The Ascent Of Man [Paperback]

There are parts that I did not understand; but most of it I did. This is not heavy reading. Bronowski had a real literary touch. Take this for example: “Man is a singular creature. He has a set of gifts which make him unique among the animals; so that, unlike them, he is not a figure in the landscape - he is a shaper of the landscape.” These two beautiful sentences set the tone and the subject of the book perfectly, and it is a standard that never lapses. Consider this descriptive piece of writing: “The sleeping hedgehog waits for the spring to burst its metabolism into life. The humming bird beats the air and dips its needle-fine beak into hanging blossoms. Butterflies mimic leaves and even noxious creatures to deceive the predators. The mole plods through the ground as if he had been designed as a mechanical shuttle.” How many literary artists wish they could write as well?

What makes this book work so well is the human touch. We not only learn about the discovery that the Earth is not the centre of the Universe, but we learn about the men, Copernicus and Galileo, as men, about the times they lived in, and the effect that their discovery had upon that world. As I know little about science, I cannot comment on the accuracy of his statements, although he seems to have attracted little in the way of criticism from those, who presumably, know their subject; but I can comment on his humanity, a subject, I like to think, I am able to comment on. “The monomaniac culture of conquest; the predator posing as a hero because he rides the whirlwind. But the whirlwind is empty. Horse or tank, Genghis Khan or Hitler or Stalin, it can only feed on the labours of other men.” For some reason, this phrase from Bronowski has haunted my mind since I first read this book in 1975. There have been writers who have commented on the hollowness of great men, but no one, as far as I am aware, has put it as succinctly as that. Bronowski’s death in the 70s, shortly after The Ascent of Man was completed, was a great loss. There has been no one to replace him. Read this lavishly illustrated book, revel in the literary gifts and the brilliant intellect of Bronowski, and expand your own knowledge.

Bronowski presents his investigation of the development of civilisation in thematic form, exploring the ways in which the inexplicable have been explained and efforts made, if not to tame the world, at least to grapple with its explanation. He shows how the human mind has grown in vision, from the domestication of animals and grain, to the taming of fire, the understanding of the planetary system, and the manipulation of numbers.

The television series was an epic, a gripping and absorbing experience. Bronowski, demonstrated that he could communicate the complex, and this is equally true of the book. It does not, however, have the dynamism or excitement of the series. It does present Bronowski's greatest contribution, his emphasis that the true dynamic of science is not explanation but uncertainty: science is about questioning, about overturning assumed certainties. The true worth of civilisation is in promoting intolerance of ignorance.

Bronowski demonstrates that enlightenment has been hard won; however, if we view the human mind as capable of shining light into the darkness of ignorance, that mind can easily be misled. When he explores the nature of the concentration camp, he reminds us how easily the mind can be deluded, how illusory and ephemeral civilisation can be.

'The Ascent of Man' does not offer a comprehensive history of civilisation, but rather Bronowski's vision of the importance of doubt, of investigation, and the need to constantly question. It blends history with scientific inquiry and invites you to take a fresh perspective, to understand how explanation can appear certain one moment and be seen as total illusion the next. It's a book which entertains and revitalises your perception of the world and its history, but, overall, it's a book which should encourage you to question and challenge. And it's also a book, I hope, which will encourage you to go and view the television series, which has lost none of its vitality and compassion despite the years.