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Showing reviews 1-5 of 37
 Science, Romance, and Wonder August 26, 2010
cyndrwyn
The Age of Wonder, not only describes the surge in scientific discovery and geographical exploration in late 18th century English society; it also links it with the contemporary romantic movement in poetry. Superbly written, with interesting biographical details of the characters involved.
 What a time to be alive August 23, 2010
CES London
Fascinating stuff. Haven't finished it yet (well it is quite long) but it's very easy to read and gives you stacks of interesting stuff on the science and the people. I'm sure that eventually someone will write something similar about the 2nd half of the 20th century.
Cutting-edge science, royalty and best-selling authors inter-relate August 8, 2010
Lost John (Devon, England)
Reading this book reminded me of the adage that inside every fat man is a thin man, vigorous and strong, eager to break free. There is much good writing here, about an exciting period for the emergence of modern science, populated by many fascinating characters. And it appears to be based on a lot of original research. But what a pity that one of the first requirements of modern popular histories is that they should extend to 500 pages. Poetry by Sir Humphrey Davy? For the most part we could do without it. Similarly, in this context, that of Byron and Shelley; some dreary speculation on the lines of "as he did such and such a thing, he must have been thinking...."; the author's evangelistic promotion of atheism; and the inclusion, especially in the early chapters, of any available sexual titillation, much of which is in any case based only on speculation.
But the book is worth reading. The Age of Wonder, well named, opens with Joseph Banks' stay on Tahiti in 1769. He was a member of an expedition sponsored by the Royal Society and led by Captain James Cook, the primary objective of which was to observe the transit of Venus across the sun. Banks returned to England with a huge number of botanical and other specimens, and much carefully recorded anthropological and other information, founding his reputation as a popular, if essentially untrained and amateur scientist (throughout his lifetime scientists were known as philosophers). He was in due course rewarded with the Presidency of the Royal Society and it is through his Presidency that the link is made with much of the other material in this book. He and the Society did much to encourage and facilitate the work of the young Humphrey Davy, who eventually succeeded Banks to the Presidency. Davy died in 1829 and it is with his death that The Age of Wonder as a book essentially ends. Many related developments were still to come - in particular, Michael Faraday had yet to produce the work on electricity and electromagnetism for which he is best known - and Holmes rightly anticipates much that at the time lay in the future.
Besides Banks, Davy, his famous miner's lamp and other discoveries, the book majors on William Hershel, his development of telescopes and discovery of Uranus; also sister Caroline and her independent discovery of eight comets; Central African explorer Mungo Park; and the early development of hot air and hydrogen ballooning. Many other late eighteenth and early nineteenth century players also feature. For some it might be possible to discover as much, if not more, from other sources, but this book - which is exceptionally well indexed and has a useful Cast List as an Appendix - would still be worth checking as a route to discovering how individuals interrelated - Sir Humphrey Davy to Sir Walter Scott, for example, or Joseph Banks to King George III, who in turn was not averse to popping round to a garden party at the home of William and Caroline Herschel. It was indeed an Age of Wonder.
Inspiring reading. August 6, 2010
Sebastian Palmer (Cambridge, England)
The Darwin bicentennial got me reading much more about science, scientists, and all sorts of related stuff, for which I'm extremely grateful. After an orgy of Darwin related reading and viewing, I felt I needed to broaden my horizons, so I bought this in a local book shop (the fabulous Heffers, on Trinity St, Cambridge). It's a real tour de force, and makes for very compulsive reading. I was barely able to put it down to perform basic functions like eating and sleeping.
My favourite chapters were those that featured the Herschels: William, and his sister, Caroline. I'm a writer, musician and artist. I make no claims to excellence in any of these fields, nor pretend to compare myself with people like William Herschel (he was an accomplished musician, composer and teacher, as well as becoming one of the world's leading astronomers and cosmologists). But I do find the energy and industrious enthusiasm of people like him, his sister, and many others detailed in this superb book, enormously inspiring. Reading about Herschel's obsessive casting, grinding and polishing of his mirrors, and the construction of ever larger telescopes, not to mention the drama of Caroline's own discoveries, or her terrible injury sustained whilst working in the dark, observing (you'll have to read the book to find out what happened, but it makes me wince just to recall it), was truly exciting.
When I was at school the sciences seemed extremely drab. The more I educate myself about science, the more I realise what an amazing branch of human inquiry it is. This book helps capture the vibrancy, energy, and multifarious voraciousness for knowledge and understanding - not to mention the wonderful conditions of awe-inspired humility and almost sublime trembling in the face of nature and our experience of it - that lie at the roots of scientific inquiry.
Well done Mr Holmes: I'll certainly be seeking out more of your inspired and inspiring work!
Fascinating Collection of Characters August 2, 2010
Clare Topping (Northamptonshire, UK)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I had coveted this book for some time, thinking that it could almost be considered a follow-on from, if a more scientific (rather than industrial) version of Jenny Uglow's Lunar Men. However, although this was what I expected, it was not what I got.
I had ups and downs with this book. I found the first chapter covering Joseph Banks trip Tahiti a little difficult to get into and wondered if I had added the wrong book to my wish list. However, I think this is just me, having read about Banks as a Botanist, I guess I expected more botany and less anthropology. Once I got part way through the second chapter, focussing on William and Caroline Herschel I was hooked. I discovered about explorers and scientists (although that term was apparently a bit of a divisive subject) that I knew little or nothing about - Mungo Park, the various balloonists, even William Herschel was merely a name prior to this book.
The author skillfully weaves the characters in and out of the chapters. The aforementioned Joseph Banks appears in and out as president of the Royal Society, appropriately feted as a scientific talent spotter and mentor. Then we move onto the life of Humphrey Davy, and, to a lesser extent Michael Faraday, with guest appearances from the likes of Babbage and Mary Somerville. Also interwoven are the great poets and writers of the day; Shelley, Byron and Davy's great friend, Coleridge.
My only complaint from the book is that there is perhaps too much page room given to the poets and, indeed the poetry of, for example, Davy. It seems that there is so much of interest with the scientific figures and the legacy they left that it felt as though the stories of the scientists were sacrificed for poetry - perhaps that is just the miserable scientist in me!
Whether you are interested in science, Georgian history or the poets, buy this book - there is something in here for all tastes. You won't regret your purchase and you will no doubt find something new and interesting in there.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 37
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