Customer Reviews

A History of the Sciences

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After reading tons of fiction, it's refreshing to pick this book up. No matter how much you know already, you'll find new things here. I recommend this book especially for you scientists and engineers out there, who are usually curious about everything. Mason covers it all from ancient Greek science to quantum physics and beyond. I especially appreciated the section on Descartes. This is a book you do not have to read from start to finish, you can start wherever you want and jump around. Also, the writing does not read like a reference, thankfully, it flows at an enjoyable pace and presents the sciences in an interesting way.

This is the best one volume work available covering the entire history of science from Ancient Egypt to the 20th Century (including non-Western civilizations). Mason avoids technical jargon and relates science to the everyday world as well as to the world of theory. The book is meant for non-specialists and will give anyone who reads it a real understanding of what science is all about and why it is important.

Science and History:
Science is a human activity which helped develop a cumulative tradition of inter­ related techniques, of empirical knowledge, and theoritical postulates, with refer­ence to the natural world. Professor stephen Mason proposes two primary sources for the historical roots in Science, the practical experiences and skills handed on and developed from one generation to another; future aspirations and novel ideas adopted and expanded. Those traditions existed before civilization were established. Defining what science has presented and has historically accomplished, he finds it difficult to formulate a definition which holds for all times, in different places. Behind the changing character of science throughout the ages, he debates, there has been a sense of continuity, for the generations of each period have developed and enlarged some aspects of the science handed down to them.

Scientific Thought:
A History of the Sciences originally appeared under the title, "Main Currents of Scientific Thought," with the same chapters;
Part 1. Ancient Science
Part 2. Science In the Orient and Medieval Europe
Part 3. The Scientific Revolution of the 16th and 17th Centuries
Part 4. 18th-Century Science:Development of National Scientific Traditions
Part 5. 19th Century: The Agent of Industrial and Intellectual Change
Part 6. Twentieth-Century Science New Fields and New Powers
Dr. Mason makes evident the influence of philosophical and theological conceptions on scientific inquiry, and in telling his story and also exhibits the roles played by social and technological needs in determining the direction of scientific research. The book's core is determined to be in the modern period; though it pro­vides an admirable historical perspective for appreciating the important intellectual and practical problems facing us as a result of the continuing expansion of the scientific enterprise.

Book Praise:
"In my judgment, it is by far the best one-volume account in English of the development of the natural sciences. It presents an illuminating and highly readable survey of the growth of scientific ideas from ancient to contemporary achievements, and it includes much material not readily accessible otherwise on the contributions only recently discovered of Babylonian, Oriental as well as Medieval science." Ernest Nagel, author of The Structure of Science

Science History Perfected:
Sarton, the eminent authority on the history of science, considers that science is unique as a truly cu­mulative and progressive human activity. But only a side of science has been cumulative up to the present time, its practical techni­ques and its empirical concepts and laws. Viewed within a long time scale, the theories of science have been transitory.
Similarly, given a continuance of the present pace of scientific research activity and discoveries, we can hardly suppose that only the fundamental scientific theories of today will remain holding for long.
Professor Mason started rewriting his History of the Sciences 1953, I hope he releases the first part and endorse the history with visual aids, including maps, photos and drawings.

Eminent Author:
Stephen F. Mason worked on his Ph. D. at Oxford University, whereafter he taught chemistry and the history of science (1947-1953). He was then a Research Fellow in the Wellcome Institute, London. In l956 he moved to a lectureship in physical organic chemistry at Exeter University holding Readership in chemical spectroscopy. He was Professor of Chemistry at King's College London (1970-1988). From l988 he has been Emeritus Professor of Chemistry, University of London, and Honorary Research Associate in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge. Since completing his Chemical Evolution (1991)

My original copy of the work ($1.95) wore out recently and I have since replaced it through Amazon ($10.95). The title is simple; it is a quick, but surprisingly comprehensive study of the building blocks of science through the ages. Arranged chronlogically but with geographically focused chapters for places like India and China, the book provides insight to the progression of physical science. A historical context is provided for each topic, making the book valuable for historians of all genres, not just science. The bibliography is, of course, dated bur extensive. An index at the back of the book, makes it a handy reference. I use the book frequently when preparing lectures for the history classroom.