This summer’s nonfiction releases range from the intriguing to the empowering, and every one is utterly engrossing. Here are our recommendations of the top nonfiction books arriving this summer — reads that will transport you to the mysterious depths of the ocean, place you in the middle of history, and take you on powerful inner journeys. Publishers’ descriptions included below.

1. The Last Unknowns, edited by John Brockman

This is a little book of profound questions — unknowns that address the secrets of our world, our civilization, the meaning of life. Here are the deepest riddles that have fascinated, obsessed, and haunted the greatest thinkers of our time, including Nobel laureates, cosmologists, philosophers, economists, prize-winning novelists, religious scholars, and more than 250 leading scientists, artists, and theorists. In The Last Unknowns, John Brockman, publisher of Edge.org, asks “a mind-blowing gathering of innovative thinkers” (Booklist): “What is ‘The Last Question,’ your last question, the question for which you will be remembered?”