Let’s face it; in this day of both social media and an often ill-educated general public, all of us who write about any aspect of science are involved in science communication – or as it is often identified in a hashtag, #scicomm. Consequently, we have a responsibility no only to engage our readers but to inform them in a way that they will not only remember what we wrote but also not be confused by the manner in which it was written.

Which is why I have been particularly pleased to see the recent releases of a number of books that take science communication as their topic. I have previously cited the release this past February of The Chicago Guide to Communicating Science: Second Edition by The University of Chicago Press. And now, for those who are prepared to venture a bit farther into the metaphorical deep end of the pool, comes also to my attention The Oxford Handbook of the Science of Science Communication.

Published (of course) by Oxford University Press and edited by Kathleen Hall Jamieson, Dan Kahan, and Dietram A. Scheufele, this newly published handbook collects recent case studies on aspects of the subject written by some of the foremost experts in the fields of communications and psychology. While admittedly a bit dear in price, this volume is a worthy investment for anyone wishing to take their practice of science communication to the highest level.