A Short History of Biology

by Isaac Asimofv

Book by Asimov, Isaac

Genres: Science, Biology, History, Nonfiction

189 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1964

Reviews

[Attila Szabo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book about science history. The content is getting more and more dense heading to the end to the book. I really enjoyed the book, the last parts were a bit hard to process. It was a good reflection what happened in biology until 70'.

[Nick Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This history of the science of biology reaches far into the past to days of Hippocrates and Aristotle. It follows the science from these beginnings up to the era of DNA. Along the way, Asimov makes note of the most important developments and scientists of each era. This is the third book of pure science writing by Asimov that I have read.

While this book shouldn't be consulted for any current data or knowledge, since it was written in the sixties, it does very faithfully follow the natural course of biology for the long time before. Asimov is a biochemist, so the portion of time he lavished on detailed studies of amino acids, protein structure, paper chromatography, and molecular biology makes itself known. But since I found it interesting, I didn't mind the sharp focus on these matters.

I give it three stars because it was simply fascinating. I started studying biology before I changed majors and I still am a fan. Three stars.

[SiMo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Libro davvero interessante ed estremamente accessibile anche a chi, come me, non si ricorda assolutamente nulla delle lezioni di biologia al liceo. Avere una visione d'insieme così concentrata di tutti i progressi che sono stati fatti da Talete agli anni sessanta (essendo stato scritto nel 1964 naturalmente mancano gli ultimi 50 anni di scoperte biochimiche - che non sono pochi) lascia davvero senza fiato e con una gran voglia di approfondire.

[Thorolf van Walsum · Rating 3 out of 5]

Asimov’s characteristic clarity of style embroils itself against his vengeful worship of rationalism in his attempt to articulate the history of biological thought. One thing is abundantly clear: Asimov is a believer in humanity’s ‘dark ages’. The narration given to the development of the biological science is a familiar one; the Greeks conceived rationality, the middle ages ruined it, in the enlightenment rationality surged back, and now that the modern age is here, we’re going to perfect it. The result of Asimov’s suckling at the teat of mechanistic idealism is a clear, readable, well formulated history, which may as well serve as a prologue to the motifs of his later science-fiction writings.

[Anthony Faber · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bit dated (a lot of stuff has been worked out since 1964, when this book was written), but very good on the stuff it postdates.

[Dale Alan Bryant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Asimov connects all the sciences, through a chronology of events. Beautifully done!

[Andrea Valente · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read it in Italian, many years ago :)
Terrific panoramic view of the subject, and of many more things, if you remember Asimov's flair ;)

[Anis Jerimy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice summary of the main discoveries in the field of biology from the old Greek to the twentieth century. The book is nice and easy to read except the last two chapters are a bit dance and quick

[Pavel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Фиг знает, читал научпоп и гораздо лучше, конечно

[Matt Diller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good summary for the layman.

[Orsolya Demeter]

No respect towards Asimov could compel me into saying this book was any good.

[Teresa Tursi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anche se contiene alcune teorie ormai obsolete è una storia della biologia chiara ed esaustiva. Sicuramente di grande aiuto per studiarla nel suo complesso

[Damian Fell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Это та самая книга, которую стоит использовать для преподавания биологии в школах: вместо вводного урока стоит давать прочесть ее на лето, чтоб ознакомить с основными идеями науки.
Читается очень легко, буквально за пару вечеров. Самое то для научно-популярной литературы.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two important things to note: (1) I had no idea who Isaac Asimov was before reading this. (2) For the past X number of years since my high school biology course, I have seriously hated bio.

Since I am into science, it has always annoyed me to hate a subject which I know very little about. So when I got this book from my *very old* physics professor, I figured I would give biology another chance.

It took me about a week to finish the book. It has made me appreciate Biology far more than I would have ever expected. This is a science history book, but it also explains, quite well, all of the biology terms that are brought up. So you dont need to know much before reading this. With Asimov's writing style, this book can be read with essentially no understanding of biology...All I knew about biology before this book were the WORDS: (not the functionality of) Protein, mitochondria, DNA, and evolution. So it’s safe to say you can probably read it too.

I firmly beleive that this little book should be a summer reading requirement for ALL high-schoolers getting ready to learn biology. If you think Biology is stale or if you know little about it...pick up this book, you will learn a lot without effort. Trust me, it's like 179 pages, just read it...(If you know a LOT about biology, but nothing about the HISTORY of it, you should enjoy this book even more so than us newbies.)

Finally, I give this book 4/5 because at the end (last 25 pages or so) Asimov got a bit too specific (for me) with biological explanations rather than history...If it weren't for me needing to skim over that last section, I would've given this book a 5/5

[khashayar · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is interesting, and abridged in such a manner that can be quickly read. The major drawback of this book is that it is not coherent enough. This might be somehow inevitable as the growth of science in general, and biology in particular, has been some how exponential in the past two centuries. It does not supersede biology text books yet is written in such a manner that has something to offer to every non-biologist: it can rebuild the whole body of biology knowledge that you've most probably forgotten since your school days.

[Skookum · Rating 4 out of 5]

As advertised, a fast-paced review of the history of biology up to 1964. He just touches on the discovery of DNA and its importance. He focuses on the ongoing conflict between the vitalists and the mechanists. It's also interesting that he talks about the discovery of DDT and mentions the possible dangers such chemicals might have in the environment. This is a good book if you want an overview. All the names, dates, and discoveries are there. It's a good book to use in figuring out what you want to go into more deeply.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Asimov is fast becoming my favorite science writer. His ability to explain complex topics in a clear and engaging manner is absolutely stunning. I can't recommend this book enough for anyone interesting in getting a basic understanding of the major historical developments in the field of Biology. It is worth noting that the book was published in the sixties, so obviously it doesn't cover anything after that; Asimov is good, but he's not that good.

[Liedzeit Liedzeit · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read that during a trip in a four-wheel-drive Bus into the Outback of Australia. The reading pleasure was enormous. One of the better Asimovs, which says a lot. But I must admit adding to the pleasure was that the other passengers were regarding me as a freak.

[Светлана · Rating 3 out of 5]

Russian translation was really awful.

[Ilya Cherkasov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Отлично. Порадовали виталисты и как их в конце концов удалось победить.