A nuanced reframing of the dual importance of reading and observation for early modern naturalists. Historians of science traditionally argue that the sciences were born in early modern Europe during the so-called scientific revolution. At the heart of this narrative lays a supposed shift from the knowledge of books to the knowledge of things. ......
Although the idea that all human beings are descended from Adam is a longstanding conviction in the West, another version of this narrative exists: human beings inhabited the Earth before, or alongside, Adam, and their descendants still occupy the planet.In this engaging and provocative work, David N. Livingstone traces the history of the idea of ......
Erasmus Darwin and his grandson, Charles, were the two most important evolutionary theorists of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Britain. Although their ideas and methods differed, both Darwins were prolific and inventive writers: Erasmus composed several epic poems and scientific treatises, while Charles is renowned both for his collected ......
Erasmus Darwin and his grandson, Charles, were the two most important evolutionary theorists of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Britain. Although their ideas and methods differed, both Darwins were prolific and inventive writers: Erasmus composed several epic poems and scientific treatises, while Charles is renowned both for his collected ......
Understanding the Development of Modern Social Science
Before the Second World War, social scientists struggled to define and defend their disciplines. After the war, 'high modern' social scientists harnessed new resources in a quest to create a unified understanding of human behaviour and to remake the world in the image of their new model man.In Age of System, Hunter Heyck explains why social ......
Helps us appreciate the richness of Einstein's vision, discussing the renowned scientist's lesser-known contributions, from Einstein's theories supporting time travel, to his research on curved space, the cosmological constant, black holes, wormholes, gravity waves, and cosmic lenses, to quantum theory, and beyond.
Science, Exploration, and the Theory of Continental Drift
Alfred Wegener aimed to create a revolution in science which would rank with those of Nicolaus Copernicus and Charles Darwin. After completing his doctoral studies in astronomy at the University of Berlin, Wegener found himself drawn not to observatory science but to rugged fieldwork, which allowed him to cross into a variety of disciplines. ......
As any American who has traveled abroad knows, the American home contains more, and more elaborate, plumbing than any other in the world. Indeed, Americans are renowned for their obsession with cleanliness. Although plumbing has occupied a central position in American life since the mid-nineteenth century, little scholarly attention has been paid ......
Besides being the right thing to do for Mother Earth, recycling can also make money - particularly when it comes to upcycling, a zero waste practice where discarded materials are fashioned into goods of greater economic or cultural value. In Upcycling Aluminum, Carl A. Zimring explores how the metal's abundance after ......
Robert Kanigel takes us into the heady world of a remarkable group of scientists working at the National Institutes of Health and the Johns Hopkins University: a dynasty of American researchers who for over forty years have made Nobel Prize- and Lasker Award-winning breakthroughs in biomedical science.
The leading American botanist of the nineteenth century, Asa Gray helped organize the main generalizations of the science of plant geography. The manual of botany that carries his name is still in use today. Friend and confidant of Charles Darwin, Gray became the most persistent and effective American protagonist of Darwin's views. Yet at the same ......
''Original and delightful . . . [Mayr's] persuasive and beautifully written book is reminiscent of Max Weber and The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.''--American Historical Review.
Technology and Expertise in Twentieth-Century America
The history of automobiles is not just the story of invention, manufacturing, and marketing; it is also a story of repair. Auto Mechanics opens the repair shop to historical study -- for the first time -- by tracing the emergence of a dirty, difficult, and important profession.Kevin L. Borg's study spans a century of automotive technology -- from ......
Feedback, Control, and Computing before Cybernetics
Today, we associate the relationship between feedback, control, and computing with Norbert Wiener's 1948 formulation of cybernetics. But the theoretical and practical foundations for cybernetics, control engineering, and digital computing were laid earlier, between the two world wars. In Between Human and Machine: Feedback, Control, and Computing ......
Feedback, Control, and Computing before Cybernetics
Today, we associate the relationship between feedback, control, and computing with Norbert Wiener's 1948 formulation of cybernetics. But the theoretical and practical foundations for cybernetics, control engineering, and digital computing were laid earlier, between the two world wars. In Between Human and Machine: Feedback, Control, and Computing ......
Two leading physicists discuss the importance of the Higgs Boson, the future of particle physics, and the mysteries of the universe yet to be unraveled. On July 4, 2012, the long-sought Higgs Boson--aka "the God Particle"--was discovered at the world's largest particle accelerator, the LHC, in Geneva, Switzerland. On March 14, 2013, physicists at ......
Imagine biology and medicine today without computers. What would laboratory work be like without electronic databases and statistical software? Would disciplines like genomics even be feasible without the means to manage and manipulate huge volumes of digital data? How would patients fare in a world without CT scans, programmable pacemakers, and ......
The printed book is one of life's most frequently encountered technologies. Historian Nicole Howard provides a comprehensive survey of the evolution of this technology, tracing its development across many centuries and cultures.No other technology in human history, declares Howard, has had the impact of this invention. By examining the book as a ......
Shorthorn Cattle, Collies, and Arabian Horses since 1800
How did animal breeding emerge as a movement? Who took part and for what reasons? How do the pedigree and market systems work? What light might the movement shed on the assumptions behind human eugenics? In Bred for Perfection, Margaret Derry provides the most comprehensive and accessible book yet published on the human quest to improve and ......
Science, Risk, and the Politics of Hazard Mitigation
In 1906, after an earthquake wiped out much of San Francisco, leading California officials and scientists described the disaster as a one-time occurrence and assured the public that it had nothing to worry about. California Earthquakes explains how, over time, this attitude changed, and Californians came to accept earthquakes as a significant ......
Science, Risk, and the Politics of Hazard Mitigation
In 1906, after an earthquake wiped out much of San Francisco, leading California officials and scientists described the disaster as a one-time occurrence and assured the public that it had nothing to worry about. California Earthquakes explains how, over time, this attitude changed, and Californians came to accept earthquakes as a significant ......
It will be of interest to biomedical professionals-especially in oncology, hepatology, and infectious disease-in addition to historians of science and anyone interested in cancer research.
One of the leading artifacts of modern technology, the automobile has shaped our physical, economic, social, and cultural environment. The history of the automobile demonstrates how the decisions of governments, entrepreneurs, and the general public influence technological evolution. A succinct yet comprehensive history, Cars and Culture ......
Technology, Culture, and the Art of Studio Recording from Edison to the LP
In Chasing Sound, Susan Schmidt Horning traces the cultural and technological evolution of recording studios in the United States from the first practical devices to the modern multi-track studios of the analog era. Charting the technical development of studio equipment, the professionalization of recording engineers, and the growing collaboration ......
Winner, William H. Welch Medal, American Association for the History of MedicineWinner, Ludwik Fleck Prize, Society for Social Studies of ScienceWinner, General History Award, New South Wales Premiers History Awards
When whites first encountered the Fore people in the isolated highlands of colonial New Guinea ......
How the 1910 Return of Halley's Comet (Almost) Destroyed Civilization
In Comet Madness, author and historian Richard J. Goodrich examines the 1910 appearance of Halleys Comet and the ensuing frenzy sparked by media manipulation, bogus science, and outright deception. The result is a fascinating and illuminating narrative history that underscores how we behave in the face of potential calamity - then and now.
Science, Technology, and the State in Cold War America
For most of the second half of the twentieth century, the United States and its allies competed with a hostile Soviet Union in almost every way imaginable except open military engagement. The Cold War placed two opposite conceptions of the good society before the uncommitted world and history itself, and science figured prominently in the picture. ......
Science, Technology, and the State in Cold War America
For most of the second half of the twentieth century, the United States and its allies competed with a hostile Soviet Union in almost every way imaginable except open military engagement. The Cold War placed two opposite conceptions of the good society before the uncommitted world and history itself, and science figured prominently in the picture. ......
The Strange and Fascinating Story of the World's Most Common Man-Made
Tells the story of concrete, one of the world's most common man-made materials - from ancient times to the present day. This title describes how some of history's most famous personalities helped in the development and use of concrete - including King Herod, Emperor Hadrian, Thomas Edison, and Frank Lloyd Wright.
The Strange and Fascinating Story of the World's Most Common Man-Made Made Material
Concrete: We use it for our buildings, bridges, dams, and roads. We walk on it, drive on it, and many of us live and work within its walls. But very few of us know what it is. We take for granted this ubiquitous substance, which both literally and figuratively comprises much of modern civilization's constructed environment; yet the story of its ......
The Geniuses, Visionaries, Egomaniacs, and Scoundrels Who Built Our El
Conquering the Electron offers readers a true and engaging history of the world of electronics, beginning with the discoveries of friction and magnetism and ending with the creation of the smart phone and the iPad.
''[This book's] timeliness is remarkable. Now that the Western system of responsible (that is, profit-based) production has emerged as the victor over command economies, the secrets of how we did it may replace foreign relations as `topic A' at conferences, and historians who continue to reject `material civilization' as unworthy of genuine ......
A Sketch of the Physical Description of the Universe, vol. 1
The first volume of Cosmos, his five-volume survey of the universe, appeared in 1845, though Humboldt had labored on the entire work for nearly half a century. He scrupulously sent sections of the work to other experts for suggestions and corrections. The last volume, put together from his notes after his death, appeared in 1861. The volumes were ......
