In tight economic times, the concerns and issues of science, viewed as not having enough practical value, can get pushed aside. But the top science books of 2008 demonstrate how science more often than not pays for itself. What's more practical than food (Tomorrow's Table), health (Our Daily Meds), the environment (The Hot Topics), or even--sex (Bonk). And the more theoretical science (Symmetry, The Physics of the Impossible) is fuel for the imagination that sustains individuals in hard times. This article presents a list of the best sci-tech books of 2008.