On The Wealth of Nations (Books That Changed the World)

On The Wealth of Nations (Books That Changed the World)
Average customer rating:

A Waste of Time if You Want to Understand Adam Smith

Recommend highly

A terrific guide to the ideas and writings of Adam Smith - with some jokes, too

This was my O'Levels assignment!

Interesting and VERY funny

On The Wealth of Nations (Books That Changed the World)
P. J. O'Rourke
Manufacturer: Atlantic Monthly Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Theory | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Business | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Essays | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Look Inside Business Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Look Inside Entertainment Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Look Inside Nonfiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Parliament of Whores: A Lone Humorist Attempts to Explain the Entire U.S. Government

Radicals for Capitalism: A Freewheeling History of the Modern American Libertarian Movement

The Theory of Moral Sentiments (Philosophical Classics)

America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It

The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression

ASIN: 0871139499

Book Description

As one of the first titles in Atlantic Monthly Press’ “Books That Changed the World” series, America’s most provocative satirist, P. J. O’Rourke, reads Adam Smith’s revolutionary The Wealth of Nations so you don’t have to. Recognized almost instantly on its publication in 1776 as the fundamental work of economics, The Wealth of Nations was also recognized as really long: the original edition totaled over nine hundred pages in two volumes—including the blockbuster sixty-seven-page “digression concerning the variations in the value of silver during the course of the last four centuries,” which, “to those uninterested in the historiography of currency supply, is like reading Modern Maturity in Urdu.” Although daunting, Smith’s tome is still essential to understanding such current hot-topics as outsourcing, trade imbalances, and Angelina Jolie. In this hilarious, approachable, and insightful examination of Smith and his groundbreaking work, P. J. puts his trademark wit to good use, and shows us why Smith is still relevant, why what seems obvious now was once revolutionary, and why the pursuit of self-interest is so important.

Customer Reviews:

A Waste of Time if You Want to Understand Adam Smith.......2007-10-02

I got this book because I wanted to read something on Smith, an author who is not, contrary to what is repeatedly said by other reviewers, difficult to read or superseded by later writers. What I quickly realized was that O'Rourke has no intention of seriously engaging with Smith at all and that the book might easily have been written without his having read the Wealth of Nations at all using a research assistant to pull out some quotes to sprinkle around. That he didn't read the book is the only explanation for the presence of so many gross errors in the book, such as when O'Rourke lumps labor unions together with chartered companies, etc. as a market distorting institution that Smith abhors; whereas, as any reader of the book knows, Adam Smith is quite explicit in his defense of collective bargaining for workers and condemns the laws of his day that impede workers' ability to organize. Whatever one thinks of these matters, Smith was clear as to his own view.
There is also a generally philistine and puerile element to O'Rourke's style and humour which I found extremely grating. If you are interested in work of Adam Smith, don't waste your time with this book. Just because O'Rourke didn't read the original doesn't mean you ought not to. So save your money and but a copy of the Wealth of Nations itself if you haven't read it already.

Recommend highly.......2007-09-02

P. J. O'Rourke makes Adam Smith's master work come alive with witty asides and modern examples to succinctly illustrate principles that Smith had expanded upon at daunting length. Everyone who thinks they might someday want to go into business, run for office, vote, or engage in intelligent conversation should read it, as should those who just want thought-provoking entertainment. The lengthy "dictionary" of quotations in the back is an added bonus.

A terrific guide to the ideas and writings of Adam Smith - with some jokes, too.......2007-08-13

Adam Smith has been written off my many people who find themselves too sophisticated for his 18th Century views. Each time, it is they who prove themselves and their ideas dispensable. Adam Smith continues to influence new generations of people trying to understand not only economics, but what Smith called Moral Sentiments. Was Smith a Prophet? Of course not. Did he get everything right? No. But there is more right there than you will likely find in a library full of most other writers on economics who think they know more than Smith.

However, there are many fundamental concepts that have become central to our understanding of how human beings interact and create wealth that some of us treat him with a kind of devotion and veneration. We probably overdo it. Still, like scripture, he is more often talked about than read. And that is why the wonderful humorist P.J. O'Rourke wrote this book. It is a short guide through Smith's "The Wealth of Nations" (a much shortened title).

O'Rourke also gives us a brief view of Smith's "The Theory of Moral Sentiments" and a very brief look at Smith's life and times. As O'Rourke quote William Kristol, most of us only read in Smith. It is just so long and dry and tied to his times, it takes a special reason to read every darn word. O'Rourke did so he could write this book.

While there is much to enjoy in the book, O'Rourke has created a dictionary of Smith's best sayings (lightly edited). He also provides a list of other readings and points you to the best editions of Smith's works.

This book isn't just a funny book that riffs on Smith. Yes, O'Rourke is great at making things funny, to the point you will laugh out loud. But his humor is most often insightful rather and it is a way of getting the reader to take in the point thinking he is getting dessert. I like this insight from page 62:

"A recurring lesson in "The Wealth of Nations" is that we shouldn't get greedy. And no people are as rapacious and grabby as those who work for the public good. They don't want mere millions or billions of dollars to satisfy personal avarice. They seek the trillions of dollars necessary to make life on earth better for everyone. The World Bank should content itself with private good, from which all good things flow"

Yeah, it isn't that funny. But it is concise and right with a nice bite.

Get it, read it and enjoy it. And, hey, you will probably learn something. Especially if you haven't read Smith (or even read much in his writings).

This was my O'Levels assignment!.......2007-07-25

This is the best book I have read so far this year. The author succeeds in presenting this heavy work in an entertaining and humorous way. I think anyone reading this book will be encouraged to read the Wealth of Nations and inquire more on Adam Smith, if they haven't already done so.

The Wealth of Nations, a book of free-market thinking and a book that shapes the world to this day, was first published in 1776, the year The United States of America gained its independence from Britain. The book was instantly recognized as being fundamental to an understanding of Economics. The original edition totaled over nine hundred pages in two volumes, which was considered long. It is a large volume because Adam Smith felt he was at the end of his life and he wanted to say all he could. In fact, The Wealth of Nations was orally dictated, significantly contributing to its length.

According to P.J. O'Rourke, to understand The Wealth of Nations, you also need to read Smith's first book, The Theory of Moral Sentiments. But now with On The Wealth of Nations, you don't need to read either, or so the book back cover claims. In fact, this book reads like a Cliff Notes, with laughter added.

Adam Smith only wrote three books, the third, on law, being left uncompleted.

P.J. Rourke shows us why Smith is still relevant today, why what seems obvious now was once revolutionary, and how the division of labor, freedom of trade, absence of government interference (the famous two words, `invisible hand'), and pursuit of self-interest espoused by Smith are vital to the welfare of mankind. There is nothing inherently wrong with the pursuit of self-interest. That was Smith's best insight. Smith further gives suggestions on how governments should be run, and how various classes of men should behave. Smith illuminated the mystery of economics in one flash: "Consumption is the sole end and purpose of all production."

Far from being an avatar of capitalism, Smith was actually a moralist of liberty. O'Rourke says, "it's as if Smith, having proved that we can all have more money, then went on to prove that money doesn't buy happiness. And it doesn't. It rents it." (I just love this quote!)

I had to read Wealth of Nations for my O-Levels, and I got a B, the highest score in my class. I was hoping for an `A' actually, but I didn't have O'Rourke's book at the time.

Some interesting quotes from the book:

"Every tax, however, is to the person who pays it a badge, not of slavery, but of liberty. It denotes that he is subject to government, indeed, but that, as he has some property, he cannot himself be the property of a master."

"To improve land with profit requires an exact attention to small savings and small gains, of which a man born to a great fortune...is very seldom capable."

Never complain that the people in power are stupid. It is their best trait. In recent years we've seen a variety of powerful figures barter their authority for the gratification of childish vanities. Perhaps the Saudi royal family will be next to suffer the fate that Adam Smith described: "Having sold their birth-right, not like Esau for a mess of pottage in time of hunger and necessity, but in the wantonness of plenty, for trinkets and baubles, fitter to be the playthings of children than the serious pursuits of men, they became as insignificant as any substantial burgher or tradesman in a city.

In 1776, Britain was the most powerful country on earth. The reason for this, wrote Smith, was plain: "That security which the laws in Great Britain give to every man that he shall enjoy the fruits of his own labour, is alone sufficient to make any country flourish."

Military power depends on economic success. Economic success depends on freedom. "No regulation of commerce," Smith wrote, "can increase the quantity of industry in any society... It can only divert a part of it into a direction into which it might not otherwise have gone."

The rulers of Great Britain have, for more than a century past, amused the people with the imagination that they possessed a great empire on the west side of the Atlantic. This empire, however, has hitherto existed in imagination only. It has hitherto been, not an empire, but the project of an empire; not a gold mine, but the project of a gold mine...It is surely now time that our rulers should either realize this golden dream, in which they have been indulging themselves, perhaps, as well as the people; or, that they should awake from it themselves, and endeavour to awaken the people. If the project cannot be completed, it ought to be given up...Great Britain should free herself from the expence of defending those provinces in time of war, and of supporting any part of their civil or military establishments in time of peace, and endeavour to accommodate her future views and designs to the real mediocrity of her circumstances."

"What institution of government could tend so much to promote the happiness of mankind as the general prevalence of wisdom and virtue? All government is but an imperfect remedy for the deficiency of these."

One reviewer on Amazon.com had the following to say:

"Socialism can work, but it requires people with the qualities of saints. The difference between O'Rourke's rant and the reality of earthly socialism was aptly seen by Leacock, who explained `socialism won't work except in Heaven, where they don't need it, or in Hell, where they already have it.' "

Adam Smith died on July 17, 1790, leaving us a book that is still shaping our way of thinking! His stoic attitude toward death, recorded in his Moral Sentiments, was as follows: "Walk forth without repining; without murmuring or complaining. Walk forth calm, contented, rejoicing, returning thanks to the Gods, who, from their infinite bounty, have opened the safe and quiet harbor of death, at all times ready to receive us from the stormy ocean of human life."

If you find The Wealth of Nations too long or too hard to read, then read P.J. O'Rourke's On The Wealth of Nations, and you will understand all the major concepts of Smith's book.

Interesting and VERY funny.......2007-07-12

I really, really enjoyed this Book on CD.....I think it made it much better than if I had just read the book. Listen to the jokes was really cool. Lots of very good information.

The Qur'an: A Biography (Books That Changed the World)

Average customer rating:

Very disappointing
A good introduction.
What About...?
Excellent "biography" of the Qur'an
The Qur'an...

The Qur'an: A Biography (Books That Changed the World)
Bruce Lawrence
Manufacturer: Atlantic Monthly Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Quran | Bible & Other Sacred Texts | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Islam | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Quran | Islam | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

History | Islam | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Religion & Spirituality Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Darwin's Origin of Species: A Biography (Books That Changed the World)
Plato's Republic (Books That Changed the World)
The Cambridge Companion to the Qur'an (Cambridge Companions to Religion)
Clausewitz's on War (Books That Changed the World)
In the Footsteps of the Prophet: Lessons from the Life of Muhammad

ASIN: 0871139510

Book Description

Few books in history have been as poorly understood as the Qur’an. Sent down in a series of revelations to the Prophet Muhammad, the Qur’an is the unmediated word of Allah, a ritual, political, and legal authority, an ethical and spiritual guide, and a literary masterpiece. In this book, one of the launch titles in Atlantic Monthly Press’ “Books That Changed the World” series, the distinguished historian of religion Bruce Lawrence shows precisely how the Qur’an is Islam. He describes the origins of the faith and assesses its tremendous influence on today’s societies and politics. Above all, Lawrence emphasizes that the Qur’an is a sacred book of signs that has no single message. It is a book that demands interpretation and one that can be properly understood only through its history. Bruce Lawrence’s work is a beautifully written and, in these increasingly troubled times, invaluable introduction to and exploration of the core sacred text of Islam.

Customer Reviews:

Very disappointing.......2007-09-30

Non-Muslim readers - and some Muslims also - may be put off by the simplistically written first two chapters dealing with the life of Muhammad, in which no distinction is made between facts which have been generally accepted and legends. But we learn from this and the following chapter on Aisha, the Prophet's favourite wife, how many verses of the Qur'an refer very specifically to personal dilemmas in which Muhammad found himself at various times of his life.

While the text of the Qur'an is immutable, it has to be interpreted. After the first four chapters, the book describes some of these interpretations, which are of course controversial. So the Shi'ite Ja'afar as-Sadiq (702 to 765) claimed that certain verses of the Qur'an allegorically referred to the Shi'ite imams and to the obligation to follow them - a claim hotly denied by Sunnis like Abu Ja'far at-Tabari (ca.839 to ca. 923), whose work is described in the following chapter. Lawrence often refers to the Qur'an as `the Book of Signs'. Both Sadiq and Tabari had distinguished between Clear and Ambiguous Signs in the Qur'an: Clear Signs are those `whose meaning the reader, with the proper background, can readily decipher'; Ambiguous Signs are those difficult passages of which `God alone knows the interpretation', and which invite imagination and intuition for their interpretation by those few who have access to the Qur'an's esoteric meanings. But whereas the Shi'ites had declared almost a quarter of the Qur'an to consist of Ambiguous Signs, giving them considerable flexibility in innovative interpretation, Tabari restricted the Ambiguous Signs to only a few passages, which did not include those which the Shi'ites had interpreted as referring to their Imams.

Then there is the mystical experience of the Qur'an such as that acquired by the Sufi masters like Muhyiddin ibn Arabi (1165 to 1240) and expressed in his magnum opus, `The Meccan Openings', or by Rumi (1207 to 1273) in his Mathnawi, 27,000 couplets of meditation on the Qur'an.

Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan (1817 to 1898), living in the Raj, thought that Sadiq and Tabari had been preoccupied with what in the 19th century, when science seemed to challenge religion, struck him as secondary problems. Instead of distinguishing between Clear and Ambiguous Signs, Sayyid Khan distinguished between verses that were essential and those that were symbolic. As a believing Muslim, he regarded as essential the verses describing God as omnipotent and as Creator, and the revelation of the Qur'an to Muhammad. He took as symbolic those passages in the Qur'an (like, for example, the Night Journey) which in their literal sense conflicted with science, and he felt free to dismiss hadiths and earlier commentators on the Qur'an as historically but not divinely conditioned. As a modern man, he also laid stress on those verses in the Qur'an which had been ignored in practice by Muslims in the past, such as those condemning slavery and injustice to women (such as he saw also in polygamy, since he thought it impossible for a husband to treat all his wives equally as the Qur'an enjoined.)

There is a chapter on Osama bin Laden, whose interpretation of the Qur'an is well known: he focusses entirely on the most violent verses (`slay the idolators wherever you find them' - 9:5) to proclaim militant jihad as the obligation for Muslims second only to the commandment to believe in Allah; and, especially since Americans and Zionists have dominated Muslim lands, he sees jihad as essentially defensive.

In the last chapter Lawrence shows how the physical imbibing of Quranic verses dissolved in water is used by professional healers, with instructions how the use them available on a Sufi internet site from Indonesia.

I have found this book very disappointing and ultimately not very informative. Professor Lawrence is fervently in praise of the Qur'an, and apparently convinced that it was in fact revealed by God to Muhammad. Nothing wrong with that in itself, though a non-Muslim reader looking for a `biography' of the Qur'an would prefer a rather more detached account. In any case we have here an extremely limited `biography'. It deals only with what devout Muslims have seen in the Qur'an. And even in this narrow respect, where there have been the conflicting interpretations Lawrence does mention (as, for example, between Sadiq and Tabari) there is remarkably little detail in these admittedly very short chapters. There should surely have been very much more about Sunnis and Shi'ites. And although the book is about the Qur'an and not about the hadiths and the sira, the opening chapters in particular do not make this distinction. Then, one cannot imagine a `biography' of the Bible, for example, without taking Biblical Criticism into account. The equivalent of this does exist in Quranic studies, but there is no reference to it in this book. There is, for example, nothing on recent scholarship, even if controversial, on what the sources of the Qur'an may have been, or on the suggestion by John Wansborough that in its present form it was committed to writing not ca. 650 but about 150 years later; and he questioned whether it actually consists entirely of the revelations claimed by Muhammad. Also I would have expected from a `biography' to have learnt something more about the diffusion of the Qur'an, first in calligraphic and then later in printed form. That is obviously not the book Professor Lawrence wanted to write.

A good introduction........2007-07-26

This is a very simple attempt to explain the Qur'an. I personally don't think it should have been called a biography, for it isn't. However, the book is very well written and easy to read, and will introduce the reader, whether Muslim or not, to how Muslims have used and interpreted the Qur'an throughout the centuries.

The first chapters are on Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), his followers, his wars, and on one of his youngest wives, A'isha. These chapters will introduce the reader to how and why the Qur'an descended to the people of the world. The rest of the chapters are about how Muslims have used and interpreted the Qur'an.

I did enjoy the chapter on the use of the Qur'an for healing. According to the author, Muslims have used the Qur'an to heal themselves from diseases such as cancer and AIDS. Qur'anic verses have also been used to adorn murals such as in the Mosque of the Dome and the Taj Mahal, and the author does a great job explaining their history.

The author points out that not all Islamic scholars or Imams interpreted the Qur'an in the same way. This caused branches in Islam, among which are the Sunnis, Shiites, Sufis, Wahabis, Dancing Dervishes, and Nation of Islam, to name just a few. The author goes through some of these branches of Islam and he does a great job explaining their origins.

I did also enjoy the chapter on jihad, a subject captivating the minds of everyone after 9/11. Some Muslim scholars view Jihad as a means of fighting your enemies (e.g. Osama Binladen), while other scholars view Jihad as a spiritual struggle within oneself.

The author talks about prominent Muslim figures from the United States, India, and Pakistan, and about their differing views on how one should approach the Qur'an. Those chapters were fascinating.
Overall, this is an excellent book for both Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

What About...?.......2007-06-26

This is more a question than a review. If you do not brook independent thought, skip what I have to say. It will offend you.

This book is typical studies type fare that has been coming from US professors who "study" other countries and cultures, regions outside the United States of America. Unlike similar professors elsewhere in the world, I began noticing in the early 1970s that in USA to be a professor of Asian, Arab, Russian studies was to be a defender of these people and a cultural snob to the American people.

Lawrence is no exception. His book de facto "promotes" Islam & Muslims. A controlling theme of his book is how much we misunderstand Islam, muslims and in effect Arabs. I have seen much of the world. I could not find the foreign American Studies professors who write to their people how misunderstood are the Americans. What gives? Perhaps American professors are an American elite part of the Oligarchy that dominates today?

Beware the professors who insist what we read and see is not what is truly there or written. Clergy elites used claims to special comprehension to the invisible as horsewhips to ride dominant over people; Professors are elites who use invisible claims to supreme comprehension of all things material and invisible to horsewhip us.

Excellent "biography" of the Qur'an.......2007-04-12

Bruce Lawrence provides a "biography" of the Qur'an that is well designed to introduce the significance of the Qur'an before one attempts to wrestle with the text itself. Lawrence is a serious scholar of Islam and Sufism who here has found a way to simplify that does not oversimplify and is therefore extremely useful for those new to the study of Islam and also others with much more familiarity to get fresh perspective. It is well worth reading by a fairly broad range of readers, Muslim and non-Muslim.

After two chapters on Prophet Muhammad and one on A'isha (the `favorite' wife of his later days in Medina after a long monogamous marriage to Khadija), chapters are about the Qur'an and its interpretation, introducing issues in simple and effective terms via those who have written about and been inspired by the Qur'an.. The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem and the Taj Mahal have extensive quotations carved into them, one emphasizing the oneness of God and the other the character and image of Paradise.

Others chapters introduce writings and inspiration for the likes of Sayyid Ahmad Khan and Iqbal in India, Ibn Arabi the mystic and philosopher, and still others. In this way one begins to see "life story" -- the role of traditional interpretation, the critical importance of in depth study to understand, as well as the place of "science" and inspiration. One Another chapter discusses Osama bin Laden's warped use of the Qur'an - so very like the selective quotations to portray Islam by its detractors. Of course detractors and bin Laden "feed" off each other.

This well written "biography" is about interpretations and many important people moved by the Qur'an.

(There are other books in the series - major books of Plato, Darwin, Marx, Thomas Paine - and more to come. The first reviewer missed the point of the series and yet still enjoyed this book.)

The Qur'an..........2007-04-11

I bought this book, hoping to learn more of the Qur'an. While I did learn and did enjoy the book, I felt as though it covered more of the history after the Qur'an. Specifically how different people interpret the Qur'an. I wanted to dig into the Qur'an more I guess.
Dan

Darwin's Origin of Species: A Biography (Books That Changed the World)

Average customer rating:

You can ask for little more in so little space
Adequate
This author knows the subject too well to explain it

Darwin's Origin of Species: A Biography (Books That Changed the World)
Janet Browne
Manufacturer: Atlantic Monthly Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Scientists | Professionals & Academics | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Evolution | Science | Subjects | Books

History of Science | History & Philosophy | Science | Subjects | Books

Plato's Republic (Books That Changed the World)
The Qur'an: A Biography (Books That Changed the World)
Clausewitz's on War (Books That Changed the World)
On The Wealth of Nations (Books That Changed the World)
Einstein: His Life and Universe

ASIN: 0871139537

Book Description

Charles Darwin’s foremost biographer, Janet Browne, delivers a vivid and accessible introduction to the book that permanently altered our understanding of what it is to be human. A sensation on its publication in 1859, The Origin of the Species profoundly shocked Victorian readers by calling into question the belief in a Creator with its description of evolution through natural selection. And Darwin’s seminal work is nearly as controversial today. In her illuminating study, Browne delves into the long genesis of Darwin’s theories, from his readings as a university student and his five-year voyage on the Beagle, to his debates with contemporaries and experiments in his garden. She explores the shock to Darwin when he read of competing scientist’s similar discoveries and the wide and immediate impact of Darwin’s theories on the world. As one of the launch titles in Atlantic Monthly Press’ “Books That Changed the World” series, Browne’s history takes readers inside The Origin of the Species and shows why it can fairly claim to be the greatest science book ever published.

Customer Reviews:

You can ask for little more in so little space.......2007-09-09

Simple me, I enjoyed the book tremendously. I was impressed by the author's ability to cover so much territory in so little space (the book is, in the end, a biography of both Darwin and Darwinism). Even condensed, it reads well. The last chapter, on the fate of Darwinism after his death, did seem a little rushed, but it was all so new to me that I was happy to have it, rather than nothing at all. This is, after all, an introductory book, and after you have read it, you can look elsewhere for something more substantial. You should judge a book by what it sets out to do, not by what you would do if you were the author.

Adequate.......2007-06-07

This short book is devoted to exploring Darwin's Origin of Species. Browne provides concise summaries of the background to the Origin, Darwin's life, the circumstances under which it was published, and its reception. Overall, these parts of the book are solid and essentially glosses of Browne's outstanding 2 volume biography of Darwin. The final part of the book is a brief tour of the subsequent history of Darwinian ideas from the late 19th century to the present. This is simply too much stuff in too brief a format and is superficial.
Readers interested in a better exploration of this topic would do well to read Browne's biography of Darwin. This is a thick book but very well written and is simply superb as an introduction to Darwin and the relevant 19th century history. Another complementary and excellent book is Ruse's The Darwinian Revolution.

This author knows the subject too well to explain it.......2007-05-22

This book was very disappointing to me, in that it failed to accomplish its main task. It's supposed to help us see how The Origin of Species changed the world, right? To do that it would have to make us see what the belief system was that Darwin's book upset. What did intelligent, educated people believe about animal and other species before Darwin came along? Why was his thesis so shocking? I am sure Janet Browne herself understands this thoroughly, but she makes the Number One mistake of bad pedagogues, which is to fail to imagine what her readers know and don't know - to fail to see the subject from her readers' point of view. We all live in a world steeped in the idea that species evolved over vast spans of time, through random variations, into the ones we know today, which are still evolving. Before Darwin, however, a different dogma was in the air, and I could not grasp from Browne's text what it was.
She should have devoted a whole chapter to putting us back into that mind-set, so we could then appreciate the shock of Darwin's theory.

Enlightening the World: Encyclopedie, The Book That Changed the Course of History

Average customer rating:

Easy Reading Generalizations But Not Bad
Encyclopedie
The real importance of the Encyclopedie comes to life in this history of its controversies
A good read
Before the Wikipedia...

Enlightening the World: Encyclopedie, The Book That Changed the Course of History
Philipp Blom
Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

Social History | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books

French | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Antiques & Collectibles | Encyclopedias | Reference | Subjects | Books

Literature | Encyclopedias | Reference | Subjects | Books

All Deals | Blowout Books | Stores | Books

Literature & Fiction | Blowout Books | Stores | Books

Reference | Blowout Books | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Voltaire Almighty: A Life in Pursuit of Freedom
Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Restless Genius
Voltaire in Exile
Preliminary Discourse to the Encyclopedia of Diderot
The Enlightenment: The Rise of Modern Paganism

ASIN: 1403968950
Release Date: 2005-04-21

Book Description

In 1777 several of the world's greatest men gathered together to create a book that would champion rationalism, free thinking, and secularism--the Encyclopédie. Such leading minds as Diderot, Rousseau, and Voltaire conceived of a work that would tear down the social order dominated by the Crown and Church, a brave act at a time when heresy could still be punished by death. During the years it took to produce all twenty-seven volumes, the writers faced exile, jail, and censorship. But when they were done, they had created a book that would provide the foundation for the Enlightenment and change the world forever. Novelist and historian Philipp Blom presents the story behind the sixteen-year struggle to create the Encyclopédie, the men who wrote it, the powerful forces that tried to suppress it, and the tremendous impact it had on the world.

Customer Reviews:

Easy Reading Generalizations But Not Bad.......2007-03-10

This volume is a bit thin as history but an easy read and useful for those who want an easy way to get their head around d'Alembert and Diderot's Encyclopedie project. I like the book but don't consider it "high book" scholarship. With those qualifications, however, I'd recommed for the casual reader. D'Alembert's Preface to the Enclopedie is far "deeper," and provides a better summary. This is a nice book, worth having, but a bit of a coffee table edition, perhaps.

Encyclopedie.......2006-12-17

Philipp Blom is a delightful writer and this is a fascinating and highly entertaining history of the great French Encyclopedie created over the course of 25 turbulent years in the mid-1700s. Despite the title, this is really a book about people, with the encyclopedie as thread to tie the stories together. I have very little background in 18th C European/French history Blom makes it entirely accessible for novice and expert alike (although I suspect many of the stories here are well worn, but new to me, and well told). Probably the greatest compliment is I want to learn more about those involved, probably starting with a biography of Rousseau. This book easily sits besides Simon Winchester's "The Meaning of Everything" and Henry Hitchings "Defining the World". As another reviewer mentioned, anyone with an interest in Wikipedia will find it fascinating.

The real importance of the Encyclopedie comes to life in this history of its controversies.......2005-12-03

What was the real significance of the 'Encyclopedie' by Diderot and d'Alembert? Many will say its size and date of appearance marked it as special: Philipp Blom reveals its significance lie in its blend of politics, honesty and ideas which went against the Church and Crown alike in its effort to provide unbiased truth. Its publication was to underwrite the values of two centuries to come, with philosophers Denis Diderot and Jean-Jacques Rousseau and medical scientist Louis de Jaucourt living through arrest, imprisonment, attacks and more for their achievement. The real importance of the Encyclopedie comes to life in this history of its controversies.

A good read.......2005-09-04

Not the usual turgid history book of pre-revolutionary France but instead a very good, readable depiction of the trials and difficulties of creating the Encyclopedie. The prose is fluid and the book almost reads like a novel.

Before the Wikipedia..........2005-08-10

At a time when postmodern critiques of the Enlightenment downplay its significance it is useful to look at the phenomenon beyond abstraction in its particulars and vivid detail. Here the history of Diderot and his Encyclopedia brings the moment to life, and is a reminder of what the philosophes wrought in world still dominated by Church and King. The immense task of the work against the perils of censorship is close to a working miracle, and the tribulations of Diderot from the first lettre du cachet that put him in Vincennes prison are heroic. Diderot's dissatisfaction with his labors seem irrelevant now since this world-historical contribution to the Information Revolution is his great legacy.

The Federalist Papers - Books That Changed the World

Average customer rating:

The Federalist Papers - Books That Changed the World

Manufacturer: Easton Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Leather Bound
ASIN: B000G5W2JQ

Product Description

Brand new LEATHER BOUND book accented in 22kt gold.

Thirty Years That Changed the World: The Book of Acts for Today

Average customer rating:

Encourages a faith with both brains and heart

Thirty Years That Changed the World: The Book of Acts for Today
Michael Green
Manufacturer: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Religion & Spirituality Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

All Amazon Upgrade | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Religion & Spirituality | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Evangelism In The Early Church
Mission in Acts: Ancient Narratives in Contemporary Context (American Society of Missiology Ser)
Acts (New American Commentary)
Called to Be Church: The Book of Acts for a New Day
The Book of the Acts (New International Commentary on the New Testament)

ASIN: 0802827667

Customer Reviews:

Encourages a faith with both brains and heart.......2005-09-20

One caveat is that this book is written by an evangical scholar for evangelicals...if you're looking for a more academic discussion, something along the lines of Wayne Meeks' "The First Urban Christians" might be more your speed. What Michael Green gives us, however, is a historically informed discussion that brings the Bible, and the world of early Christians, to life. This work is excellent. It is worthwhile scholarship and practical Christian-Life reading rolled into one, and written for the non-academic.

Average customer rating:

Every Once In A While We Need Some Intellectual Stimulation
Subjective but informed
Most influential in the sciences and social sciences
Truly Outstanding. Good for a Lifetime of Reading.
This book is a great primer of the classics!

Books that Changed the World
Robert B. Downs
Manufacturer: Signet Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Books & Reading | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The New Lifetime Reading Plan: The Classical Guide to World Literature, Revised and Expanded
The Well-Educated Mind: A Guide to the Classical Education You Never Had
The Novel 100: A Ranking of the Greatest Novels of All Time
Great Books
The Literary 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Novelists, Playwrights, and Poets of All Time

ASIN: 0451529286
Release Date: 2004-03-02

Book Description

From the Bible, the Iliad, and the Republic to Civil Disobedience, Das Kapital, and Silent Spring, this revised and greatly expanded edition is a monument to the power of the printed word-an informative discussion of many of the most important works ever created.

Customer Reviews:

Every Once In A While We Need Some Intellectual Stimulation.......2005-08-20

This book offers a wonderful overview of some of the most magificent writers who have written very well renown books from philosophers like Aristotle, Plato, Homer, the infamous Greek playwrights & scientists, Machiavelli, Sir Isaac Newton, Thomas Paine, Mary Wollstonecraft, to Thoreau, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud and more. Depending on one's interests you'll find yourself skimming some sections and enveloping your total all to others. It's a great historic view that will enlighten anyone as to 'how things actually came to be'. Books do have impact globally (and this one does the trick for that needed 'intellectual stimulation' that we all need every now & again).

Subjective but informed.......2005-07-23

The author himself acknowledges that such books or articles that assert a universal list of "the world's most important books" are mostly of opinion and purely subjective. Though many books may share space on many lists, there are always differences of opinion. Despite the imperfect science behind inventing such a list, such as the author does, this book is a delightful read and a well-rounded education for all.
I find that the book did indeed reach the books of great significance, occasionally skipping some of the modern-day literary classics. You will not find any literature, per say, following the authors discussion of the Greeks. However, surely Dickens, Shakespeare, or even Hemminway, should find space on such lists as composed by the author. Nevertheless, Newton, Darwin, Copernicus, Augustine, and Stowe all find a presence and the author does great justince to them. This is certainly a list of books whose focus is founded from the perspective of scientific impact-- whether socail or political. The title may be best changed the The Most Influential Books of Political and Social Science-- and Behavioral (i.e. Freud).
In the end, I found the list fairly accurate and the presentation good but not consistent. Some books receive pages of insight as another may get a page and a half. The reader wonders if the author truly meant to include a book by the discussion and focus it receives. Some books I had never heard of and, as an English major, I can't figure how they made the list and others did not. However, the authors discussion of Stowe, Freud, Marx, Hitler, and Adam Smith shows great knowledge and insight.
This is a book worth reading and hopefully inspires new lists.

Most influential in the sciences and social sciences.......2005-01-18

The sixteen books Downs chooses as having changed the world are : Machiavelli's The Prince, Thomas Paine's Common Sense, Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations, Malthus' Essay on the principle of population, Thoreau's Civil Disobedience, Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, Karl Marx's Das Kapital, Alfred T. Mahan's The Influence of Sea Power Upon history, Halford Mackinder's The Geographical Pivot of history, The scum's Mein Kampf, Copernicus De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelsestium, William Harvey's De Motu Cordis, Newton's Principia, Darwin's Origin of the Species, Freud's The Interpretation of Dreams, Einstein's Relativity ;The Special and General Theories.
This is a list which deliberately excludes religion philosophy and literature. Perhaps it should have been titled 'The Most Influential Books from the Sciences and Social Sciences' The book has a very interesting opening chapter explaining its reasons for choosing the books it has chosen. It claims that the books it has chosen have had lasting and permanent influence. It seems to me that claim goes a bit too far and some of these books clearly had a great historical impact at a certain time, and may or should not have an impact in the future.
In any case this is a very worthwhile book built around a most interesting idea. I am surprised that there are not more books close in theme to this one.

Truly Outstanding. Good for a Lifetime of Reading........2002-03-01

I bought this book used from a library, along with a dozen others, a decade ago without much thought of what I was buying. Wow! I ended up with a lifetime of excellent reading. I've since had this book at my bedside, off and on, for the last ten years. So much excellent information is packed into this book that you can keep coming back to it and learning the most important writings of civilization.

This book summarizes the works for you. With just a little reading you can say something like, "What Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity did was radically change our perspective of time and space, and matter and energy. He showed that all motion is relative, and that the velocity of light is independent of the motion of its source. The implications are profound. To illustrate..."

Or, "What Socrates means by his definition of love, as written in Plato's Symposium, is that love is the pursuit of the beautiful; a desire for the immortal though reproduction. This, at its highest state, is manifested in a generalized love of universal beauty - beautiful souls, thoughts, laws, institutions and the immortal afterlife."

Everyone needs to read these works, and here is a condensed way to do it. It's a small investment in your education.

This book is a great primer of the classics!.......1999-10-19

I recently had the pleasure of taking a class at Missouri Southern State College in Joplin, MO that used the Downs book as a textbook for the class! At that time, I had not read, nor even heard of many of the works Downs discussed. However, after reading his insightful summaries on these classics of political, social and economic history, I felt I owed it to myself to pick up the full length versions and devour them!

Clausewitz's on War (Books That Changed the World)

Average customer rating:

On War - The Historian's View
Execellent Service

Clausewitz's on War (Books That Changed the World)
Hew Strachan
Manufacturer: Atlantic Monthly Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Strategy | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Military Science | History | Subjects | Books

History of Technology | Technology | Science | Subjects | Books

Look Inside History Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Plato's Republic (Books That Changed the World)
The Qur'an: A Biography (Books That Changed the World)
Darwin's Origin of Species: A Biography (Books That Changed the World)
Marx's Das Kapital: A Biography (Books That Changed the World)
On The Wealth of Nations (Books That Changed the World)

ASIN: 0871139561

Book Description

Perhaps the most important book on military strategy ever written, Carl von Clausewitz’s On War has influenced generations of generals and politicians, has been blamed for the unprecedented death tolls in the First and Second World Wars, and is required reading at military academies to this day. But On War, which was never finished and was published posthumously, is obscure and fundamentally contradictory. What Clausewitz declares in book 1, he discounts in book 8. The language is confusing and the relevance not always clear. For a book that has truly changed the world, On War is extremely difficult for the general reader to approach, to reconcile with itself, and to place in context. Hew Strachan, one of the world’s foremost military historians answers these problems in this fascinating book. He explains how and why On War was written, elucidates what Clausewitz meant, and offers insight into the impact it made on conflict and its continued significance in our world today. This is a must read for fans of military history.

Customer Reviews:

On War - The Historian's View.......2007-09-30

Professor Hew Strachan's Clausewitz's On War is a worthy companion to the "Books that changed the world" series. His biography of Clausewitz and his magnum opus describe well the complexity and evolution that existed/developed in both author and work through the Napoleonic wars and up to Clausewitz's death in 1831.

Professor Strachan is of course the author of the current standard work on the First World War and his obvious effort to comb through and digest a work like On War is impressive.

Clausewitz attempted to accomplish two very ambitious goals in On War, the first was to write an art of war for his own epoch, and the second was to construct a general theory of war which would be able to cover all wars. This lends a certain duality to the work and promotes analysis from at least two distinct perspectives. The problem is of course that some parts are more heavily influenced by the Napoleonic art of war theme and others by the general theory of war theme. Parts of the Napoleonic art of war theme are still applicable today, but one must of course take Clausewitz as a man of his times who was writing to an audience of that time, not to us today. In normal historical works it is up to the reader to judge what is still relevant, but with Clausewitz this becomes even more difficult since the general theory comes also into play and has to be judged on its own merit. .

Strachan has attempted to do justice to both themes and in addition take on the necessary topics of the difficulty of translation from the original early 19th Century German and the book's unfinished condition. Overall I think the historian's view predominates which is to be expected. My only point in this regard is that if a great theorist (instead of a great historian) had written this book it would have been different, not necessarily better, but different.

Several points that really stand out for me:

First, the concept of "absolute war" can be seen as a Weberian ideal type, or as something "complete in itself" that "belonged in the real world" (page 148). This second concept sees war as a separate entity, that is no longer subordinate to politics but reacting to its own laws, possessing its own "Geist". That is capable of becoming in effect autonomous, like the Thirty Years War, a social phenomena propelled by ever increasing levels of hatred fuelled by seemingly limitless and lawless violence, The total destruction of a resisting society/community.

Second, the influence of Clausewitz on the course of the First World War has been hotly debated since the 1920s. Strachan argues that Clausewitz was saying that should the initial campaign fail, a war of attrition is called for, but I can't help but see this more in terms of war's reciprocity, that is Clausewitz arguing the defense, attrition being a means in which the defence gains time, preserves itself and attains its "negative purpose" by various ways. One must also remember that Clausewitz writes that, "One may admit that even where the decision has been bloodless, it was determined in the last analysis by engagements that did not take place, but had merely been offered. In that case, it will be argued, the strategic planning of these engagements, rather than the tactical decision, should be considered the operative principle." (Book 6, ch 8). For the mature Clausewitz, the theorist, the political purpose would dictate whether the war should continue after the culmination point had been reached. For Clausewitz, the patriot of 1807 war was more the means of retaining his country's lost honor and independence. Strachen notes that it was this Clausewitz who inspired the Nazis, but his political writings and Book 6, Ch 26 (The People in Arms) would also inspire any national liberation movement fighting a foreign occupation.

Strachan concludes his chapter "The Nature of War" with, "Those who blamed Clausewitz for the slaughter of the First World War were not guilty of finding things in the text of On War that were not there", which of course leaves the actual question of influence open. That question in my mind concerns more how Clausewitz was posthumously interpreted by Moltke; Schlieffen, Goltz, and others.

Third, Strachan describes Clausewitz's concept of theory well, "The role of theory was to elucidate events, and so reason alone was insufficient. Detailed military history s required to evaluate an understanding of the true nature of war . . . Theory has to be concrete and circumstantial, not dogmatic and prescriptive. (page 41).

Finally, Strachan makes very important points concerning the relationships between "tactics" and "strategy" and "politics/policy" and "war". By avoiding the intermediate concept of "operations" as existing between tactics and strategy, a conscious decision of Clausewitz's according the Strachan, he was able to avoid "an obstacle to conceptual clarity" (page 110). Also in regards to the two ways that the German Politik can be translated into English, Strachan points out that in On War Clausewitz deals with policy as representing all the interests of the political community (Bk 8 Ch 6B), but also in his analysis of the campaigns of 1814 and 1815, saw French party politics as having a negative influence on Napoleon's decisions (pp 164-5). In other words in strategic theory terms war's subordination to politics can be either rational and "subjective" as in policy, or irrational (in terms of military force being an instrument) and "objective" as in politics. This is important to keep in mind when considering Clausewitz's continued relevance, since we can see the collapse of the publically proclaimed policy goals in the current Iraq war as being replaced by domestic US political considerations and interests (party politics and their associated investors).

Some points that Strachan makes I find stimulating in that they invite discussion. For instance he criticises Clausewitz on his handling of logistics, arguing that Clausewitz believed "that war had been liberated from logistics . . . Book 5 treated the 1812 campaign in Russia, a country too backward to sustain a large army by requisitioning, as exceptional, whereas in Book 6, on defence, took the same campaign as characteristic. This was a contradiction which he never reconciled . . . Clausewitz's determination to set strategy free from its logistical constraints was reflected in German planning in 1914 and in 1941, with terrible consequences" (page 122).

Napoleon had been able to use requisition to supply his armies, which is Clausewitz's point, that being that this ideal type of warfare had achieved this, but this was not something that could be assumed in the future, since it had not always been that way in the past. Strachan mentions 1914, but not 1940 where the German Army was able to cover even greater distances in the West and defeat the allies whereas logistics had been one of the reasons for the lack of German success in the West in 1914. As to Russia being an "exception" in terms of logistics, there is a reason for this, as Clausewitz writes, "It is rare after all, for an army of 300,000 men to advance for 650 miles on practically a single road, to do it in countries such as Poland and Russia, and just before the harvest" (book 5, ch 14). In fact such a feat doesn't come up again until 1941 (Russian-gauge rail lines having replaced single roads), if one discounts the German advance into revolutionary Russia in 1918. Strachan's "contradiction" doesn't seem like a contradiction at all, but rather a switch in emphasis, for logistics Russia is an exception since "Russia is not a country that can be formally conquered . . . Only internal weakness, only the workings of disunity can bring a country like that kind to ruin." (Book 8, ch 9). So instead of Operation Barbarossa in 1941, Lenin in a sealed train in 1917 would be the Clausewitzian method of dealing with Russia as an enemy. It is this very strong defensive status that Russia enjoys that allows for such analytical diversity and leads various elements/means/methods of defense characterised by the campaign of 1812 to be "characteristic". Also Clausewitz repeatedly mentions that it was Napoleon's failure to prevent the wastetage of his army on the advance (that would include logistics) that led mostly to his failure in Russia (Bk 3, Ch 12, Bk 5 Ch 14). Linking Clausewitz to 1941 is dubious in my view given what should have been seen as a flashing red light in regards to defeating Russia in a single campaign through exclusively military means.

Something I did find a bit of a disappointment was Strachan's handling of Clasusewitz's concept of the balance of power (pp 164-5 and in On War, Bk 6 Ch 6). He provides no analysis of the situation in August 1914 from this perspective, and what better historian to do so than Hew Strachan?

One point needs to be kept in mind throughout, when reading Hew Strachan's great biography, or Michael Howard's Clausewitz - A Very Short Introduction (which I also recommend) or On War. As Herbert Rosinski wrote in the 1930s:

"Clausewitz grasped the idea of war as a coherent, continuous whole, directed to the complete overthrow of the enemy's power of resistance. This brilliant inspiration transformed his investigation from the naive brilliance of his earlier studies into the philosophical profundity of his mature work. Yet this very conception of the "military act" as a continuous, coherent whole - the truth of which he found confirmed by the concrete example of Napoleonic strategy, but which he did not deduce from it - was to lead him into a perplexity that later military thought completely ignored and that forced him in the last resort to emancipate his theory from the "Napoleonic " model altogether.

"For Clausewitz never forgot that this coherent form of strategy directed to the overthrow of the enemy's power of resistance, although it formed the realization of the "innermost nature" of war as an "act of violence," was by no means universal to war; it represented, on the contrary, a highly complex from of warfare, dependent for its realization on a number of presuppositions, which had been found combined only on very rare occasions in the course of military history. He believed in the essential superiority of that form of mobile, decisive warfare reintroduced by Napoleon; but he never lost sight of the fact that the indispensable conditions for it might again some day no longer exist, less rational forms of warfare besides the ideal"Napoleonic" type . . . and to set in its stead an infinately wider and more elastic theory, capable of embracing every conceivable form of war or strategy."

The German Army, 1966 Edition, pp 110-111.

Execellent Service.......2007-09-23

The book arrived quickly & in first rate condition. It is an excellent book and the seller is first class!

The Day the Universe Changed: How Galileo's Telescope Changed The Truth and Other Events in History That Dramatically Altered Our Understanding of the World (Back Bay Books)

Average customer rating:

Title of book: "Changed the truth"???
One Of The Better
The evolution of change.
Nothing Less Than The History Of How Rational Thinkers Advanced The Human Race
A great Book on the history of Technology

The Day the Universe Changed: How Galileo's Telescope Changed The Truth and Other Events in History That Dramatically Altered Our Understanding of the World (Back Bay Books)
James Burke
Manufacturer: Back Bay Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

Astronomy | Astronomy | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

History of Science | History & Philosophy | Science | Subjects | Books

History of Technology | Technology | Science | Subjects | Books

Scientists | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Connections
Circles : Fifty Roundtrips Through History Technology Science Culture
The Pinball Effect: How Renaissance Water Gardens Made Carburetor Possible - and Other Journeys
The Knowledge Web : From Electronic Agents to Stonehenge and Back -- And Other Journeys Through Knowledge
Twin Tracks : The Unexpected Origins of the Modern World

ASIN: 0316117048

Book Description

When people knew the earth was flat and it was the center of the universe, all life revolved around that truth. Galileo's telescope changed the truth. And with that one change, all architecture, music, literature, science, politics -- everything changed, mirroring the new view of truth. This tape is James Burke's examination of the moments in history when a change in knowledge radically altered man's understanding of himself and the world around him.Few people are able to look at human history and see it not as a jumble of half-remembered names and dates, but as an intricate mosaic of neatly interlocking pieces. Fewer still can describe the patterns and explain the parts of the puzzle so that it not only makes sense, but so that it also fascinates and intrigues, excited and entertains. James Burke tells history like it's the plot of the most interesting mystery ever written.

Customer Reviews:

Title of book: "Changed the truth"??? .......2007-07-08

Just a comment about the title of this book...."changed the truth?"....Well, truth never, never, never "changes"....beliefs do, though. Galileo's telescope did not change the truth, but changed beliefs....big difference. The truth of a round earth was always true, whether people believed it or not. Galileo's telescope changed beliefs and understandings about the absolute truth of a round Earth.

Say, consider the resurrection of Jesus Christ.....we may believe it or we may not, but the truth remains the same, that it actually did happen....the truth is the truth, regardless of what we believe....as for me, I choose to believe in solid truths, like a round Earth and the resurrection of Jesus, the latter making an eternal difference.

One Of The Better.......2006-09-25

Burke has a way of making history, science, and
the human condition fun while telling you something
that makes you think about it.

The Day The Universe Changed shows, as Burke has
become known for, connections between many aspects
of human life, the universe, and those odd, sometimes
silly bits of everyday life.

James Burke is one of the better popularizers of science,
his prolific works (all the while being the consumate "geek"
in big glasses and almost balding) make for, not just fun,
but learning. Great stuff, and even better for kids who
will appreciate his quickness and ability to get to the point.

The evolution of change........2006-03-29

This review is based on the first American edition, which was published as a companion to the PBS program, "The Day the Universe Changed". I am assuming that the book is identical with the original British edition.

This is another in the series of excellent popular science and technology books by James Burke. The title is a little misleading, though, in that it does not deal with a specific day, rather with the overturning of paradigms (although the term paradigm is never used in the text). The book is lavishly illustrated, in the mold of the books that are companions to PBS series. (In this regard, I do not know if the original edition is also as lavishly illustrated.)

Each chapter begins with a view of the world before "The Day the Universe Changed", for instance, a world in which the sun revolves around the earth and the sun, moon, planets and stars each reside on Celestial Spheres. The book then shows how this view was changed by the observations of Copernicus, Tycho Brahe and Kepler, then how Galileo and then Newton synthesized this data into a new view of the heavens. The same sort of approach is given to chemistry, medicine, geology, biology and other fields. The main theme of the book is that the view of the universe is not static. While Newton's view of light prevailed for over 200 years, it was eventually changed by Einstein. The book shows how the retrieval of the philosophy of the Greeks from the Arabs started these changes. It shows how many factors interact, for instance and how the development of perspective drawing and printing affected the development of science.

The last chapter of the book is the most thought provoking. It proposes that there is no objective truth, but that what we see as truth is actually a construct of the current structure of thought and that "truth is relative" to this structure. The "truth" of an earth-centered universe was framed by the prevailing structure of reality. When this structure was changed by the development of experimental data and scientific thought, the view of the universe changed, but Burke maintains there is no basis to believe that the "scientific" view is any more valid. "The truth is relative." Fortunately, one can skip this chapter and view this book as a history of the evolution of the ideas of physics, chemistry, geology and biology, which it is.

In view of the current controversy over intelligent design, the chapter on the changes in the geological interpretation of the earth and how it spawned the theory of evolution is particularly enlightening. It draws into clearer perspective why the theory of evolution and the geological view of an earth that is billions of years old is such a threat to the paradigm believed by fundamental Christians.

Nothing Less Than The History Of How Rational Thinkers Advanced The Human Race.......2005-09-23

James Burke's book traces history backward and conceives of progress as a series of brillant achievements that create in their influence outstretching ripples that set off the strides humans have made throughout time. The witty Burke explores these watershed moments that took humanity forward, each setting others in motion, crafting a ladder upon which, rung leading to rung, our species has reached the places where it is today. Several key thinkers are focused upon and certain events, some overlooked by popular history, are highlighted. This book makes for an enlightening and mentally-provocative study of the achievements of the human past.

A great Book on the history of Technology.......2005-04-30

After you read this book, you will look at the world in a whole new way.It outlines on how random the pace of discovery of new ideas and technology really is. If you want to be really challenged intellecually, then go no further. Mr. Burke has done an outstanding job. I just wish that I could afford the DVD that is based on this book.

What A Great Idea! Inventions That Changed The World

Average customer rating:

This book gives an entertaining & informative tour of inventions & discoveries across five time periods!

What A Great Idea! Inventions That Changed The World
Stephen M. Tomecek
Manufacturer: Scholastic Reference
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Reference & Nonfiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Science, Nature & How It Works | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General & Reference | Technology | Science | Subjects | Books

History of Technology | Technology | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Reference | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Children's Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Reference Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

They All Laughed... From Light Bulbs to Lasers: The Fascinating Stories Behind the Great Inventions That Have Changed Our Lives
Mistakes that Worked
1,000 Inventions & Discoveries
The Kid Who Invented the Popsicle: And Other Surprising Stories about Inventions
Brainstorm!: The Stories of Twenty American Kid Inventors

ASIN: 0590681443

Book Description

From the hand ax and mathematics to IC chips and the laser, each technological touchstone in human history is described and placed in historical context. Each profile includes the who (if we know it), how the idea developed and how it works, the immediate impact of the idea, and the technological 'children' of the idea. The time span is 3500 BC to today. The author closes with an epilogue that looks into the future, a bibliography, and a list of great Web sites for young inventors.Realistic, 4-color paintings, in technical drawing style, showcase the idea and its applications by humans.

Customer Reviews:

This book gives an entertaining & informative tour of inventions & discoveries across five time periods! .......2007-05-23

What A Great Idea! Inventions That Changed The World
by Stephen M. Tomecek

Ever since I have read, among many others, 'They All Laughed... From Light Bulbs to Lasers: The Fascinating Stories Behind the Great Inventions That Have Changed Our Lives' by Ira Flatow, I am always on the look-out for similar books in this genre.

I have an ardent fascination for the history of science & technology, & have amassed a vast collection of books in this genre. Not only I am interested in the life stories of the scientists & inventors, I am also keen to find out how they went about in the pursuit of the original ideas behind their inventions.

I have recently acquired 'What a Great Idea' from a used bookstore. It showcases lively, colourful stories about some significant inventions & discoveries against a historical background e.g. the hand ax, the wheel, the clock, writing, clothing, mathematics, & the computer. It also divides them across five broad time periods ranging

- from the ancient world before 3,000 B.C.E.;
- the metal age from 3,500 B.C.E. through A.D. 1;
- the age of discovery from A.D. 1 through 1799;
- the age of electricity & communication from 1799 to 1887;
- the age of the atom from 1887 to the present;

What I liked about this book are the full-colour diagrams & clear illustrations, which have been well-integrated with brief descriptions of how the inventions work as well as insightful information about their impact on society as well as on subsequent inventions & discoveries. What eventually emerges from this book is a sense of inter-connectedness among the inventions & discoveries that other books often lack. This reinforces what Leonardo da vinci once said, "Everything is connected to everything else."

Also, the author's style of presentation is informally straight-forward & visually appealling.

Well, if you have that curiosity streak in you about the history of inventions & discoveries, just like I do, I guess you just have to go & get hold of this book. I can assure you, this book gives an entertaining & informative tour.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books