The Science Book

Bys: Singh, Simon and Greenfield, Susan

Book Overview

From the world's greatest scientists--the world's greatest science book With a foreword written by critically acclaimed author Simon Singh (Fermat's Last Theorem) and essays by such major writers as... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0297843370
• ISBN13: 9780297843375
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: George Weidenfeld & Nicholson
• Length: 528 Pages
• Weight: 3.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 7.8" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

Must read for appreciation of science

During the last few decades science and mathematics has developed so rapidly that it is difficult to comprehend the amount of effort that has gone through civilizations to reach at this point. There are many books that one can read about the history of science. Unfortunately, they all give a very descriptive report of how discoveries were made and invetions came through, leaving the reader unaware about the impact of other scientific discoveries during that period or in near past and future. This leads to understanding of the subject in a very closed manner. The Science Book addresses this problem besides informing the reader about what was the common understanding about the subject and how the discovery or invention came about. The book is designed and written to make it appropriate for coffee/side tables. The content is concise, precise and well homogenized when it comes to information related to science of 'those days'. One thing that this book does very well is leave the reader excited about what happened next or are their any more 'stories' related to the topic - which is what the scientific quest is all about. Eventually reader will spend a lot of time on the internet exploring all the details pertaining to inventions/discoveries that are mentioned in the book. It is a must have for all students of science. The book provides an insight about scientific developments over ages that will encourage the reader to explore the subject of their interest further. Language of the book is very simple and uncomplicated, making it readable for all age groups - even for bedtime stories.

Better than expected

The book arrived as promised and in excellent, almost new condition. We are very pleased with the service.

Great Bathroom Book!

As the late Carl Sagan said, "We live in a world exquisitely dependent upon science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology." Nothing in this book will make an expert out of a non-scientist, but the overall effect will be to increase one's awareness of and appreciation for the world of science. The need for such a book has never been greater. I first came across this little gem in, of all places, the barber shop! (They cut the hair on some very smart heads over there.) And that's a pretty good indication of how you'll use this book. It's perfect for short intervals of reading. Each page is a self-contained essay on some scientific subject, arranged chronologically. Although the contributors are some of the leading lights in their fields, the writing style is extremely accessible to the layman. The foreword introduced me t Simon Singh, of whose work I am now officially a fan, especially of his new book, "Trick or Treatment," for a thorough expose of quack medicine. The overall effect is to increase the reader's understanding of how a scientific topic fits into the march of time. And the book is so well-written and nicely illustrated, you don't even feel like you're learning! This is quite possibly the perfect bathroom book. Come on, people: you know you're much too smart for those "Uncle John" things!

The Breadth and Beauty of Science

This heavy coffee-table book describes 250 scientific and mathematical advances, one per double-page spread. Arranged in chronological order, each advance includes who discovered it, the year of discovery, and an easy to understand (well, as far as possible, some advances are just more complicated than others) description. Almost all entries consist of one page of text with a facing page of a relevant illustration or photo. Each article is cross-referenced to related entries if you want to pursue a single topic. This book will interest anyone with a casual or professional interest in science and mathematics, or just the intellectually curious. It is not an exhaustive history of science, but a collection of highlights simply and attractively presented. You won't want to read this all in one sitting. It is a book for browsing, dipping into random pages and discovering some new snippet, or maybe just something you didn't know about an old snippet. The breadth of subjects is enormous and it spans the history of thought from 35,000 years ago to the present. In fact, it is the perfect coffee-table book. Each page is a self-contained entry, so you can spend as long or as short a time browsing as you like as you sip your tea or coffee and think about life, the universe and everything. You will certainly learn about things you never knew existed.

The Science BOok is great for homeschooling multiple children!

I got this book to supplement our Homeschool supplies. It is great for teaching children of multiple ages because each page covers a compelte topic. It starts at the begining of time and goes chronologically through the eras of science. Each "lesson" talks about the scientist with a little bit of surrounding history as well as the scientific information, which helps to merge history with science and bring a better understanding to the concepts. I am really glad I bought this book! -Sparkling http://www.visionsgame.com