Product Description

Marie Curie reminisces about her and her husband's efforts to isolate the element radium. Herodotus observes the Nile Valley and concludes that it was once under water. Carl Sagan argues against assertions that aliens regularly visit Earth. These are among the literary gems Edmund Blair Bolles includes in GALILEO'S COMMANDMENT. Bolles has scoured the literature of science to build a treasury that is accessible and riveting, appealing to readers unfamiliar with science yet erudite enough for the scientifically initiated reader to enjoy. The authors include scientists well-known for their writing - including Stephen Jay Gould, Richard Feynman and Charles Darwin - and scientists such as Kepler, James Clerk Maxwell, Alfred Wallace, and of course Galileo himself. The writings here span time and the scientific disciplines (the earliest pieces dates to c.444 BC) and the result is a fascinating collection , ideal for browsing or for reading cover to cover.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #868704 in Books
• Published on: 2000-06-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 512 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
It is only relatively recently that science writing has been thought worthy of collection into anthologies. To date, the gold standard has been set by the The Faber Book of Science, edited by John Carey, published in 1995, which manages to be simultaneously eclectic and comprehensive, as well as hugely entertaining.

How does Galileo's Commandment compare? Edited by a professional science writer, it tries to be more than merely a pull-together of "good stuff": Bolles aims at conveying something of how scientists think and work as well. Thus the likes of Galileo and Kepler rub shoulders with Einstein and James Watson in selections that show how they came to the conclusions they did, with helpful scene-setting introductions by Bolles. But while the intention is laudable, the execution is less successful. The great thing about anthologies is that you don't have to read them sequentially. Dip into this one, however, and the logic behind its structure is lost--and, indeed, becomes an irritation. Bolles' scrupulous use of ellipses to show the deletion of longueurs in the original text is also distracting: some selections, like that from Stephen Jay Gould, appear to have terminal measles.

While it fails as a conventional anthology, the book certainly succeeds as a source of hard-to- get original writings by leading scientists. As such, I shall not be keeping Galileo's Commandment next to my bed--but within arm's reach of my desk. --Robert Matthews

Review
'This book demonstrates that Bolles has a genius for explanation' - SPECTATOR 'The real stuff is in individual pieces - argumentative, thoughtful and, almost always, enlightening...riveting' - SCOTAND ON SUNDAY 'This anthology is an intoxicating wellspring of ideas . . . A gem' - IRISH TIMES

Scotland on Sunday
'The real stuff is in individual pieces argumentative, thoughtful and, almost always, enlightening...riveting'

Customer Reviews

Brilliant collection of inspiring essays
Edmund Blair Bolles brings together a plethora of essays about science by scientists. Ranging from geology to psychology and quantum physics, this eclectic book draws the common thread of science through the eyes of scientists. An excellent and relatively easy read.