Richard Holmes
Hardcover | Pages: 380 pages Rating: 3.96 | 8604 Users | 852 Reviews
Particularize Containing Books The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science
| Title | : | The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science |
| Author | : | Richard Holmes |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | Deluxe Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 380 pages |
| Published | : | July 14th 2009 by HarperPress (first published October 1st 2008) |
| Categories | : | History. Science. Nonfiction. Biography. History Of Science |
Chronicle Concering Books The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science
Whereas Newton, Hooke, Locke and Descartes were pop stars of the first scientific revolution in the 17th century, Richard Holmes looks at what Coleridge called a “second scientific revolution,” the era of scientific breakthrough between Captain Cook’s first circumnavigation in 1768 and Darwin’s journey on the Beagle in 1831. He does this by a sort of relay, beginning with Joseph Banks, a botanist on Cooks’ ship, Endeavor, connecting him to William Herschel, an astronomer who with his sister, Caroline, revolutionized how we look at the heavens, building the first huge telescopes, including a 40 foot reflecting telescope. He discovered Uranus (insert jejune joke here) which had another, less entertaining, name before the final one was universally agreed upon. He and his sister mapped a host of comets, planetary moons and other astronomical phenomena. From the Herschels we ascend to the world of ballooning, quite a big deal at the time, and mortally dangerous. The Montgolfier Brothers put in an appearance as do other daredevils of both scientific and adventuresome bents. Mungo Park was a world class explorer who combined a daring spirit with a medical degree and an interest in exploring unknown Africa. He sought the origins of the Congo and Niger rivers with encouragement from Banks, by then head of the Royal Society. Humphrey Davy figures large in this tale, sharing most of the real estate here with the Herschels. Davy experimented (on himself as often as not) for years with gases of various sorts. He was successful in the short term in creating a lovely form of intoxication, but in the long run, had hit on a safe way to anesthetize medical patients. Later, as a sort of superstar science stud of his day, Davy was asked to come up with a way to make mining safer. He designed the first safe-to-use miner’s lamp. It cut down on fatalities dramatically, and earned him the gratitude of the nation.Not only do we have scientific advances, we have the arts of the time. These scientists were not lab-bound nerds. Herschel was a working musician, head of a band, a fellow who dashed off 24 symphonies. Caroline sang at a professional level in addition to becoming the first woman to be a paid, professional scientist. The scientists, portrayed here in mini-biographies for the primary characters, also wrote and often sold poetry. This combination of interests and the personal passion to persist against sometimes daunting odds gave the era its character. It is from this time that we get the notion of a Doctor Frankenstein (based on a real person, who was attempting reanimation) the mad, obsessed scientist, alone in his castle. Could one revive dead tissue? If one did would it have a soul?
There was animated discussion going on about what makes us human. Is man merely a product of chemical interactions or is there some vital force, some chi that exists outside the scientifically observable plane, that makes us human, a soul maybe? It became a major political acid test at the time, probably equivalent to the abortion issue today.
These are all fascinating people, with great accomplishments and plenty of quirks to their credit. The period is dazzling in the mixing of art with science, artists with scientists and the renaissance character of many of the figures portrayed here. It makes you want to know more about them and about the era, as well as providing a contrast to our current age of hyper-differentiation.
Holmes writes with great affection for his subjects and with a charming sense of humor. The golden age of ballooning certainly did include the first members of the Mile high club. It is a fun read with new information around every turn, and offers us an appreciation for what an amazing age that was. It won the National Book Critics Circle award for 2009, among other awards. It deserved to win a lot more. There is only one word that can sum up this book, wonderful.
==============================EXTRA STUFF
For a good review of this book, you should read this one.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/boo...
Or this one
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/09/boo...
Bringing home mass quantities from storage, in the hopes of becoming unburdened by that obscene cost, I opened a box of National Geographics. And being the sort I am, could not help but skim through. Came across an article from the November 1996 issue, by T. H. Watkins about Joseph Banks, a significant person in the story told in The Age of Wonder. The article is titled The Greening of the Empire. Sadly, the available on-line archive from NatGeo extends only back to 2005. But I did find a smaller version of the article, at the website StrangeScience.net. It is a quick and fascinating read. And if you have boxes of National Geographics tucked away in a garage or attic, you might want to go exploring and dig this one out. Your journey will be well rewarded.
It is impossible for me to pass any mention of the Montgolfier Brothers without succumbing to this bit of silliness from the pythons.
Specify Books Supposing The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science
| Original Title: | The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science |
| ISBN: | 0007149522 (ISBN13: 9780007149520) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Literary Awards: | Royal Society Science Book Prize (2009), American Book Award (2009), National Book Critics Circle Award for General Nonfiction (2009), Best Book of Ideas Prize Nominee (2009), Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction Nominee (2009) |
Rating Containing Books The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science
Ratings: 3.96 From 8604 Users | 852 ReviewsComment On Containing Books The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science
Excellent account of "the second scientific revolution" led by astronomy and chemistry at the end of the 18th century. The period Holmes covers with his engaging biographical focus on the careers of a handful of individuals is between Cook's voyage of 1768 and Darwin's of 1831. In this epoch of "Romantic" science, leading figures tended to see no conflict between what they did as scientists and as poets and philosophers. In fact, the term "science" was not widely adopted until 1834. HolmesI adored this book. It is filled with great mini-biographies-- I especially liked the parts of William and Caroline Hershel (I knew nothing about Caroline before reading this). But to me one of the most relevant things about the book is that one of the things its about is the creation of the genre of science fiction. There is a chapter about Frankenstein, which is often thought of as the first real science fiction novel, but also it lets you see that the western European world is, even 200 years
I read this book a while ago and didn't take notes or write a review immediately following. That was a mistake because it would have been hard even then to do this book justice. The following will not be the review this book deserves, but it's better than nothing. Holmes has written a truly exceptional book. It's been on my list for quite some time, but I never seemed to get around to reading it. Had I known how exquisite and often lesser known a science history it would turn out to be, I would
Holmes, author of a magisterial two volume biography of Coleridge, probably knows more about the Romantic Poets and their circle than anyone alive, knowledge which informs every page of this wonderful historical narrative. A narrative of scientific discovery, hinged upon the belief that there existed at the end of the 18th century one culture -- not two -- in which poets and scientists conversed in the same language. Call it 'romantic science.' It is a rip-roaring tale, filled with indelibly
No matter how you slice it, the way we do science now is very different from the way we did science a few centuries ago, or even a single century ago. Or even a couple of decades ago. Just as the concept of science, itself a fairly recent term, has changed dramatically over the centuries, so too has the scientific method and the infrastructure through which we do science. Richard Holmes elects to analyze a significant era in the history of science, namely the late eighteenth and early nineteenth
Imagination, as well as reason, is necessary to perfection in the philosophic [i.e. scientific] mind. A rapidity of combination, a power of perceiving analogies, and of comparing them by facts, is the creative source of discovery.~ Humphry DavyThe progress of science is to destroy Wonder... ~ Thomas CarlyleTo what degree are the aims of science aligned with those of art? When and why did they begin to diverge? These are some of the more fascinating questions explored in this wonderful book, a
The late 18th and early 19th Centuries saw science change our understanding of the world - the universe - we inhabit at a fundamental level. The Herschells mapped the stars, discovered new plaets and comets, and proved that our galaxy is just one of millions. Humphrey Davy discovered new elements and introduced us to the beginnings of electricity. Anatomists studied circulation, and wondered what particular form of electricity animated the human body - and the human soul. Balloonists conquered
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