A History of Science: Hellenistic Science and Culture in the Last Three Centuries B.C

by George Sarton

Book by George Sarton

Genres: History, Science, History Of Science

Hardcover

First published April 1, 1970

About the author

George Sarton (1884–1956) was a Belgian-American chemist and historian who is considered the founder of the discipline of history of science.He has a significant importance in the history of science and his most influential work was the Introduction to the History of Science, which consists of three volumes and 4,296 pages. Sarton's ultimate goal was to achieve an integrated philosophy of science that provided a connection between the sciences and the humanities, which he referred to as "the new humanism".

Reviews

[Erik Graff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heirloom Books in Chicago had a Egyptologist scheduled to speak about the Library of Alexandria so I picked this book up to prepare for the lecture. It is about all of Hellenistic (323-30BCE) science, very broadly defined (there are sections on literature and the arts in addition to mathematics, architecture, astronomy, physics etc.), and includes much reference to the library as well as to other research centers/libraries in the ancient world, Alexandria being preeminent amongst them.

While erudite and sophisticated, so much so that I had some trouble following the mathematics sections, author Sarton is unusually personable, even charming, his personality and preferences being very much evident.