The History of Science
Written by Peter Whitfield
Narrated by Peter Whitfield
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
This is the foundation of all: that we are not to imagine or suppose, but to discover what nature does, or may be made to do. Thus did Francis Bacon, early in the 17th century, outline the future of science and technology. This drive for knowledge and power has now given us a world dominated by science, and this audiobook tells the story of how we have arrived there. The achievements of the great scientific thinkers of the ages – Copernicus, Newton, Lavoisier, Darwin, Pasteur, Einstein, Freud, Hubble and many more – are explained and woven together into an exciting story of intellectual discovery, but a story in which a sense of the mystery of the universe is always present.
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Reviews for The History of Science
105 ratings13 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5In spite of covering a large landscape, the audiobook is succinct in it's description and engaging in its style! Would recommend this to a beginner as well as any science enthusiast.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5If you're going to talk about alternative systems of knowledge and more than one truth, maybe you shouldn't be writing a science book.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Thoroughly interesting! Whitfield put a historical context to all the many names that I have encountered during my years as an engineer and a science enthusiast plus, he showed how one discovery or inventive moment leads to the next along several timelines that he reveals as he discusses each branch of science in turn. The result for me was a much deeper appreciation of the long road we traveled down through history to reach the world we have today and, the many brilliant minds that appeared along the way.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5It was perfect! Walked me through history is such a delightful way!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Great listen, very pleasant to listen to, even if the pace is a bit rushed. Great at stimulating your curiosity.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5very good
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5grate
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5well read! excellent history of science. if you are into this then take a look at Conquering The Electron or The Mystery of The Periodic Table
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5a good cursory View at the history of science .
this book didn't go into great detail or great death however it was awesome some of the stuff that I learned :-) it peaked my interest to study other things :-) - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/53. The History of Science (Audio CD) by Peter Whitfield, read by the author (2010, maybe 150 pages in paper form, listened Jan 3-15)A very quick, but nice overview. I was impressed with and enjoyed the care put into the wording. It makes this work, well. I thought the coverage of the ancient stuff was excellent. I was disappointed it did not cover the occult, which it described simply as something that misdirected science for about 100 years, instead of seeing its roll as a step towards the scientific revolution. And I did not like the conclusion which I felt over-credited how well we understand the world and the universe. But, those are small complaints.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I like it so much I want to read more
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A nice, extremely brief review of science, from prehistory to present.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5This is a brief overview of the history of science. Whitfield attempts to cover a variety topics in science and places them in a somewhat historical order. I did not consider the content to be anything of great insight but the book is concise and fulfills its goal. I liked the ending in which the author considers the future of mankind, who has used science to increase its population but does not appear to be able to control its moral obligations to nature and future populations.