Why we seek to fly: Books in brief

BOOK REVIEW

12 June 2026

Andrew Robinson reviews five of the best science picks.

By

Andrew Robinson

Andrew Robinson is a writer based in London and author of Earthshock (1993), The Story of Measurement (2007) and Einstein in Oxford (2024).

A Giant Leap

Robert Wachter Portfolio (2026)

Artificial intelligence is emerging as a crucial medical tool. In many clinics, digital scribes convert doctor–patient conversations into formatted notes. A 2025 Gallup survey showed that 61% of Americans were in favour of AI in health care, unlike in many other fields. Robert Wachter, a physician since the 1980s, analyses these developments in US health care in fascinating depth, concluding that AI alone is unlikely to diagnose “acute and complex chronic conditions” and will never replace human doctors.

Birds Up Close

Lorna Gibson MIT Press (2026)

Most ornithology books are written by biologists or zoologists. By contrast, Lorna Gibson is a retired engineer. She brings a perspective shaped by a lifelong fascination with birds, exploring their physiology through the lens of physics and engineering. One example is the common myth that woodpecker skulls contain a foam-like material that absorbs shocks as they hammer trees up to 20 times a second. Gibson shows that, instead, protection lies in their brain’s very small mass — about two grams — which limits the forces acting on it.

Move Slow and Upgrade

Evan Sellinger & Albert Fox Cahn Cambridge Univ. Press (2026)

The title of this fascinating book is a reaction to “move fast and break things” — Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg’s motto when designing Facebook. Rejecting big tech’s ethos, and covering topics from cryptocurrency to home security, philosopher Evan Sellinger and lawyer Albert Cahn argue that most technological innovations should aim at incremental upgrades, not revolutionary breakthroughs. For example, engineers should improve the buttons on car dashboards, not introduce potentially dangerous touch screens.

Why Fly

Caroline Paul Bloomsbury (2026)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-01911-z

Competing Interests

The author declares no competing interests.