Mick O'Hare

Mick O'Hare is the editor of one of the surprise hits of the 2005 Christmas bestseller lists, Does Anything Eat Wasps?, a compilation of quirky and unusual science-related questions posed and answered by readers of New Scientist magazine. Such was the book's success, he has written a follow-up volume along the same lines, with the intriguing title Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze?. (It all to do with the heat exchanges at the tops of their legs, apparently…)

Mick confesses that he's not a prolific reader, but lists three books as his current reading.

The first is Captain Scottt by Ranulph Fiennes which O'Hare notes is much more sympathetic to Captain Scott than previous accounts of his life have been. "Scott was revered in Britain but in the late 20th century history was revised…he became an idiot with ham-fisted planning who ended up killing himself and his companions. Fiennes is counter-revisionist, contending that Scott made all of the right decisions at the time - he really was a complete victim of circumstance."

O'Hare is also reading another book on the same subject; The Coldest March by Dr Susan Solomon, an American meteorologist. "Her approach to Scott's expedition is a little more objective, but she comes to similar conclusions: Scott wasn't the idiot that he's been portrayed as - he was unlucky."

"My third book is Rugby League in 20th century Britain: A Social and Cultural History by Tony Collins. Collins has an incredible breadth of knowledge about rugby and his research is superb."

Captain Scott by Ranulph Fiennes: RRP: £8.99
The Coldest March: Scott's Fatal Antarctic Expedition by Dr Susan Solomon RRP: £10.95
Rugby League in 20th century Britain: A Social and Cultural History by Tony Collins RRP: £23.99