Product Description

This is a concise but wide-ranging account of all aspects of the Scientific Revolution from astronomy to zoology. The third edition has been thoroughly updated, and some sections revised and extended, to take into account the latest scholarship and research and new developments in historiography.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #25026 in Books
• Published on: 2008-06-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

New Scientist, March 2002
'A useful back-up for historians of science.'

Review

'The Scientific Revolution - by whatever name - marks a period of fundamental historical change. In this little book, John Henry provides a clearly organized and gracefully written introduction to its complexities; not only to past achievements and enduring aspirations, but to the unfinished business of historical interpretation.' - Robert A. Hatch, University of Florida, USA

'Henry's book remains the most comprehensive short introduction to the Scientific Revolution available.' - Rob Iliffe, University of Sussex, UK

'With the third edition of The Scientific Revolution and the Origins of Modern Science, John Henry continues his admirable track record for thoughtful and well targeted improvement of an already fine product, with timely additions and modifications reflecting the evolving state of research and debate in the field. From its first edition this has been our Program's introductory textbook of choice, whilst the innovative and continually expanding bibliographical referencing system, keyed to topics as they arise in the text, is commended to our students on all levels.' - Professor John Schuster, University of New South Wales, Australia
 
'Henry's book succeeds in conveying the complexity of this period clearly.' - Margaret J. Osler, Isis

About the Author
JOHN HENRY is a Reader in the History of Science at the University of Edinburgh, UK. He has published widely on the history of science from the Renaissance to the nineteenth century.

Customer Reviews

Very useful and informative
Many people will buy this because it is the 'set book' for the Open University course AS208. It was a very good choice for that course, because it is up-to-date, easy to read, and covers a great deal of ground in a limited number of pages. It contains an extremely useful and extensive list of other puiblications on the history of science, for deeper study, complete with Henry's comments about each of them.

The author certainly knows his subject. He has succeeded in condensing a vast field of knowledge into a small space, and only a person who is a true expert can achieve that. He follows the current mainstream school of thought that religion and science were not 'enemies'; whilst this will come as no surprise to scientific historians, it might - at least initially - surprise those who have been brainwashed into believing that the Roman Catholic Church hated science.

If you're not an Open University student, I think you will find this book very useful. I can't think of another book that covers so much ground, so effectively, so succinctly. It goes way beyond the 'popular science' accounts of Newton and so on, but in a very non-academic style, which anyone can understand. If you're interested in the history of science, and its relationship with religion, I'd say this super little book is a must.

Informative
A very easy to read and informative review of the scientific revolution and the origins of modern science. The writing is not too technical yet allows an incite into who the main characters were and their agendas within this period of history. This book is particularly useful for a course in the history of science.