Customer Reviews

Scientific Revolutions: Primary Texts in the History of Science (v. 1)

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The book is a careful and chronologically organized selection of the primary texts in the history of the natural sciences. It is an excellent reader for history of science courses. Some of the texts that focus on experimental side and on invention of novel devices and techniques are of particular interest as they give a flavour of how experimental sciences were actually being made.
One of the merits of the book is that the collection includes texts, which vividly portrait the way a discovery has been made, e. g. Mendeleev's periodic table.
The introductory notes and recommended readings are useful. The book is well produced and well illustrated.

I have used this text as a reader in my general education history of science course and I recommend it. Each reading begins with an editorial comment that helps the student focus on the main points. Chronologically, the text begins with Aristotle and ends with Einstein and Schrodinger. Baigire covers variety of subjects, including astronomy, physics, biology and chemistry.

Primary source readings help the student to understand the variety of philosophical perspectives that fall under the category of "science." I would like to see this volume expanded in a second edition, with more 20th century biology and chemistry.

I teach a college freshman or sophomore level history of science class. This is a great collection of original sources for it.