Have one to sell? Sell yours here
or
Get a £3.60 Amazon.co.uk Gift Card
Seeing Further: The Story of Science and the Royal Society: 350 Years of the Royal Society and Scientific Endeavour
 
 
Tell the Publisher!
I’d like to read this book on Kindle

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Seeing Further: The Story of Science and the Royal Society: 350 Years of the Royal Society and Scientific Endeavour [Hardcover]

Bill Bryson
3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.


Trade In this Item for up to £3.60
Get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade in Seeing Further: The Story of Science and the Royal Society: 350 Years of the Royal Society and Scientific Endeavour for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £3.60, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.


Product details

  • Hardcover: 496 pages
  • Publisher: HarperPress; 1st. Edition edition (7 Jan 2010)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0007302568
  • ISBN-13: 978-0007302567
  • Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 18 x 5.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 147,583 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Product Description

Review

"The Royal Society was founded by curious scientists able to `see further' to change the world around them. Today it illuminates the vast achievements of modern science and continues to push back the frontiers of knowledge." Sir David Attenborough --Sir David Attenborough

"An inspiring celebration of science past, present and future" Melvyn Bragg
--Melvyn Bragg

Product Description

Edited and introduced by Bill Bryson, with contributions from Richard Dawkins, Margaret Atwood, Richard Holmes, Martin Rees, Richard Fortey, Steve Jones, James Gleick and Neal Stephenson amongst others, this beautiful, lavishly illustrated book tells the story of science and the Royal Society, from 1660 to the present.

On a damp weeknight in November, 350 years ago, a dozen or so men gathered at Gresham College in London. A twenty-eight year old – and not widely famous – Christopher Wren was giving a lecture on astronomy. As his audience listened to him speak, they decided that it would be a good idea to create a Society to promote the accumulation of useful knowledge. With that, the Royal Society was born.

Since its birth, the Royal Society has pioneered scientific exploration and discovery. Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, Robert Hooke, Robert Boyle, Joseph Banks, Humphry Davy, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, John Locke, Alexander Fleming – all were fellows. Bill Bryson’s favourite fellow was Reverend Thomas Bayes, a brilliant mathematician who devised Bayes’ theorem. Its complexity meant that it had little practical use in Bayes’ own lifetime, but today his theorem is used for weather forecasting, astrophysics and stock market analysis. A milestone in mathematical history, it only exists because the Royal Society decided to preserve it – just in case.

The Royal Society continues to do today what it set out to do all those years ago. Its members have split the atom, discovered the double helix, the electron, the computer and the World Wide Web. Truly international in its outlook, it has created modern science. ‘Seeing Further’ celebrates its momentous history and achievements, bringing together the very best of science writing. Filled with illustrations of treasures from the Society’s archives, this is a unique, ground-breaking and beautiful volume, and a suitable reflection of the immense achievements of science.


Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
29 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
For someone as unscientific as me I found on the first reading that I was 'blinded by science. It is a beautifully produced book with wonderful illustrations. It is quite staggering to see how various subjects have developed in what is,after all, only a short space of time. I believe it was Newton who claimed to have received his vision by standing on the shoulders of giants. One can scarcely imagine what vision will be granted to those who stand one the shoulders of to-day's giants. It was good to struggle with the more obscure articles although the use of a mental telescope would have been useful. I would encourage others to read this book and even, if like me, they found hard going at times, just to hold the book and enjoy its quality is sufficient to provide the impetus to begin.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The book was written to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the Royal Society founded in 1660 and in the process marking the beginning of modern science. The momentous event was precipitated by a lecture given to a dozen people by a 28-year-old astronomer, Christopher Wren, who would later design St Paul's cathedral. These gentlemen were followers of Sir Francis Bacon, a 17th-century statesman and philosopher who argued that knowledge could be gained by testing ideas through experiments. Inspired by the lecture and Bacon, they determined to meet every week to discuss scientific matters and to witness experiments conducted by different members of the group. Two years later Charles II granted the Society its royal charter. The establishment of the Royal Society marked the invention of processes on which modern science rests, including scientific writing and peer review. During its illustrious history the Royal Society counted among its members such stellar scientists as Charles Darwin, Michael Faraday, James Clerk Maxwell and Lord Ernest Rutherford while Sir Isaac Newton served as its President;the election of Leibniz, a Hanoverian, as Fellow of the Royal Society in 1673 established its cosmopolitan character since its inception.

The book introduced and edited by Bill Bryson, comprise twenty-one essays written by distinguished personalities-men and women-of science but also letters reflecting on science and technology since the foundation of the Royal Society. The essays in their commanding majority are truly excellent.

Early in the book Margaret Wertheim provides a profound insight on the challenge that modern science which we identify with the Royal Society posed to existing worldviews and systems of meaning. This is immediately followed by an equally profound essay by Neal Stephenson relating to one of the sharpest intellectual disputes in the early days of the Royal Society between the two giants Newton and Leibniz. I do not allude here to their well known feud on the fatherhood of Calculus. But on a most profound debate on the nature of physical reality. Newton, of course, was well aware that his model led to a deterministic world posing a problem on free will. Lebniz in his theory of monads, primary entities interacting with all other similar entities anticipates contemporary thinking that matter is a secondary manifestation of the primary physical reality. Richard Dawkins' essay on Darwinian evolution is as always beautifully written and incisive. Georgina Ferry's essay on crystallography is written with sensitivity and among other relates woman recognition in science. One of the heroins, Dorothy Hodgin, was not only elected Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS 1947) but was awarded the 1964 Nobel prize for Chemistry, the first (and so far the only) British woman to win a science Nobel. Ian Stewart convincingly reveals the all permeating nature of Mathematics underpinning science and technology. Stephen H. Schneider, Nobel prize laureate and member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) relates among other how Bayenesian probability aids in tackling risk management in climate change. The concluding essay is appropriately written by Martin Rees, President of the Royal Society who reminds us that for Bacon, science was driven by two imperatives:the search for enlightenment, and the 'relief of man's estate'. But additionally and importantly articulates his own position that contemporary scientists have a special responsibility. They should as 'citizen scientists', be prepared to engage in public debate and discussion. And this is particuarly important because challenges of the twenty-first century are more complex and intractable than those of the twentieth century.

The book is richly illustrated drawing on the arhives of the Royal Socitey. Photographs include pages with the signatures of the founding members of the Royal Society but also of the 2001 and 2002 members some of whom are contributors in the book;photographs of Isaac Newton death mask;and photographs of original editions of monumental publications such as Newton's Principia, Darwin's on the Origin of Species and Einstein's Uber die spezialle und die allgemeine relativitast theorie (On the Special and Ceneral Theory of Relativity).
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Though it may not be at the forefront of everyone's thoughts, it is hard to overestimate the influence and impact of both the individual members of the Royal Society and the society as a whole has had on our modern lives. Through the work of the 22 contributing authors, this book attempts to shine a light on some of these areas of influence and impact and, in my opinion, succeeds quite successfully.

Covering the 350 years of the Royal society, with topics ranging from the place of science to influence politics and policy when dealing with matters of uncertainty (parallels with the present global warming debates), through to the amount of science and mathematics that is hidden behind the scenes in almost everything we do today. The scope of the book is understandably large.

Echoing the views of the earlier reviewers, some of the submissions are easy to read and appreciate, with some of the others, for me, requiring a little more persistence. Though, all of them are well worth the effort involved.

With its wide range of subjects, I believe the book offers a great introduction to a fascinating and integral part of the history of our modern day lives. Further to that, by crafting the book from the submissions of a good selection of prominent figures and writers, I have also gained some insight into authors who I had not come across before but shall be reading more of in the future.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Most Recent Customer Reviews
`In 350 years, the Royal Society has had a mere 8,200 members, but...
In 2010, the Royal Society celebrated its 350th birthday. Its official foundation date is 28 November 1660, when a group of twelve men met at Gresham College after a lecture by... Read more
Published 9 months ago by J. Cameron-Smith
A fascinating book,
This is a fascinating book discussing developments in science since the formation of The Royal Society in 1662. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Paul Clappison
Unbiased
The book is a collection of scientific writings. One or two are very complex but the whole picture, derived from the book, is excellent. Read more
Published 21 months ago by yalcton
It's not what you think
This is NOT a Bill Bryson book. Do not expect the usual wit and good humour. It is a collection of writings from learned worthies, some of whom can write better than others - and... Read more
Published 22 months ago by potomac
Not recommended... hard to get your teeth into.
The Bill Bryson introduction was the best thing about this book - it's a collection of short pieces by various authors, some of which are treading familiar ground and others seem... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Mr. Dh Welch
Disappointing
I must confess, I was disappointed by this physically beautifully-produced book, having held high hopes for it. Read more
Published on 14 April 2010 by Nige
A great disappointment
My wife gave me this book for Christmas, knowing that Bryson is one of my favourite authors and my general interest in science. She thought it was written (not edited) by Bryson. Read more
Published on 7 April 2010 by Mr. B. J. Marsden
A bit like the parson's egg, good in parts.
A good potted history of the RS. Somewhat wordy in parts but on the whole enjoyable, something to take on holiday and relax with.
Published on 13 Mar 2010 by Derrick Evans
Bill Bryson always amazing.
He who thinks he knows Bill Bryson capabilities; think again. We are accustomed to divide people, and most writers belong to that category, in groups. Read more
Published on 11 Mar 2010 by Drs H. J. Kok
Seeing Further
The intro by Bill Bryson is much briefer than expected but the content is most satisfactory! The book arrived much more quickly than I anticipated.
Published on 8 Mar 2010 by Elizabeth P. Fowler
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 

Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   


Listmania!


Look for similar items by category


Look for similar items by subject


Feedback