Scientists, The(ISBN=9780812967883)

As expansive （and as massive） as a textbook， this remarkably readable popular history explores the development of modern science through the individual stories of philosophers and scientists both renowned and overlooked。 Prolific popular science writer Gribbin wants to use the lives of these thinkers to show how they “reflect the society in which they lived， and　the way the work of one specific scientist followed from that of another。”While he makes this case well， the real joy in the book can be found in the way Gribbin （who has made complex science understandable in such books as In Search of Schr“dinger”s Cat） revels not just in the development of science but also in the human details of his subjects’ lives。 He writes， “Science is made from people， not people by science，”and the book weaves together countless stories of the people who made science， from the arrogance and political maneuverings of Tycho Brahe in the 16th century to Benjamin Thompson’s exploits during the American Revolution as a spy for the British and his later life as Count Rumford of Bavaria （in the realm of science， he studied convection and helped discredit the caloric theory of heat）。 Though the names and discoveries become more and more prolific as the book reaches the 19th century， Gribbin does an admirable job of organizing his narrative around coherent topics （e.g. “The Darwinian Revolution，”“Atoms and Molecules，” “The Realm of Life”）， leaving the reader exhausted by the journey， but in awe of the personalities and the sheer scope of 500 years' worth of scientific discovery。

　 JOHN GRIBBIN trained as an astrophysicist at Cambridge University and is currently Visiting Fellow in Astronomy at the University of Sussex。His many books include In Search of Schrodinger’s Cat，Schrodinger’s Kittens and the Search for Reality，Q is for Quantum，and Deep Simplicity。

List of lllustrations xi
Acknowledgements xv
Introduction xvii
Book One：OUT OF THE DARK AGES
1. Renaissance Men
Emerging from the dark-The elegance of Copernicus-The Earth moves！-The orbits of the planets-Leonard Digges and the telescope-Thomas Digges and the infinite Universe-Bruno：a martyr for science？-Copernican model banned by catholic church-Vesalius：surgeon，dissector and grave-robber-Fallopio and Fabricius-William Harvey and the circulation of the blood。
2. The Last Mystics
The movement of the planets-Tycho Brahe-Measuring star positions-Tycho’s supernova-Tycho observes comet-His model of the Universe-Johannes Kepler：Tycho’s assistant and inheritor-Kepler’s geometrical model of the Universe-New thoughts on the motion of planets：Kepler’s first and second laws-Kepler’s third law-Publication of the Rudolphine star tables-Kepler’s death。
3. The First Scientists
William Gibert and magnetism-Galileo on the pendulum，gravity and acceleration-His invention of the‘compass’-His supernova studies-Lippershey’s reinvention of the telescope-Galileo’s developments thereon-Copernican ideas of Galileo judged heretical-Galileo publishes Dialogue on the Two Chief World Systems-Threatenrd with torture，he recants-Galileo publishes Two New Sciences-His death。