I heard about The Alchemy of Us (Amazon) when the author (Ainissa Ramirez) was on the Broad Experience podcast, talking about her work in Science Communications and the challenges of being a Black woman in science (great episode).
I immediately bought the book, and then took… 8 months to get to reading it. It’s a lovely book, though. All about key inventions in science and the stories around them. The people you don’t usually hear about, like the guy who inspired Edison to make the electic lightbulb (William Wallace). The failures of the would-be organic chemist who went on to perfect glass composition (Otto Schott). The woman (Ruth Belville) who sold time. It’s an easy but informative read, I really enjoyed it.