What do you think?
Rate this book
The Fellowship: Gilbert, Bacon, Harvey, Wren, Newton, and the Story of a Scentific Revolution
Charts the efforts of a group of "natural philosophers" in seventeenth-century England who were to become the founding fathers of the Royal Society, placing their collaborations against a backdrop of period civil war, superstition, and ignorance while discussing the specific contributions of such figures as Francis Bacon and Isaac Newton.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2005
7 people are currently reading
432 people want to read
About the author
John Gribbin
385 books852 followersJohn R. Gribbin is a British science writer, an astrophysicist, and a visiting fellow in astronomy at the University of Sussex. His writings include quantum physics, human evolution, climate change, global warming, the origins of the universe, and biographies of famous scientists. He also writes science fiction.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
March 20, 2014
Like a lot of people who've reviewed this book here, I'm a big fan of the Quicksilver trilogy by Neal Stephenson.
I came across this book and my interest was piqued, wanting to read a bit more about the facts behind Stephenson's novels.
I feel I should point out (if not stress)the fact that this is a piece of historical writing, it's not a novel, it doesn't have the pace or entertainment factor that a novel would have. It's a book about the foundation of a scientific society, so of course it can be a bit dry (or dull if you prefer).
That being said it is a thoroughly interesting and well written book. You will learn a lot from this (the chapter on Halley alone is a real eye-opener).
Don't expect the vigour and storytelling of Stephenson's novels, do expect a well researched history book.
I came across this book and my interest was piqued, wanting to read a bit more about the facts behind Stephenson's novels.
I feel I should point out (if not stress)the fact that this is a piece of historical writing, it's not a novel, it doesn't have the pace or entertainment factor that a novel would have. It's a book about the foundation of a scientific society, so of course it can be a bit dry (or dull if you prefer).
That being said it is a thoroughly interesting and well written book. You will learn a lot from this (the chapter on Halley alone is a real eye-opener).
Don't expect the vigour and storytelling of Stephenson's novels, do expect a well researched history book.
March 25, 2010
After reading Neal Stephenson's "Quicksilver", I became enthralled with the beginning days of the Royal Society and how it all blended with the beheading of King Charles 1, the Fire of London and the invention of the Scientific method. This book is not well-written compared to many others of its ilk. The author is more interested in chronicalling than analyzing. He has many references and quotations (all of which are left in their original Elizabethan English, which is annoying considering he also typeset those quotes two points smaller than the rest). He lacks very real conflict, even though he hints at some of the conflict. He seems to be afraid to go out on a limb with theories, in case evidence comes up later to prove him wrong. In this sense then, he is totally unlike those he wrote about. It disappoints me that you can take a book about Francis Bacon, Christopher Wren, Isaac Newton and Edmund Halley and make it boring and mundane. But Gribbin achieves it.
September 26, 2014
This is the history of the first real scientists, the beginnings of the Royal Society. I read it mainly because I was interested in knowing what was true and false in Neal Stephenson's Baroque trilogy.
Like any history book, it spends too much of the book giving dates for my taste. I want to know what happened before, after, and at the same time as an event, but the specific numerical date I find impossible to hold in my head. I can't tell you anything more about the dates after reading this book than "the 1600s."
It made me want to read Bacon's writings and find out more about Robert Hooke.
Like any history book, it spends too much of the book giving dates for my taste. I want to know what happened before, after, and at the same time as an event, but the specific numerical date I find impossible to hold in my head. I can't tell you anything more about the dates after reading this book than "the 1600s."
It made me want to read Bacon's writings and find out more about Robert Hooke.
June 11, 2022
The revolution in western scientific approach that occurred in late 16th and 17th century England is in many respects the story of a handful of wealthy, industrious and curious men. Issac Newton, Robert Hook and Edmond Halley chief among them.
Gribbin structured his history of the scientific revolution around the histories of these few intellectual giants. It is an interesting but at times tedious tale. Gribbin struggles to balance the broader biographies of these men with the necessary telling of the pieces that relate directly to the establishment of the new scientific approach. Taken as a whole I think he succeeded but nevertheless parts are difficult to work through.
Many incredible things happened during this period - the end of the Elizabethan era, the English Civil War, Cromwell and the Parliamentary period, the restoration, the Plague, the Great London Fire, etc. A time of great change and forward momentum for England as well as academic insight. Gribbin brings this background into the understanding of who, why and how the revolution happened in England at that time.
Gribbin structured his history of the scientific revolution around the histories of these few intellectual giants. It is an interesting but at times tedious tale. Gribbin struggles to balance the broader biographies of these men with the necessary telling of the pieces that relate directly to the establishment of the new scientific approach. Taken as a whole I think he succeeded but nevertheless parts are difficult to work through.
Many incredible things happened during this period - the end of the Elizabethan era, the English Civil War, Cromwell and the Parliamentary period, the restoration, the Plague, the Great London Fire, etc. A time of great change and forward momentum for England as well as academic insight. Gribbin brings this background into the understanding of who, why and how the revolution happened in England at that time.
November 6, 2019
Very interesting. I found out a lot I didn't know about this period in the history of science. It was well written and easy to read.
August 16, 2020
Before Gribbin's scientist sect there was nothing. And the saints of his church have made the World better. So bow your head, pay your taxes as these priests of the government are the true "science".
March 27, 2022
While I thought it "dragged a bit in the middle," I found I roared through the chapters in Newton and Halley; both teaching me things I'd not known of the men before.
Recommended.
Recommended.
May 10, 2024
Superb Gribbin, as usual
December 20, 2012
What do I know about Robert Hook?. I surely have heard that surname before. It comes in one of those chapters that are kept for the last, called elasticity. Hooke's law. y = -kx where k is spring constant. This law was put forth after his experiments on spring, where he figured out that the pull of the spring is proportional to the displacement, obviously. The interesting thing is that it was used to put forth the idea of force for the first time that was before Newton put forth his laws of motion. That was not just one thing. Hooke was more of an experimenter and inventor. He had built several prototypes of microscopes, respirator, spring balances, clocks etc. One of the main funding for Royal society came through entertaining the elites using science. So they had to have a curator and Hooke was the most popular one.
Royal society in a way was Noah’s ark for science in Medieval Europe. Till Royal society had taken shape science was a hush hush word in selected, politically protected circle. It was a time when church was very powerful in Europe, particularly France, Italy, Germany etc where newer scientific fraternity was struggling to get a blanket or anonymity, often finding refuge under several secret societies. Several scientists were killed or silenced over heresy. Copernicus was burned at stake. Galileo Galilee was able to buy life in exchange for house arrest and it was when scientific renaissance was heading for a premature death, the protestant England was wholeheartedly looking to challenge the Roman Catholic rest of Europe by promoting anything that Catholics were against. Fortunately science was one of them. And a period of superstition, plague and civil war was paving its way to a new age of science.
Formation of Royal Society was not abrupt. It started with a group of philosophers and scientific enthusiasts meeting at Gresham College. Royal Society came to being in early 17th century with King Charles II giving the go and formulating the diploma for the Royal Society for study and promotion of science and philosophy . The new scientific revolution took Baconian scientific approach. Francis Bacon was one of the important non-scientists of the lot, but he realized and promoted scientific thinking through his philosophical lectures. His three stage process of starting with hypothesis first, followed by theoretical articulation and finally experimental confirmation, would still be pursued as the best scientific approach. Royal society has had several illustrious fellows, who would keep lighting up the scientific temper till the rise of modern scientific advancements.
The book by John Gribbin was a very enlightening read. It took me to the minds of some of the finest personalities in science. It also revealed a lot more about them and their personality. Some popular figures like Christopher Wren, an architect and a fine engineer who along with the other fellows of the society took up the task of rebuilding London after the great fire of 1660, Robert Boyle, an Irish chemist and physics got his assistant Robert Hooke to design him an air pump with which he demonstrated the Boyle’s law, Isaac Newton, Edmund Halley and their interactions and conflicts that would only build an incredible establishment for scientific fellowship. If there is a revolution, there would be rivalries. Perhaps they were the tipping points of several discoveries.
Rivalry between Newton and Hooke is the most popular of the Royal society ones. Newton was more of mathematician, while Hooke was more of experimenter. Hooke couldn’t become a fellow for a long for he was not a gentleman (whatever meant at that time), Newton was extremely introvert and doubtable schizophrenic. Their personalities had a common link, a sense of insecurity. It was not just around the concept of force did they lock horns. Hooke had predicted the planetary motion, made several thesis on optics, all which later got published in Newton’s papers without giving due credit. When Newton became the president of society he got all the portraits of Hooke dismantled from the hall. In popular science while Newton became a giant, Hooke diminished.
Perhaps we are not reading thing the way it should be. I feel we tend to idolize someone, and build myths and superman stories around them and betray an array of contemporary minds. What was Isaac Newton was he a physicist or a mathematician? What was Boyle, a chemist or physicist? Was Charles Darwin a geologist, biologist or a naturalist? Ernst Rutherford appears in Chemistry school textbooks, while he was a physics guy. Yet several of them, William Gilbert, William Harvey and several others. These are people who have never allowed themselves in any box. That is one fabulous thing about classical scientists. They are more of philosophers, guess that is why they are scientists too.
More interesting things: Originality of Species
Royal society in a way was Noah’s ark for science in Medieval Europe. Till Royal society had taken shape science was a hush hush word in selected, politically protected circle. It was a time when church was very powerful in Europe, particularly France, Italy, Germany etc where newer scientific fraternity was struggling to get a blanket or anonymity, often finding refuge under several secret societies. Several scientists were killed or silenced over heresy. Copernicus was burned at stake. Galileo Galilee was able to buy life in exchange for house arrest and it was when scientific renaissance was heading for a premature death, the protestant England was wholeheartedly looking to challenge the Roman Catholic rest of Europe by promoting anything that Catholics were against. Fortunately science was one of them. And a period of superstition, plague and civil war was paving its way to a new age of science.
Formation of Royal Society was not abrupt. It started with a group of philosophers and scientific enthusiasts meeting at Gresham College. Royal Society came to being in early 17th century with King Charles II giving the go and formulating the diploma for the Royal Society for study and promotion of science and philosophy . The new scientific revolution took Baconian scientific approach. Francis Bacon was one of the important non-scientists of the lot, but he realized and promoted scientific thinking through his philosophical lectures. His three stage process of starting with hypothesis first, followed by theoretical articulation and finally experimental confirmation, would still be pursued as the best scientific approach. Royal society has had several illustrious fellows, who would keep lighting up the scientific temper till the rise of modern scientific advancements.
The book by John Gribbin was a very enlightening read. It took me to the minds of some of the finest personalities in science. It also revealed a lot more about them and their personality. Some popular figures like Christopher Wren, an architect and a fine engineer who along with the other fellows of the society took up the task of rebuilding London after the great fire of 1660, Robert Boyle, an Irish chemist and physics got his assistant Robert Hooke to design him an air pump with which he demonstrated the Boyle’s law, Isaac Newton, Edmund Halley and their interactions and conflicts that would only build an incredible establishment for scientific fellowship. If there is a revolution, there would be rivalries. Perhaps they were the tipping points of several discoveries.
Rivalry between Newton and Hooke is the most popular of the Royal society ones. Newton was more of mathematician, while Hooke was more of experimenter. Hooke couldn’t become a fellow for a long for he was not a gentleman (whatever meant at that time), Newton was extremely introvert and doubtable schizophrenic. Their personalities had a common link, a sense of insecurity. It was not just around the concept of force did they lock horns. Hooke had predicted the planetary motion, made several thesis on optics, all which later got published in Newton’s papers without giving due credit. When Newton became the president of society he got all the portraits of Hooke dismantled from the hall. In popular science while Newton became a giant, Hooke diminished.
Perhaps we are not reading thing the way it should be. I feel we tend to idolize someone, and build myths and superman stories around them and betray an array of contemporary minds. What was Isaac Newton was he a physicist or a mathematician? What was Boyle, a chemist or physicist? Was Charles Darwin a geologist, biologist or a naturalist? Ernst Rutherford appears in Chemistry school textbooks, while he was a physics guy. Yet several of them, William Gilbert, William Harvey and several others. These are people who have never allowed themselves in any box. That is one fabulous thing about classical scientists. They are more of philosophers, guess that is why they are scientists too.
More interesting things: Originality of Species
Read
November 8, 2012"A plodding account of the events of the scientific revolution" - as one reviewer put it, and I totally agree. The begging was quite good but the middle was so boring and the end a complete anti climax. This book is more a set of brief biographies than a real insight into the beginnings of the royal society. I found the first few chapters regarding Galileo, Gilbert and Bacon quite interesting but as the book went on I couldn't help but skip large parts of the middle chapters. It seems the most interesting part of the history of the society occurred much before it had been formed. Although I find the authors style to be very intelligible and easy to read I felt stuck too much to his own biases about the people and events being spoken about, which is ironic, as this is a book about scientific enquiry not propositions.
July 28, 2020
They demanded to see the world for themselves and changed the course of history. The most appreciative part of the novel has to be the ancient illustrations starting from William Gilbert to Edmond Holley. This book feels like the philosophers and the scientists talking to you, regarding their struggles, civil wars, and the societies narrated with utmost perfection. The depictions of the ancient journals, philosophical articles are extremely dynamic and give character to the book. It will take on an adventurous journey to the ancient world of science, art, religion, civil war, plague, and revolution. The era when superstitions and ignorance were brought to an end is worth a read. With this said, the book will leave you with an experience to appreciate the extravagant philosophers and the creation of a completely new model of the Universe.
April 7, 2012
This book presents the origins of the Royal Society and the scientific revolution as more of a team effort than solely the work of lone geniuses such as Newton. It brings up some of the usually underappreciated characters from this period, such as William Gilbert, Robert Hooke and John Wilkins. It argues that a major factor was that the Royal Society already from its beginnings aimed to promote experimental science and was not content to be just another science-appreciation club for gentlemen. The book is not all about science though, but also about the personal lives (and personality conflicts!) of these early scientists.
August 6, 2018
A great exploration of the Scientific Revolution, in particular the creation of the Royal Society of London. John Gribbin covers all the great scientists of the Age, from Gallileo to Sir Francis Bacon to Isaac Newton. He also spends a lot of time with some lesser known, but equally as important, scientists like William Gilbert, Robert Hooke, and Edmond Halley (of comet fame; actually pronounced Hawley, not Hally or Haley). And who knew that Christopher Wren was as much an astronomer as an architect?
May 9, 2008
The story of the scientific revolution and how it came about. Prior to their efforts, science was conducted by way of discourse, the Aristotelian method. No one would ever consider get their hands dirty.
But gradually the idea that science needed to be ocnducted by way of repeated experiment and observation began to take hold.
The three men who dominate this book, Robert Hooke, Isaac Newton and Edmund Halley, firmly established the scientific method and the reputation of the Royal Society.
Excellent book.
But gradually the idea that science needed to be ocnducted by way of repeated experiment and observation began to take hold.
The three men who dominate this book, Robert Hooke, Isaac Newton and Edmund Halley, firmly established the scientific method and the reputation of the Royal Society.
Excellent book.
March 16, 2014
This was a well written account of the progress of scientific advances made by the Royal Society by employing the scientific method. The inclusion of the history of the initial concepts of the scientific method introduced by Gilbert and Bacon was of particular interest. The book was very well written and engages the reader throughout.
June 14, 2016
Gribbin is probably the best writer today to take complex scientific ideas and make them knowable to the average reader. Here he takes the members of the famous 17th century Royal Society of England and illuminates the rise of the modern inductive, empirical age of science. As one reviewer
said, it is "rich and readable." [5 stars]
said, it is "rich and readable." [5 stars]
August 10, 2009
I'm fascinated by this era, the transition from magic to science, but this particular book just didn't hold my interest. Had it recommended in relation to Stephenson's series set in the same era, found myself wanting to re-read his books instead.
September 16, 2010
This is the 350th birthday of the Royal Society, and theis book charts is early history, and the men who inspired the formation of the Society.
Some of the names where new to me, and the story of the Telescope, and how much we owe to Robert Hooke were fasinating.
Some of the names where new to me, and the story of the Telescope, and how much we owe to Robert Hooke were fasinating.
November 28, 2010
A somewhat plodding account of the establishment of the Royal Society that sadly didn't summon up in me the urgency required to finish it before it was due back at the Library.
July 23, 2016
Read this winter break from school, 2008 (gift from papa). Great summary of some early modern scientific episodes.
October 3, 2018
The birth of the Royal Society and the scientific method.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews