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A Little History of Science
Science is fantastic. It tells us about the infinite reaches of space, the tiniest living organism, the human body, the history of Earth. People have always been doing science because they have always wanted to make sense of the world and harness its power. From ancient Greek philosophers through Einstein and Watson and Crick to the computer-assisted scientists of today, m...more
Hardcover, 263 pages
Published
November 6th 2012
by Yale University Press
(first published October 15th 2012)
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This is a good book that nicely packs the most important work of scientists throughout history. In the 2nd century the Chinese learned how to magnetize iron by a method of high heating and cooling which caused it to point in the North-South direction. The Chinese also invented gun powder by blending charcoal, sulphur and potassium nitrate. In this century the Chinese produced the first medical books. Acupuncture also emerged as a medical treatment at this time.
Aristotle’s writings dominated sci...more
Aristotle’s writings dominated sci...more
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I love books that look at the history of ideas and was quite disappointed by the old-fashioned, timeline minus analysis approach of this book. The lack of analysis made the book less interesting than it should have been – part of the joy of thinking about the history of science is seeing the gradual or sudden insights into physical world or the world of mathematical ideas and how these insights led to changes in how human beings saw their place in the world.
It was also old-fashioned in the sense...more
It was also old-fashioned in the sense...more
Doing all of science in one book is not an easy task, nor is it obvious how to go about it. William Bynum has chosen to provide us with a breezy high speed canter through the history of science, with the keyword being ‘history’. There is a lot of about the people involved and the context, always good from a popular science viewpoint.
Bynum manages to do this in an approachable way – almost too approachable sometimes as the style veers between writing for adults and for children. The bumf says ‘th...more
Bynum manages to do this in an approachable way – almost too approachable sometimes as the style veers between writing for adults and for children. The bumf says ‘th...more
http://www.cozylittlebookjournal.com/...
As a book, this is fascinating. I learned so much and I loved the way the information was arranged. It's not a science textbook. It really is a "popular history of science" in that it is very accessible and digestible. I loved it.
As an audiobook, it's still good, but I'm also extremely picky when it comes to audio narration. At least I think I am. I know I seem to be annoyed by quirks in narrator voices at a much higher rate than my partner, Mike, is. So m...more
As a book, this is fascinating. I learned so much and I loved the way the information was arranged. It's not a science textbook. It really is a "popular history of science" in that it is very accessible and digestible. I loved it.
As an audiobook, it's still good, but I'm also extremely picky when it comes to audio narration. At least I think I am. I know I seem to be annoyed by quirks in narrator voices at a much higher rate than my partner, Mike, is. So m...more
As the title suggests - and which is of no surprise - this book provides an excellent, but brief overview of the history of science. After reading other reviews, I noticed many people were unhappy with the length or subject matter so I guess I went into this one with lower expectations.
My background is in biology, so naturally I'd prefer to read more about the history of life sciences, but I thought Bynum did a fair job of mixing the physical and life sciences together. I was a bit surprised tha...more
My background is in biology, so naturally I'd prefer to read more about the history of life sciences, but I thought Bynum did a fair job of mixing the physical and life sciences together. I was a bit surprised tha...more
"A Little History of Science" is exactly what the title claims, no more or less. Millennia of human history and scientific inquiry are packed into this short book. It is written at a very approachable reading level and could be read by anyone middle-grade or higher. It is entertaining and somewhat well-organized, being organized both chronologically and topically. A general lack of citations, detailed information or any kind of analysis of information prevents this from being a true research boo...more
I won a copy of A Little History of Science from a firstreads giveaway, and I was expecting something a bit loftier and academic. Instead, W.F. Bynum has composed a short and sweet synopsis of science, focused on the greatest scientists of history. Bynum starts with ancient Chinese scholars learning to make compasses, and works his way through Plato, Newton, Darwin, Watson and Crick, Babbage, and many others.
Bynum's book does for the science what Gombrich's A Little History of the World did for...more
Bynum's book does for the science what Gombrich's A Little History of the World did for...more
this would be more like a 3 and 1/2, but i decided to round up. overall this was a really cool book. bynum manages to fit a basic history of science into a relatively short book. however this book is not for beginners wishing to be introduced to a subject. it is better read as a follow up (after learning about the subjects of the book). this way, you already know about the topics, but are learning about the roots of the subject, which is veryvery interesting. i liked mostly and thought it was go...more
Compressing millenia of scientific development into 250 pages is not an easy task. Bynum takes a good stab at it. He believes magic, religion, technology, and science have been the tools to understand and control the world. I would have been confused in a number of places if I hadn't already known a fair amount about the topics, so I wouldn't consider it an introductory book. Still worth reading to put developments in context.
Briefly comprehensive is the kind of strange oxymoron that would apply to this book. Written in short, digestible chapters, it attempts to explain human science from the development of numbers to the deciphering of the human genome.
Written for younger readers, it's the sort of book, I would have devoured easily when I was 12 years old (and would seem to be recommended for about that age). Nitpickers will always point out what is missing, but for a book of about 272 pages, the only thing that mig...more
Written for younger readers, it's the sort of book, I would have devoured easily when I was 12 years old (and would seem to be recommended for about that age). Nitpickers will always point out what is missing, but for a book of about 272 pages, the only thing that mig...more
fast paced, chock full of fun science, ranges over wide time span and scope of science thought through the ages. but also very elementary and kinda boring if one already knkows all this stuff. would be great for younger readers cept very little illustrations and index not very robust.
I won this book in a giveaway. The topic is very vague and broad, so the author can not go into depth as you would want. It is more of a timeline, but the great part is that I was able to add notes to the book. This book makes a great reference guide.
Dec 08, 2012
Richard
added it
Very short chapters broken into specific scientific discoveries i.e. - viruses, gravity, natural selection, etc. Kinda boring, some bits of it, but I was able to plow thru it ....
Interesting, but sometimes got the science wrong. Horrible explanation of tides.
prh li ye bhi
Learned a lot and enjoyed the process.
Mar 27, 2013
Athena
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Teens, Adults
Recommended to Athena by:
Netgalley
A Little History of Science provides an excellent introduction the history of science. I appreciated that the author did not write the book in a textbook format but as a non-fiction novel. I was caught up in the book from the beginning to the very end. I highly recommend this book to teens as well as adults who would like a refresher in the general sciences.
Mar 27, 2013
Taffnerd
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
nature-environment,
science
What a fantastic book! Bynum covers every significant scientific discovery in clear, fun prose. It's not specifically geared towards kids but anyone over the age of 12 with an inclination towards science would find a lot to love in this book.
Bynum tries to imitate Gombrich's classic "A little History of the World". He is not successful, although it's a good try. Almost all the right parts are there, but the sum does not satisfy the reader.
Apr 29, 2013
Ellen
marked it as to-read
I won this in a Goodreads First Reads giveaway...thank you Goodreads! I look forward to reading it. It took quite a while...but I finally received it in the mail. Yay! Review to come.
May 19, 2013
Danny
marked it as to-read
May 11, 2013
Julia
marked it as to-read
May 07, 2013
Corrie
marked it as to-read
May 07, 2013
Kyle
marked it as to-read
May 07, 2013
Sara
marked it as to-read
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