History's Greatest Discoveries

by Joel Levy

Spanning achievements from the moment that early man learned how to control fire to the announcement of the Higgs boson 'God particle', this book recounts the extraordinary stories of 50 of humankind's greatest discoveries in science and exploration.How does it feel to be the first person ever to glimpse the Jovian moons through a telescope, or to set foot in the New World? What led Pythagoras to prove his famous theorem and how was Einstein's mind- blowing theory of relativity confirmed to the world?Read about the excitement, joy and awe of some of history's greatest pioneers in these gripping accounts of their adventures and breakthroughs. The background, science and implications of each 'Eureka!' moment are explored in a concise and engaging style, with illustrations and maps that bring to life these incredible discoveries that have changed the world.

256 pages, Paperback

First published March 25, 2015

About the author

Joel Levy is a writer and journalist specializing in science and history. He is the author of over a dozen books, including The Little Book of Conspiracies and Scientific Feuds: From Galileo to the Human Genome Project. Phobiapedia is his first book for children.

Reviews

[John Winkelman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned a lot about the history of humankind’s greatest discoveries and realized there is still a lot I don’t understand about many of the scientific topics. Still I gained greater appreciation for those who do the work of science to find answers to the unknown and hope for the future. So many things we take for granted came about because someone was interested enough to solve the questions.

[Lottie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not the biggest non- fiction science fan, I prefer reading non- fiction books on history which I guess this kind of is, but obviously this is more science based.
This book details some of the biggests scientific discoveries that have happened. If your a big science fan you will probably enjoy this, but I found it boring and struggled to get through it. The only sections I found interesting and enjoyed were the biology discoveries as that was definitely my favourite science at school I really didn't like chemistry and physics so I found those sections boring.

[Wendi Ballew · Rating 3 out of 5]

6/10 Stars. Some very interesting discoveries, and some very dry ones. The real problem with it is the almost complete lack of women mentioned. Those who were mentioned (the illustrious Marie Curie included) were buried in among the works of their male counterparts. Either the author is suggesting women did not play any significant role in the shaping of our world, or, the more likely, it is simply an indictment on the thousands of years of oppression of women. Sexist either way. Also the group represented was entirely made up of white men. So in addition to women evidently not having made many important discoveries, neither has anyone who isn't white. I found the lack of anyone of color and the very few women mentioned (none of whom were mentioned on their own, only with their male counterparts) unfortunate.