Ingenious Pursuits: Building the Scientific Revolution
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Editorial Reviews:
In this fascinating look at the European scientific advances of the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, historian Lisa Jardine demonstrates that the pursuit of knowledge occurs not in isolation, but rather in the lively interplay and frequently cutthroat competition between creative minds.
The great thinkers of that extraordinary age, including Isaac Newton, Johannes Kepler, and Christopher Wren, are shown in the context in which they lived and worked. We learn of the correspondences they kept with their equally passionate colleagues and come to understand the unique collaborative climate that fostered virtuoso discoveries in the areas of medicine, astronomy, mathematics, biology, chemistry, botany, geography, and engineering. Ingenious Pursuits brilliantly chronicles the true intellectual revolution that continues to shape our very understanding of ourselves, and of the world around us.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating:
Summary: A Joy to Read and Ponder
Comment: I love books on science, particularly those about the great "discovery" times in Europe (mainly England) in the 17th and 18th centuries. The boldness, curiousity and ingenuity of these men and occasional women still leaves me stunned. From the book one gets a glimpse of the curiousity about the natural world and that their exploration of it was FUN, an adventure to be treasured, shared and used. The author covers more than just dry scientific findings - the framework of the society and science's growing role within that society also is present.
Many of those featured are unsung heroes - Hooke, Boyle, Cassini, Huygens along with, of course, several of the famous - Newton, Bacon, etc. Their collaboration and effort, it is safe to say, essentially laid the foundations for the modern age. At no other time except perhaps North America around the Revolution has there been such a gathering of such greatness. One pauses at the thought that except for a few individuals, mankind would keep rolling along the same path day after day. Whole books could have been (and have been) written on any one of these personalities but their confluence at this stage in history was a combination of serendipity, the free socieites of northern Europe and the introduction of tools to extend the human dimension, namely the microscope and telescope.
This is also the story of that great organization, the Royal Society, and its efforts in spreading the gospel of the good news of science. The book is richly illustrated with beautiful drawings, most of which are original. A "Cast of Characters" at the conclusion offers a small sketch of each of the principle players. My grade - A
Customer Rating:
Summary: Fact checking?
Comment: I'm pretty disappointed by this book - as other reviewers have said, there are many interesting facts, but it's quite incoherent. And then I start wondering how many are facts. On p.29 of my paperback edition, we learn that Charles II hid in an oak after the battle of Northampton, and then on p. 101 that someone used spectacles for short sightedness for magnifying small objects. This sort of thing is so lazy and sloppy.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Incoherent
Comment: Awful. The book is simply a large collection of facts and quotations stuck together with overblown generalizations. It looks as though she collected her research on index card and then insisted on using each and every one regardless of its relevance or interest. She does come up with the odd interesting fact, but they aren't worth the effort of having to wade through all the rest.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Interesting bits and pieces, yet lacks cohesion
Comment: Jardine's book offers many interesting facts and details of the day-to-day lives of those that made significant contributions to modern astronomy, medicine, architecture, and other fields. Among her characters are Newton, Flamsteed, Hooke, Boyle and Harvey. What is lacking is an overall sense of cohesion throughout the book. Jardine seems to have tried to take a more human approach to these scientific developments and developers by focusing on their personal lives, correspondence, and social interactions.
While certainly valuable, these details provide only one small aspect of the scientific revolution and ignore the inventions themselves in favor of the circumstances surrounding them. The reader is unable to experience the excitement and mystery of discovery and invention which must have played an equally powerful part in motivating these "Ingenious Pursuits".
For those looking for a wide variety of historical tidbits surrounding the scientific revolution, this book may be for you. For those, however, with a more substantial interest in the scientific developments of the mid- to late-seventeenth century, keep looking.
Customer Rating:
Summary: thorough yet aimless; detailed yet unclear
Comment: This is a tough book to finish because it isn't clear where the story is. The research is thorough, as you might expect from an author who is "Professor of Renaissance Studies". But the book touches on all kinds of scientific advances and technology that would be interesting if explained. Jardine mentions the introduction of the ruby bearing for chronometers. But she doesn't explain or illustrate the jewelled watch movement. By contrast I've watched Gerry Sussman, an MIT EECS professor, hold an audience spellbound with a clear explanation of what the 17 jewels in a 17-jewel watch movement do. Next time Jardine writes about science, I hope that she collaborates with an engineer or scientist and an illustrator.
Technical Details
Binding: PaperbackDewey Decimal Number: 909
EAN: 9780385720014
ISBN: 0385720017
Label: Anchor
Manufacturer: Anchor
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 464
Publication Date: 2000-12-05
Publisher: Anchor
Release Date: 2000-12-05
Studio: Anchor
