Question

"The Riemann legacy: Riemannian ideas in mathematics and physics" By Krzysztof Maurin

I recommended it already in my answer to the following MO question:

http://mathoverflow.net/questions/75504/historical-basis-and-mathematical-significance-of-riemann-surfaces/75542#75542

But there is much more in there than Riemann surfaces:

http://books.google.com/books?id=jlll448aDLEC&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:Maurin&hl=en&ei=5CpyTr2-HOGusQLfz-X1CQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q&f=false

As for Umberto Eco's books, my favorite is:

Kant and the Platypus : Essays on Language and Cognition (ISBN 0-15-601159-X) :)