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Theories for Everything: An Illustrated History of Science
Theories for Everything highlights the rich, compelling stories behind science's greatest discoveries and the minds and methods that made them possible. Authoritative, entertaining, and easy to follow, it provides indispensable information on our current theories about the natural and physical world as well as a concise overview of how those ideas evolved.
Filled with illustrations, topical essays, and sidebars, these fascinating pages cover every major topic imaginable—astronomy, the human body and its inner workings, the nature of matter and energy, genetics and evolution, and the complex relationship between mind and behavior. Broken down by subject, the book provides readers with a thorough examination of each set of related theories as they are tested and refined and introduces all the major figures in the history of science, including Aristotle, Archimedes, Copernicus, Galileo, Descartes, Pascal, Newton, Edison, Pasteur, Darwin, Pavlov, Curie, Einstein, Freud, Feynman, and Hawking. The lives of more than 45 scientists are captured in special time lines that add depth and detail to the running narrative.
Each discovery is presented as a detective the narrative focuses on how inquisitive investigators posit, revise, and improve upon their descriptions of nature. And like any first-rate mystery, it entices its readers, inviting them to match wits with the scientific sleuths whose theories for everything have unraveled nature's riddles and reshaped how we see our world.
Filled with illustrations, topical essays, and sidebars, these fascinating pages cover every major topic imaginable—astronomy, the human body and its inner workings, the nature of matter and energy, genetics and evolution, and the complex relationship between mind and behavior. Broken down by subject, the book provides readers with a thorough examination of each set of related theories as they are tested and refined and introduces all the major figures in the history of science, including Aristotle, Archimedes, Copernicus, Galileo, Descartes, Pascal, Newton, Edison, Pasteur, Darwin, Pavlov, Curie, Einstein, Freud, Feynman, and Hawking. The lives of more than 45 scientists are captured in special time lines that add depth and detail to the running narrative.
Each discovery is presented as a detective the narrative focuses on how inquisitive investigators posit, revise, and improve upon their descriptions of nature. And like any first-rate mystery, it entices its readers, inviting them to match wits with the scientific sleuths whose theories for everything have unraveled nature's riddles and reshaped how we see our world.
408 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
20 people are currently reading
312 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
September 18, 2020
Good for updating current and historical over view of science one hasn’t studied for years. A lot of progress in cell biology, viruses and genetics. More complicated as knowledge is added.
December 31, 2011
This is a neat book to have on your nightstand for awhile. I read anywhere from 5-20 pages a night before I went to sleep for several weeks. I learned a lot of interesting things. It was very easy to read and understand...enough so, that it was relaxing. I'm not an eggie head either so if it was so effective at teaching me--I'd imagine it would be this way for anyone.
Give it a go, yo...=)
Give it a go, yo...=)
September 10, 2020
Theories for Everything is a book that makes science accessible. As the title suggests, it covers multiple areas of science. Since it covers such a wide swath of knowledge, the book has three different authors.
The book opens with Astronomy. Each chapter contains a timeline showing breakthroughs. It goes in-depth about the Earth-Centered Universe and how that came to be accepted. One of the central tenets of science is that something doesn't need to be correct; it merely needs to satisfy the data. So while Claudius Ptolemy was ultimately incorrect, it required another theory to supplant it. Copernicus was right, but it wasn't complete. It took the likes of Kepler and Newton to refine it. Eventually, the book branches out in Astronomy to cover different fields.
Chapter two covers Medicine. Doctors did not know anatomy since they couldn't dissect cadavers. Diseases were a mystery as well. As with chapter one and all of the following chapters, the book covers the historical developments of human knowledge.
Small biographies in the book add context and a personal touch. Stephen Hawking has one, as does Albert Einstein.
Theories for Everything is a fabulous addition to a personal library.
The book opens with Astronomy. Each chapter contains a timeline showing breakthroughs. It goes in-depth about the Earth-Centered Universe and how that came to be accepted. One of the central tenets of science is that something doesn't need to be correct; it merely needs to satisfy the data. So while Claudius Ptolemy was ultimately incorrect, it required another theory to supplant it. Copernicus was right, but it wasn't complete. It took the likes of Kepler and Newton to refine it. Eventually, the book branches out in Astronomy to cover different fields.
Chapter two covers Medicine. Doctors did not know anatomy since they couldn't dissect cadavers. Diseases were a mystery as well. As with chapter one and all of the following chapters, the book covers the historical developments of human knowledge.
Small biographies in the book add context and a personal touch. Stephen Hawking has one, as does Albert Einstein.
Theories for Everything is a fabulous addition to a personal library.
February 19, 2021
Gobbled this book up in my early childhood and it served as a delicious supplement to the slog of my public school curriculum. Sections on astronomy and neurology were especially fascinating for the 6 to 10-year-old me.
October 26, 2017
Love it so far. Interesting and very easy to read & understand.
March 13, 2021
With the exception of some typos, this is a great summary of "everything."
March 18, 2023
Bilim Tarihi ile ilgilenenler için çok güzel bir başvuru kitabı.
November 3, 2023
A great book for beginners and the general public. I think it should be updated if the authors are still available.
February 25, 2020
Theories for Everything is a book you must read if you like History and Science. The book was all about the History of Science, decorously compartmentalized into various sections like The Heavens (Astronomy), Life Itself (Biology), Mind and Behavior (Neurology) etc. Every section is loaded with indigestible amount of ultra-interesting information about the origin and evolution of scientific ideas.
The trivia on the side of the pages were delightful to read. From stuff about Paul Rubens stuffing hundreds of Greek philosophers in his School of Athens to Tycho Brahe's temperament that cost him his nose, the book's gamut of knowledge is widespread.
I learnt more about the rationale for finding vaccinations, their early trials, and eventual success from this book than from all the biology classed I'd attended.
Every section is intellectually stimulating, so it's hard to skip any page, making this book very time-consuming to finish.
And when I did finish, I wanted to reread it, and keep the book as a reference book with myself, even thought I had to return it to the library! (I returned).
The trivia on the side of the pages were delightful to read. From stuff about Paul Rubens stuffing hundreds of Greek philosophers in his School of Athens to Tycho Brahe's temperament that cost him his nose, the book's gamut of knowledge is widespread.
I learnt more about the rationale for finding vaccinations, their early trials, and eventual success from this book than from all the biology classed I'd attended.
Every section is intellectually stimulating, so it's hard to skip any page, making this book very time-consuming to finish.
And when I did finish, I wanted to reread it, and keep the book as a reference book with myself, even thought I had to return it to the library! (I returned).
December 15, 2010
The title led me to believe the text would discuss CURRENT or at least modern theory. However, this book was a HISTORY of therory. The book would be great as a primer for anyone wanting to delve into historical thought. For this reader, I wanted modern thoughts with pro/con discussion. Sadly, the book and I were on different missions.
Recommended for the historical reader but suggest you avoid this if you already have the primer.
Recommended for the historical reader but suggest you avoid this if you already have the primer.
July 1, 2016
Bu kitapta, insanlığın sonu gelmeyen merakının nasıl bilime dönüştüğü ve bilimin nasıl ilerlediği anlatılıyor.
Yorumumun tamamı için > http://www.teknomani.com/2014/12/kita...
Yorumumun tamamı için > http://www.teknomani.com/2014/12/kita...
February 20, 2012
Beautiful illustrations and fascinating tales from the history of science, but definitely a coffee table book that you poke at every now and then.
December 20, 2011
I love me some time lines and historical re-caps. A great and easy to read, kid friendly history of knowledge.
June 14, 2013
Very nice book. Understandably, it does not go into details on the subject but it does a good job in providing a one-book summary of 5,000 years of human knowledge.
March 2, 2019
Interesting book, Instead of reading many books, this one summarises the most important theories in the history in a simple and understandable way.
July 11, 2012
Wow! what an interesting read.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews