You can learn a lot about what makes a brilliant mind tick by looking at the books on their bedside table. Beyond reading research in their field, the most famous and successful scientists take the time to read books about every subject imaginable.
We compiled a list of book recommendations from a handful of illustrious minds by combing the web for quotes, checking out personal blogs, and even asking them directly. The picks below come from popular scientists like Bill Nye, surgeons-turned-writers like Siddhartha Mukherjee, and globe-trotting superheroes like Jane Goodall.
The books they've recommended range from high fantasy, like Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings," to canonical, like Plato's seminal work "The Republic."
Here are 12 books that brilliant scientists consider must-reads:
Jane Goodall: "The Lord of the Rings" by J.R.R. Tolkien
Jane Goodall is a big fan of J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.
Goodall famously read the books to her son while studying chimpanzees in Gombe, Tanzania in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She even named a precocious chimpanzee "Frodo" after the trilogy's main character.
She was also a fan of the movies and told W Magazine that "The Fellowship of the Ring" is one film that "really sticks with me."
Neil deGrasse Tyson: "On the Origin of Species" by Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin's seminal work exploring the theory of evolution is a text that popular astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson thinks everyone should read.
Tyson said in a Reddit Ask-Me-Anything thread that Darwin's book will help you "learn of our kinship with all other life on Earth."
"On the Origin of Species" is considered the foundation of the field of evolutionary biology, and popularized the concept of evolution through natural selection.
Carl Sagan: "The Republic" by Plato
One of the world's most influential works of political theory, Plato's "The Republic" is the foundation of much of Western philosophy (and a sometimes daunting assignment for many college freshmen).
Astronomer Carl Sagan, however, put the book on his personal reading list — books to tackle in his free time outside of class — when he was studying at the University of Chicago.
Plato's book is written as a dialogue with Socrates and evaluates differing notions of justice and morality.
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