Theories for Everything: An Illustrated History of Science
Written by seasoned popular-science authors, this typically colorful National Geographic production is a basic introduction to the historical process of science. The late Langone concisely introduces the concept of a theory, emphasizing that it is a general truth about the natural world and not, as in common parlance, a supposition. Definition in hand, the book dives into the oldest science, astronomy, with the most tenaciously held theory, Ptolemy's geocentric cosmos. As with ancient authority in other sciences, such as Galen on human physiology, Ptolemy put curiosity to sleep until Copernicus, Kepler, and Newton formulated testable theories that encompassed larger classes of phenomena. The treatment of the other major sciences likewise emphasizes the gradual overthrow of a reigning theory by a more comprehensive one. Addressing physics, chemistry, geology, biology, and neurology, the authors deploy graphical aids, including time lines, thumbnail biographies, and sidebars, to explain the major theories and figures in each science. With its profusion of illustrations, this is an inviting orientation to the fascinations of science.Gilbert TaylorCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved