: "Daniel Gilbert's voice provides a witty companion throughout this exploration of the science behind the pursuit of happiness.
"He uses cognitive science and psychology to provide intriguing insights into human nature, helping us to understand why we make the decisions we do."
Perhaps all children need is the confidence to approach a subject with enthusiasm and an open mind
Richard Hammond, junior prize winner
Gilbert himself was thrilled to take the book prize. "I'm absolutely delighted to receive this tremendous honour from the world's oldest learned society," said the Harvard University psychology professor.
"There are very few countries (including my own - the US) where a somewhat cheeky book about happiness could win a science prize - but the British invented intellectual humour and have always understood that enlightenment and entertainment are natural friends. So God bless the empire!"
Read on...

Tour de force

Now in its 19th year, the award was known as the Rhone-Poulenc Prize from 1990 to 1999. Until this year, it went by the name of the Aventis Prize but now bears the name of the Royal Society.

There are two categories: the junior prize, which is given to the best book written for under-14s, and the general prize, for the best book written for a more general readership.

This year's junior prize was won by BBC Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond for his book Can You Feel the Force? published by Dorling Kindersley (DK). It explores the world of physics.

Eleanor Updale, children's writer and chair of the junior judging panel, said it was an "instantly appealing book".

"With clear illustrations, practical experiments, and well-paced text, it makes an interest in science look like fun," she said.

Reacting to his win, Richard Hammond, who also presents the science series Brainiac on UK TV, said: "I was immediately captivated when the team at Dorling Kindersley approached me about making a book to try to bring physics to life.

"Perhaps all children need is the confidence to approach a subject with enthusiasm and an open mind. The DK team gave them just that and winning this award is recognition for a group of very talented people."

The general prize is often referred to as the "Booker prize for science writing", although the science prize winner often outsells its better-known counterpart.

Past winners have included Bill Bryson, Stephen Hawking and Chris McManus.

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