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ayami's review against another edition
3.0
It's hard to rate this book as it comprises of 20 essays, each of them written by a different author. Some of them deserve a 5 star review and then there are some that are dull and boring and almost stopped me from finishing the book. I will definitely go back to my favorite essays though (and look at some full length books by the authors I've enjoyed reading here).
duparker's review against another edition
3.0
I almost felt like this book was too science for me. I didn't find it as irreverent as I normally find Bryson's writing to be. It was dry and that fits the topic, but I didn't want dry for a plane ride home from Disney.
matthewwester's review against another edition
4.0
I guess I wasn't paying enough attention when I purchased this book -- I was expecting A Short History of Nearly Everything Part II. So reader beware, Bill Bryson's name is plastered across the front but you only see him in the Introduction.
You'll know immediately if this is your cup of tea when you hear the premise: each chapter is a survey of an influential moment/person/discovery of the Royal Society. The book covers a wide range of topics so if you're not fascinated by the history of French ballooning then no worries, flip a few pages and you'll be reading about quantum gravitation. And you gotta love the cast of authors who joined this project: Margaret Atwood in the same book as Paul Davies. Overall this is a great survey of the Royal Society and their major contributions to science (and the world). Four stars.
You'll know immediately if this is your cup of tea when you hear the premise: each chapter is a survey of an influential moment/person/discovery of the Royal Society. The book covers a wide range of topics so if you're not fascinated by the history of French ballooning then no worries, flip a few pages and you'll be reading about quantum gravitation. And you gotta love the cast of authors who joined this project: Margaret Atwood in the same book as Paul Davies. Overall this is a great survey of the Royal Society and their major contributions to science (and the world). Four stars.
dustytiger29's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
I’m sad to say I was sucked in by the cover: ‘Bill Bryson’, the ‘Royal Society’… two of my great interests. Bryson was a mere editor and the Royal Society was only sporadically mentioned. My own fault for not reading some reviews and skimming some pages. I was disappointed but still managed to get some joy out of the book.
dunguyen's review against another edition
1.0
First of all, I did not actually complete this book but read the first four chapters. Despite this, I wanted to give my opinion on this book.
I dropped this book because of the incredibly misleading marketing tactic. It's listed as Bryson as the author which made me think it'd be something like A Short History of Nearly Everything which is a great book but his role in this book is as an editor of a collection of essays about scientists and science that is connected through the Royal Society. Which is not at all what I expected so perhaps my mindset wasn't set on reading through these essays that vary widely in quality and in my interest as well. The most interesting part for me was actually Bryson's introduction to the Royal Society so I would gladly read a book about the history of the Royal Society.
I really would not recommend this book unless you would like to read this collection of essays. If however you were expecting some history about science written in Bryson's style, I would direct you to A Short History of Nearly Everything.
I dropped this book because of the incredibly misleading marketing tactic. It's listed as Bryson as the author which made me think it'd be something like A Short History of Nearly Everything which is a great book but his role in this book is as an editor of a collection of essays about scientists and science that is connected through the Royal Society. Which is not at all what I expected so perhaps my mindset wasn't set on reading through these essays that vary widely in quality and in my interest as well. The most interesting part for me was actually Bryson's introduction to the Royal Society so I would gladly read a book about the history of the Royal Society.
I really would not recommend this book unless you would like to read this collection of essays. If however you were expecting some history about science written in Bryson's style, I would direct you to A Short History of Nearly Everything.
xherdanjackiri's review against another edition
Too heavy a read for me, lost motivation. However I can see why this would be a very good book for those more knowledgeable re science as opposed to entry level
tasmanian_bibliophile's review against another edition
4.0
‘In 350 years, the Royal Society has had a mere 8,200 members, but what a roll call of names.’
In 2010, the Royal Society celebrated its 350th birthday. Its official foundation date is 28 November 1660, when a group of twelve men met at Gresham College after a lecture by Christopher Wren, then the Gresham Professor of Astronomy. This group of men, who included Robert Boyle, John Wilkins, Sir Robert Moray, and William, Viscount Brouncker, decided to found ‘a Colledge for the Promoting of Physico-Mathematicall Experimentall Learning’.
The Society was to meet weekly to witness experiments and discuss scientific topics. The first Curator of Experiments was Robert Hooke. Sir Robert Moray told Charles II of this venture, and the Society obtained its first Royal Charter in 1662. In the second Royal Charter of 1663 the Society is referred to as 'The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge'.
‘Science is an unending quest: as its frontiers advance, new mysteries come into focus just beyond those frontiers.’
This collection of essays celebrates the existence and achievements of the Royal Society. More than 80 Nobel Laureates have been members of the Royal Society, and its members have included Isaac Newton, Benjamin Franklin, Charles Darwin, Ernest Rutherford and Francis Crick. Current fellows include Richard Dawkins and Stephen Hawking.
The essays have been written by an eclectic group of authors – including novelists (Margaret Atwood, Maggie Gee, and Neal Stephenson), historians (Georgina Ferry, Richard Holmes and James Gleick) and scientists (Richard Dawkins, Steve Jones and Sir Martin Rees). Other writers include Gregory Benford, Henry Petroski and Margaret Wertheim.
‘Royal Society of London describes a location, not an allegiance.’
My favourite essays in this collection were those by: Richard Holmes (‘A new age of flight: Joseph Banks goes ballooning’); Henry Petroski (‘Images of Progress: Conferences of Engineers’); Ian Stewart (‘Behind the Scenes: the hidden mathematics that rules the world’); and Gregory Benford (‘Time: The Winged Chariot’).
‘Mathematics is simply the catalogue of all possible patterns.’
I enjoyed reading this book and I’d recommend reading it slowly, enjoying each essay before moving on to the next. It isn’t necessary to understand all of the science ( I certainly don’t) in order to appreciate the achievements: the history is fascinating in its own right.
‘Sometimes complexity can be simple too.’
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
In 2010, the Royal Society celebrated its 350th birthday. Its official foundation date is 28 November 1660, when a group of twelve men met at Gresham College after a lecture by Christopher Wren, then the Gresham Professor of Astronomy. This group of men, who included Robert Boyle, John Wilkins, Sir Robert Moray, and William, Viscount Brouncker, decided to found ‘a Colledge for the Promoting of Physico-Mathematicall Experimentall Learning’.
The Society was to meet weekly to witness experiments and discuss scientific topics. The first Curator of Experiments was Robert Hooke. Sir Robert Moray told Charles II of this venture, and the Society obtained its first Royal Charter in 1662. In the second Royal Charter of 1663 the Society is referred to as 'The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge'.
‘Science is an unending quest: as its frontiers advance, new mysteries come into focus just beyond those frontiers.’
This collection of essays celebrates the existence and achievements of the Royal Society. More than 80 Nobel Laureates have been members of the Royal Society, and its members have included Isaac Newton, Benjamin Franklin, Charles Darwin, Ernest Rutherford and Francis Crick. Current fellows include Richard Dawkins and Stephen Hawking.
The essays have been written by an eclectic group of authors – including novelists (Margaret Atwood, Maggie Gee, and Neal Stephenson), historians (Georgina Ferry, Richard Holmes and James Gleick) and scientists (Richard Dawkins, Steve Jones and Sir Martin Rees). Other writers include Gregory Benford, Henry Petroski and Margaret Wertheim.
‘Royal Society of London describes a location, not an allegiance.’
My favourite essays in this collection were those by: Richard Holmes (‘A new age of flight: Joseph Banks goes ballooning’); Henry Petroski (‘Images of Progress: Conferences of Engineers’); Ian Stewart (‘Behind the Scenes: the hidden mathematics that rules the world’); and Gregory Benford (‘Time: The Winged Chariot’).
‘Mathematics is simply the catalogue of all possible patterns.’
I enjoyed reading this book and I’d recommend reading it slowly, enjoying each essay before moving on to the next. It isn’t necessary to understand all of the science ( I certainly don’t) in order to appreciate the achievements: the history is fascinating in its own right.
‘Sometimes complexity can be simple too.’
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
wynwicket's review against another edition
4.0
An anthology of really *good* science writing. 22 essays by different authors discuss the history of science, from the founding of the Royal Society in 1660 to present day--but each essay explores a different, very specific topic in depth.
Among those that piqued my interest the most: the history of flight a la hot-air ballooning, biodiversity, the "mad scientist" in literature and film, the development of publicly accessible scientific specimen collections (fossils! museums!), and an introduction to string theory.
Among those that piqued my interest the most: the history of flight a la hot-air ballooning, biodiversity, the "mad scientist" in literature and film, the development of publicly accessible scientific specimen collections (fossils! museums!), and an introduction to string theory.
thedolson's review against another edition
5.0
This was quite a book. I will fill in details of individual chapters later.
It's an edited volume with about 50 essays about the Royal Society of London. Some of the authors are famous public intellectuals or novelists (Richard Dawkins, Margret Atwood), but most are scientists or directors of public science institutes.
Overall, this was a fascinating read. I loved the essays about little-known corners of the history of science, like the balloon craze, or controversy about the efficacy of lightning rods.
It's an edited volume with about 50 essays about the Royal Society of London. Some of the authors are famous public intellectuals or novelists (Richard Dawkins, Margret Atwood), but most are scientists or directors of public science institutes.
Overall, this was a fascinating read. I loved the essays about little-known corners of the history of science, like the balloon craze, or controversy about the efficacy of lightning rods.