E=MC2; The Great Ideas that Shaped our World

by Pete Moore

E=MC2. A brilliant premise, but you could never understand it till now. Physics, genetics, chemistry, biology, science is changing so rapidly, that it's almost impossible for a novice to keep track of the new ideas that are shaping our present...and altering our future. Here's a friendly, expert guide that will steer you through the modern maze of knowledge, a nuts-and-bolts "factopedia" that hones in on the really big concepts that have made an impact on our world. Getting the information you're looking for is simplicity just turn to any one of the basic sections--The World Around Us, The Humanity Within Us, and The Mind Within Us-to find full coverage of all the key movers and shakers, handily listed in specific subsections by their discipline. There's no plunging through a mass of extraneous information; each gets right to the heart of the matter. There's no better way to stay scientifically informed!

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, History, Biography

192 pages, Paperback

First published September 10, 2002

Reviews

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting enough snapshot, but a bit heavy-going a lot of the time.

[Audra Middleton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gives a brief bio of scientific minds throughout history, from Thales to Stephen Hawking. It was written in a concise, interesting enough way that I was able to read it aloud to my kids. Each biography includes a brief personal background, a summation of their scientific work, a timeline of their life, pictures and diagrams, and a list of their acquaintances in the field. The book has been divided into categories: the nature of nature, the structure of nature, the earth, the universe, mathematics, and invention and innovation, evolution and genetics, the human body, and the brain. My boys wanted to know why there were so few women scientists in the book, which is just one example of many lively conversations this book fueled.

[Techno Tigger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brief, two or three, page overviews of 77 thinkers who have made us change the way we look at the world. These are nicely written, and great to dip into, and as a source of ideas for further research.
On the other hand, there is no clear contents page, and it is skewed towards Western thinkers.
A Goodread though.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still reading but what I'm asking myself is: I went to high school for WHAT REASON!??! I learned jack crap about all of this stuff! GUH!

Cool book - makes me feel totally inept. I dig that! I hope he wrote more books like this.

Brb, learning more stuff I should have known by now.

[Ian Law · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good general introduction to great ideas in science. Contains many well-known people, and some who were more obscure (e.g. Ilya Prigogine), but that is more a reflection on the cultural bias in our media and educational system.

[Blake Suedekum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haven't read it all the way through but it's a great reference book. Very educational.