cover image A Little History of Science

A Little History of Science

William F. Bynum. Yale Univ., $25 (288p) ISBN 978-0-300-13659-3

The history of science parallels the history of mankind, and Bynum, professor emeritus in the history of medicine at University College London, captures the high points in this engaging chronology of our search to understand ourselves and the universe in which we live. He begins in the usual place, with early humans learning to write, which aided them with a subsequent development: keeping track of the movement of stars and planets in the night sky. Contributions from China—paper, gunpowder, and the compass—combined with math and medicine from India set the stage for Greek innovation, especially that of Aristotle, whose powerful views dominated science for centuries. Bynum covers alchemists like Paracelsus, the anatomists Vesalius and Harvey, and Islamic scholars like Avicenna before moving on to the notable figures of the Western scientific revolution: experimentalists Galileo, Francis Bacon, and Copernicus with his controversial heliocentric theory. Early fossil hunters Mary Anning and Georges Cuvier receive attention, as do “game changers” Newton, Darwin, anthropologists Mary and Louis Leaky, and Einstein. Bynum’s medical background enriches his discussion of contemporary advances in medicine and genetics; additionally, with no math and minimal jargon, his entertaining history is more than suitable for curious teen and adult readers. (Oct.)