xxii, 646 pages : 24 cm

"In this book John Gribbin tells the story of the people who made science and the turbulent times they lived in. As well as famous figures such as Copernicus, Darwin and Einstein, there are also the obscure, the eccentric, even the mad. This diverse cast includes, among others, Andreas Vesalius, landmark sixteenth-century anatomist and secret grave-robber; the flamboyant Galileo, accused of heresy for his ideas; the obsessive, competitive Newton, who wrote his rivals out of the history books; Gregor Mendel, the Moravian monk who founded modern genetics; and Louis Agassiz, so determined to prove the existence of ice ages that he marched his colleagues up a mountain to show them the evidence."--Jacket

Includes bibliographical references (pages 617-623) and index

Renaissance men -- Last mystics -- First scientists -- Science finds its feet -- "Newtonian revolution" -- Expanding horizons -- Enlightened science I: chemistry catches up -- Enlightened science II: progress on all fronts -- "Darwinian revolution" -- Atoms and molecules -- Let there be light -- Last hurrah! of classical science -- Inner space -- Realm of life -- Outer space

"In this book John Gribbin tells the story of the people who made science and the turbulent times they lived in. As well as famous figures such as Copernicus, Darwin and Einstein, there are also the obscure, the eccentric, even the mad. This diverse cast includes, among others, Andreas Vesalius, landmark sixteenth-century anatomist and secret grave-robber; the flamboyant Galileo, accused of heresy for his ideas; the obsessive, competitive Newton, who wrote his rivals out of the history books; Gregor Mendel, the Moravian monk who founded modern genetics; and Louis Agassiz, so determined to prove the existence of ice ages that he marched his colleagues up a mountain to show them the evidence."--Jacket

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