A Little History of Science
Following A Little History of the World, by E. H. Gombrich (2005), which was a translation of a 1935 German original, Yale has replicated that book’s approach in titles about language, philosophy, and now, science. In 40 short chapters adorned with whimsical illustrations in woodcut style, Bynum proceeds from counting to cosmology. A professor of medicine, Bynum provides numerous glimpses into the advancement of human health through précis of particular theories and discoveries associated with famous names, starting with Hippocrates and Galen, including such others as Paracelsus and William Harvey, and finishing with Louis Pasteur and modern antibiotic pharaceuticals. Noting biographical details of the scientists mentioned, such as the solitary personality of Isaac Newton, Bynum connects their characters to whatever scientific mystery piqued their curiosity. In the process, he often approaches a topic by extrapolating from a common experience, as from bird-watching to dinosaurs. A super-accessible introduction to science. --Gilbert Taylor