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Great science-minded coffee table books

Decorative books that are beautiful and fascinating. Just like you.

By Billy Cadden

Updated: July 10, 2019

Coffee Table Books — Want to feel like an adult? Buy a big glossy book for your coffee table.Pixabay

Haters don't understand "the point" of coffee table books. These thick decorative tomes can do a lot, though. They offer something for your guests to flip through while you're grabbing beers or brewing tea. They're good for gussying up Instagram photos and can serve as appealing monitor stands. Even if your coffee table books don't do anything, per se, they're still a fun way to express your personality and interests.

We've picked out some stunning volumes for folks who love science. These books showcase photos from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and feature deconstructed Swiss Army knives. Read on.

The Life and Love of the Sea Hardcover Lewis Blackwell — The Life and Love of the Sea is an amazing collection of underwater photography. The book shows things such as packs of penguins darting to the surface and gives access to bonus footage through a scannable QR code.Amazon

Things Come Apart: A Teardown Manual for Modern Living by Todd McLellan — Things Come Apart: A Teardown Manual for Modern Living deconstructs electronics and other machines, then artfully arranges the pieces. See all the parts that make up a watch, a bicycle, or a blender from the 1960s.Amazon

Underwater Dogs by Seth Casteel — Underwater Dogs might be the best thing on the planet. View dogs as they jump into water. It's the cutest.Amazon

The Art of Clean Up: Life Made Neat and Tidy by Ursus Wehrli — The Art of Clean Up: Life Made Neat and Tidy captures the compulsive organization of everyday items by color, size, and letter of the alphabet. Some of the objects include spices, drying laundry, and soup.Amazon

by Bernhard Edmaier — Just a bunch of lovely pictures of water.Amazon

Wildlife of the World by DK Publishing — Learn about cheetahs, jaguars, penguins, and a whole lot more in the 480 pages of Wildlife of the World.Amazon

Taste: The Infographic Book of Food by Laura Rowe — Taste: The Infographic Book of Food explores food through infographics. The book visualizes things like how many types of apples exist in the world, nutritional stats, and how acids in fruit give them their tastes.Amazon

Star Wars: The Blueprints by J.W. Rinzler — Star Wars: The Blueprints takes a look at the Star Wars universe through over 250 blueprints and more than 500 photographs of spaceships, droids, and designs the different worlds.Amazon

Sea by Mark Laita — Sea is a beautiful compilation of deep sea critters. On inky, eerie backdrops find jellyfish, sea horses, and eels.Amazon

Earth and Space: Photographs from the Archives of NASA by Nirmala Nataraj — Earth and Space: Photographs from the Archives of NASA gives you a glance at the solar system and the celestial bodies of space. Each photo is accompanied by text, so you'll be able to learn about Pandora's Cluster, solar flares, and space dust.Amazon

Evolution: A Visual Record by Robert Clark — In his Evolution: A Visual Record, Robert Clark uses photos of reptiles, plants, and mammals as a springboard for a discussion on evolutionary biology.Amazon

Geek-Art: An Anthology: Art, Design, Illustration & Pop Culture by Thomas Olivri — Geek-Art: An Anthology: Art, Design, Illustration & Pop Culture has over 750 images of geek-inspired art, including Lego-created Star Wars sets and superhero cards styled as antique baseball cards.Amazon

The Geometry of Pasta The Geometry of Pasta by Caz Hildebrand and Jacob Kenedy — The Geometry of Pasta explores the history and shapes of your favorite noodles. Also included: sauce recipes, instructions about when you should salt your water, and a look at how shapes were created to optimize sauce delivery. You'll have a lot to say at dinner parties.Amazon

Hubble: Imaging Space and Time by David H. Devorkin and Robert Smith — Hubble: Imaging Space and Time has more than 200 images taken from the Hubble Space Telescope. The book, published in 2008, shows the birth of a star, how black holes affect other galaxies, and a "giant galaxy cannibalizing a smaller galaxy."Amazon

The LEGO Architect by by Tom Alphin — These LEGO structures span seven architectural styles, including Neoclassical, Prairie, and Art Deco.Amazon

Overview: A New Perspective of Earth by Benjamin Grant — Overview: A New Perspective of Earth showcases over 200 photos of how humans have influenced industry, agriculture, architecture, and nature from above. For example: the book shows areas where we have extracted ore and left "scar tissue" and "artificial" colors.Amazon

Pantone: The Twentieth Century in Color by Leatrice Eiseman and Keith Recker — The authors of Pantone: The Twentieth Century in Color point to over 200 art pieces that they match to specific Pantone colors in order to examine color trends over time.Amazon

Philographics: Big Ideas in Simple Shapes by Genis Carreras — Philographics: Big Ideas in Simple Shapes attempts to merge philosophy and graphic design by illustrating complex ideas—absolutism, relativism, and existentialism—through geometric shapes and colors.Amazon

Plant: Exploring the Botanical World — Plant: Exploring the Botanical World takes a look at plant-life through photography, watercolor, and micrograph scans (which shows microscopic details about an item's surface composition and topography).Amazon

100 Diagrams That Changed the World: From the Earliest Cave Paintings to the Innovation of the iPod — Take a look at 100 Diagrams That Changed the World: From the Earliest Cave Paintings to the Innovation of the iPod to check out influential designs, like early versions of the color wheel.Amazon

Above the World: Earth Through A Drone's Eye — Above the World: Earth Through A Drone's Eye is a book of photos from professional and nonprofessional drone photographers.Amazon

Animalium: Welcome to the Museum by Jenny Broom — Animalium: Welcome to the Museum has 200 full-color illustrations—a collection intended to mimic the experience of attending the actual natural history museum.Amazon

Ansel Adams in the National Parks: Photographs from America's Wild Places — Interested in nature and parks? Take a look at Ansel Adams in the National Parks: Photographs from America's Wild Places. It has over 200 unpublished photos. Adams, of course, was an American photographer and environmentalist famous for his work with the American wilderness.Amazon

Cabin Porn: Inspiration for Your Quiet Place Somewhere by Zach Klein and Steven Leckart — Drool over cabins and the woods with Cabin Porn: Inspiration for Your Quiet Place Somewhere.Amazon

Beaches by Gray Malin — Beaches lets you take a quick vacation around the world. View beautiful images of beaches from Capri to Cape Town.Amazon

The Designer's Cookbook: 12 Colors, 12 Menus — The Designer's Cookbook: 12 Colors, 12 Menus is a cookbook with a design twist. Each "menu" is color coordinated, so you can have an entirely red meal, with red onion soup, red velvet salad with raspberry dressing, and red wine sherbert.Amazon

Crap Taxidermy by Kat Su — Crap Taxidermy is exactly what it sounds like.Amazon

Dogs by Lewis Blackwell — Dogs is a photographic tribute to man's best friend. See Afghan hounds, Dalmatians and Hungarian Komondors as they run, jump, and nap.Amazon

Earth On Fire: How Volcanoes Shape Our Planet by Angelika Jung-Huettl — Earth On Fire: How Volcanoes Shape Our Planet features photos of flowing lava, plumes of smoke, and ash-coated scenery.Amazon

EarthArt: Colours of the Earth by Bernhard Edmaier — EarthArt: Colours of the Earth is a collection of 150 aerial photos of the world, including vast deserts, oceans, and bubbling mud pools.Amazon

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