The Upright Thinkers

The Human Journey from Living in Trees to Understanding the Cosmos

By: Leonard Mlodinow

Narrated by: Leonard Mlodinow

A few million years ago, our ancestors came down from the trees and began to stand upright, freeing our hands to create tools and our minds to grapple with the world around us.

Leonard Mlodinow takes us on a passionate and inspiring tour through the exciting history of human progress and the key events in the development of science. In the process, he presents a fascinating new look at the unique characteristics of our species and our society that helped propel us from stone tools to written language and through the birth of chemistry, biology, and modern physics to today’s technological world.

Along the way he explores the cultural conditions that influenced scientific thought through the ages and the colorful personalities of some of the great philosophers, scientists, and thinkers: Galileo, who preferred painting and poetry to medicine and dropped out of university; Isaac Newton, who stuck needlelike bodkins into his eyes to better understand changes in light and color; and Antoine Lavoisier, who drank nothing but milk for two weeks to examine its effects on his body. Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, Werner Heisenberg, and many lesser-known but equally brilliant minds also populate these pages, each of their stories showing how much of human achievement can be attributed to the stubborn pursuit of simple questions (why? how?), bravely asked.

The Upright Thinkers is a book for science lovers and for anyone interested in creative thinking and in our ongoing quest to understand our world. At once deeply informed, accessible, and infused with the author’s trademark wit, this insightful work is a stunning tribute to humanity’s intellectual curiosity.

(With black-and-white illustrations throughout.)

Ok book about history of physics

Short history of nearly everything by Bill Bryson is much better although more comprehensive in terms of subjects

And his former book, subliminal is better than this. Still okay.

The upright thinker

This brilliant profound audio book is prone to become endearing to those who love and
Are intrigued of physics the encompassing sciencce.

The subject matter outweighs the amateur narration

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The wealth of information provided was entertaining. The self narration was a distraction that took some effort to ignore.

Professionals do it better

Would you listen to The Upright Thinkers again? Why?

It is one of the few books I'd listen to again. There's a lot to digest and several months from now, I may listen again. I'll remember more the second time.

What did you like best about this story?

The information is fascinating and well delineated. Some I knew, much I did not. It puts it all together nicely.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Usually when the author reads his/her book, it's a major mistake. In this case, only a minor mistake. While it's OK, it would have best to leave it to the professionals. They simply do it better and make for a better listening experience.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

I don't think this book would make a film unless it's a documentary.

Any additional comments?

I really liked that the author kept referring to his father. It was touching and made me think often of my father, too.

Wonderful story and insights!

This is the second book by Leonard I have read and I very much enjoyed it. Now the difficult task of deciding which of his other books to read! It's all good!