Includes bibliographical references and index.

a Introduction: What this book is about and why you might want to read it -- Prologue: Three orphans share a common paternity : professional science communication, popular journalism and literary fiction are not as separate as they seem -- Spreading the word : problems with publishing professional science -- Walk like an Egyptian : the alien feeling of professional science writing -- The future's bright? : professional science communication in the age of the internet -- Counting the horse's teeth : professional standards in science's barter economy -- Separating the wheat from the chaff : peer review on trial -- The public understanding of science (PUS) movement and its problems -- Public engagement with science and technology (PEST) : good principle, difficult practice -- Citizen scientists? : democratic input into science policy -- Teaching and learning science in school : implications for popular science communication -- What every scientist should know about mass media -- What every scientist should know about journalists -- The influence of new media -- How the media represent science -- How should science journalists behave? -- A terrible storm in Wittenberg : natural knowledge through sorcery and evil -- A terrible storm in the Mediterranean : controlling nature with white magic and religion -- Thieving magpies : the subtle art of false projecting -- Foolish virtuosi : natural philosophy emerges as a distinct discipline but many cannot take it seriously -- Is scientific knowledge 'true' or should it just be 'truthfully' deployed? -- Science and the Gothic : the three big nineteenth century monster stories -- Science fiction : serious literature or low grade entertainment? -- Science in British literary fiction -- Science on stage : the politics and ethics of science in cultural and educational contexts.