Customer Reviews

Galileo's Commandment: An Anthology of Great Science Writing

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In his play about Galileo, Bertolt Brecht has him say: "Science knows only one commandment: contribute to science." And those who write about science contribute as much as those who do it-and perhaps more, since a discovery not written up is a discovery that might as well not have occurred.

This is a collection of articles and excerpts representing an overview of science writing, from Herodotus speculating on Egyptian geology to George Smoot analyzing the results from COBE. Some of the writers are primarily popularizers (Isaac Asimov, Rachel Carson, Walter Sullivan) and some are scientists who made an especial effort to write for the public (Arthur S. Eddington, Stephen Jay Gould, Carl Sagan), but some of the pieces are by and for scientists, just sufficiently accessible to be included here (as with the articles by Darwin, Wallace, Kepler, and Helmholtz). The pieces run the gamut of the sciences-astronomy, biology, geology, physics-and a gamut of issues relating to the sciences, from the process of discovery (Mach talking about the human sense of position) to philosophy (Bacon and Popper) to observational notes (Darwin on Galapagos finches and Galileo on his first look through a telescope). There are breathtaking excerpts from the moment when a new science is born: Alfred Russel Wallace realizing the concept of natural selection, Lavoisier explaining the new organization of substances he has discovered (and thereby setting the foundations of modern chemistry).

While reading, I somehow found less interesting than I thought I would, but my problem may be that I have a strong background in the history of science and have been exposed to much of this before. That being said, I am finding that this book is sticking with me in ways that few books do. I continue to think about the articles and recall them.

So for anyone who is interested in science or the history of science, who wants to experience science being made, or who just appreciates good, strong writing, this book is highly recommended.

This is an excellent book! I really enjoyed all the essays by different scientists. It was good to see so many scientists writing clear essays for the "general reader" describing recent advances in their field. The earliest was from Herodotus (444 B.C.), but by far most of the essays were from scientists writing in the 1900's. I have a much better feel and appreciation for the breadth of science after reading this book!

I now have a new appreciation for Science all because of this book! Reading this was very touching and helped me understand why science is so important to our lives. They even got essay's done by some scientist you have never heard about that are totally irrelevant to what you hear everyday at school, at work, or just walking around. My favorite writings were of Course Galileo's beatiful description of the stars and Jupiter. GREAT BOOK! BUY IT NOW!

If you say "science", most people would probably think back to the tedium of high school science and math class. This book shows what science really is about, namely wonderment at nature's beauty, and the process of understanding its workings. It contains arguably the best writing of many of the big names in science, such as Sagan, Galileo, Newton, Watson, Gould an others. If you have a laypersons interest in science, you will have fun reading Galileo's Commandment. If you do not find science appealing, you will after reading this book!
Most of the essays are highly readable. Some are a bit more difficult, especially those written in older English.