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The Clockwork Universe
- Isaac Newton, The Royal Society, and the Birth of the Modern World
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
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Publisher's summary
The Clockwork Universe is the story of a band of men who lived in a world of dirt and disease but pictured a universe that ran like a perfect machine. A meld of history and science, this book is a group portrait of some of the greatest minds who ever lived as they wrestled with natures most sweeping mysteries. The answers they uncovered still hold the key to how we understand the world.
At the end of the 17th century, an age of religious wars, plague, and the Great Fire of London when most people saw the world as falling apart, these earliest scientists saw a world of perfect order. They declared that, chaotic as it looked, the universe was in fact as intricate and perfectly regulated as a clock. This was the tail end of Shakespeare's century, when the natural and the supernatural still twined around each other. Disease was a punishment ordained by God, astronomy had not yet broken free from astrology, and the sky was filled with omens. It was a time when little was known and everything was new. These brilliant, ambitious, curious men believed in angels, alchemy, and the devil, and they also believed that the universe followed precise, mathematical laws, a contradiction that tormented them and changed the course of history. The Clockwork Universe is the fascinating and compelling story of the bewildered geniuses of the Royal Society, the men who made the modern world.
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From one of our most acclaimed science writers: a dramatic narrative of the discovery of the true nature and startling size of the universe, delving back past the moment of revelation to trace the decades of work--by a select group of scientists--that made it possible.
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Worth the Effort
- By Roy on 08-13-09
By: Marcia Bartusiak
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The Genesis of Science
- How the Christian Middle Ages Launched the Scientific Revolution
- By: James Hannam
- Narrated by: Rich Germaine
- Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins
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If you were taught that the Middle Ages were a time of intellectual stagnation, superstition, and ignorance, you were taught a myth that has been utterly refuted by modern scholarship. As a physicist and historian of science James Hannam shows in his brilliant new book, The Genesis of Science: How the Christian Middle Ages Launched the Scientific Revolution, without the scholarship of the "barbaric" Middle Ages, modern science simply would not exist. The Middle Ages were a time of one intellectual triumph after another.
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Insightful!
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The Discoverers
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Why didn't the Chinese discover America? Why were people so slow to learn the earth goes around the sun? How and why did we begin to think of "species" of plants and animals? How, when, and why did people begin digging in the earth to learn about the past? How did the study of economics begin? These are but a few of the fascinating questions answered by Dr. Boorstin, Librarian of Congress Emeritus.
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One of my Top 10 Fav. Books!
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When Einstein Walked with Gödel
- Excursions to the Edge of Thought
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Does time exist? What is infinity? Why do mirrors reverse left and right but not up and down? In this scintillating collection, Holt explores the human mind, the cosmos, and the thinkers who’ve tried to encompass the latter with the former. With his trademark clarity and humor, Holt probes the mysteries of quantum mechanics, the quest for the foundations of mathematics, and the nature of logic and truth. Along the way, he offers intimate biographical sketches of celebrated and neglected thinkers, from the physicist Emmy Noether to the computing pioneer Alan Turing and the discoverer of fractals, Benoit Mandelbrot.
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A good overview of scientific theory
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The Invention of Science
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In this fascinating history spanning continents and centuries, historian David Wootton offers a lively defense of science, revealing why the Scientific Revolution was truly the greatest event in our history. The Invention of Science goes back 500 years in time to chronicle this crucial transformation, exploring the factors that led to its birth and the people who made it happen. Wootton argues that the Scientific Revolution was actually five separate yet concurrent events that developed independently.
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A Good Read Spoiled
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The Age of Entanglement
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A brilliantly original and richly illuminating exploration of entanglement, the seemingly telepathic communication between two separated particles - one of the fundamental concepts of quantum physics.
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Quite nice
- By Michael on 02-14-10
By: Louisa Gilder
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The Kingdom of Speech
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Tom Wolfe, whose legend began in journalism, takes us on an eye-opening journey that is sure to arouse widespread debate. The Kingdom of Speech is a captivating, paradigm-shifting argument that speech - not evolution - is responsible for humanity's complex societies and achievements.
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Takedown of a pseudointellectual bully!
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Einstein's Cosmos
- How Albert Einstein's Vision Transformed Our Understanding of Space and Time: Great Discoveries
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A dazzling tour of the universe as Einstein saw it. How did Albert Einstein come up with the theories that changed the way we look at the world? By thinking in pictures. Michio Kaku, leading theoretical physicist (a cofounder of string theory) and best-selling science storyteller, shows how Einstein used seemingly simple images to lead a revolution in science. With originality and expertise, Kaku uncovers the surprising beauty that lies at the heart of Einstein's cosmos
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Mix of science and the man
- By B. Ruple on 11-03-13
By: Michio Kaku
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Longitude
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In 1714, England's Parliament offered a huge reward to anyone whose method of measuring longitude could be proven successful. The scientific establishment--from Galileo to Sir Isaac Newton--had mapped the heavens in its certainty of a celestial answer. In stark contrast, one man, John Harrison, dared to imagine a mechanical solution--a clock that would keep precise time at sea, something no clock had been able to do on land. And the race was on....
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To hear Neil Armstongs Voice
- By Boots on 01-19-13
By: Dava Sobel
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The Science of Discworld
- A Novel
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Not just another science audiobook and not just another Discworld novella, The Science of Discworld is a creative, mind-bending mash-up of fiction and fact, that offers a wizard’s-eye view of our world that will forever change how you look at the universe.
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Not the best Pratchett, but gets there in the end
- By Rachel on 07-30-14
By: Terry Pratchett, and others
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Excellent! Very informative and fun!
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There may never be another era of science like the first half of the twentieth century, when many of the most important physicists ever to live—Marie Curie, Max Planck, Wolfgang Pauli, Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg, Ernst Schrödinger, Albert Einstein, and others—came together to uncover the quantum world: a concept so outrageous and shocking, so contrary to traditional physics, that its own founders rebelled against it until the equations held up and fundamentally changed our understanding of reality. Tobias Hürter takes us back to this uniquely momentous and harrowing time.
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Outstanding
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Interesting but Not Perfect
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What listeners say about The Clockwork Universe
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- L Holland
- 02-10-15
An exceptional understanding
What a wonderful View of the world as it was, and how it shaped the world that is. An astounding perspective that brings a new appreciation for the mind and persona of a remarkable man and his contemporaries that changed it all.
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- Brent
- 12-30-11
great historical science reference
This is a great read to give you a new perspective of the history of science and math. I really appreciated the insight into what it was like in the 1600's and how these men came to enlighten all.
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- Ross
- 11-02-15
Bounces around until it develops powerful momentum
This is quite well done. While ostensibly a science history focused around England, and Sir Isaac Newton, Dolnick does a very nice job of setting the tone and place of the events that are discussed. The setup of the culture, the environment and the filth of the times may seem to take a long while, but I think the perspective created makes the science history that much more interesting.
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- James L. Fong
- 11-25-15
How Newton's laws were discovered
Any additional comments?
Students are taught the laws of physics in school, but this book brings a fresh perspective. This book shares the environment in which the laws we take for granted as truths were first explored and initially ridiculed. It shows the monumental challenge these "geniuses" faced in both uncovering the truths and then getting people to believe them. Overall, a fun, interesting way to review the basic laws of physics and astronomy.
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- Mary Lou
- 08-05-21
Totally Engaging
I'm not a 'math' person., yet I love physics, and history. This author has proven again, that he can explain clearly, whatever the subject, wrap the explanations in engaging, 'you-are-there' scenes which paint such a lively picture of the social, historical and political events of the time. One gets such wonderfully in depth understanding of the characters, and perhaps what drove them, in their time to ponder and solve all the questions they did . More, please!
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- David Carter
- 08-23-16
The Best of the Best
This audiobook seems perfect. There is a ton of science history with many minute details. The reader is excellent.
This piece should be required reading for all high school science teachers. Anyone with an appreciation of the great scientists of history would greatly enjoy this work.
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- Scott H. Waldman
- 12-26-18
detailed history of mathematics
If you are interested in history AND mathematics this is a very interesting story. The details and interlocking characters that brought our world into the modern mathematical standards is intriguing and thought provoking.
the world we live in now is based on the theories and understandings that were formed hundreds of years ago. And to think of the progress we are still making to today and how that will be thought of down the road is very curious to me.
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- 2111
- 01-26-17
ok i know its a good book and want to like it but,
Any additional comments?
I know talent and this has it but I just could not get into it. so sorry. maybe if it included more zombies. just a thought
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- Heather
- 01-17-12
Fun Survey of the Period
This book is certainly a lot of fun for anyone with a passing interest in intellectual history in general, or the turn of the eighteenth century in England in specific. If you're already pretty versed in the beginnings of the Royal Society or the life of Isaac Newton, you probably won't learn very much, but Dolnick's handling of the subject matter is still engaging and makes it feel like you're listening to a story about some old friends. A great aspect of this book is that it pays particular attention to the interpersonal relationships between the great minds of the era. Newton's feuds could fill a book of their own, but this book handles some of the big ones rather neatly.
I would like to point out, however, that the reading is pretty grating. Alan Sklar certainly has a pleasant speaking voice, but his delivery of the material seems almost condescending at times. At several points in the narration, he actually chuckles while delivering some lines, and the result is that he comes across as holding the primary sources in contempt, whether that is actually true or not. Some of the great discoveries of that time have become practically cliché, but in their original context they deserve more respect than this reading gives them.
Still, this book is an enjoyable experience from start to finish. As someone who has researched this particular period fairly extensively, I didn't really learn much from it, but I enjoyed listening. I recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about the Scientific Revolution, or what kind of man Sir Isaac Newton actually was.
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- D
- 05-16-15
Made me appreciate calculus
What did you like best about The Clockwork Universe? What did you like least?
My favorite section was the last half. I love math, but only applied mathematics. I've always struggled with pure math for maths sake, but enjoyed it when it was involved in my other courses like chemistry and biology. The author describing the discovery of calculus and why it mattered I found fascinating.
The first half was a very general overview of the time period this book is centered around. It was interesting, and if someone hasn't already read dozens of general history books about this time period - then I think they'd really get a lot out of it.
Would you recommend The Clockwork Universe to your friends? Why or why not?
I absolutely would and did recommend this book to some of my goodreads friends. This is a great introduction to this time period, and I found I learned a ton in the 2nd part especially.
Have you listened to any of Alan Sklar’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
I have not listened to him before, but I ABSOLUTELY would love to listen to another he has narrated.
The narrator had an absolutely splendid voice. I loved the gravitas he seemed to add to the whole thing.
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