12 Books That Changed the World

by Melvyn Bragg

When we think of great events in the history of the world, we tend to think of war, revolution, political upheaval or natural catastrophe. But throughout history there have been moments of vital importance that have taken place not on the battlefield, or in the palaces of power, or even in the violence of nature, but between the pages of a book. In his fascinating new book accompanying the ITV series, Melvyn Bragg presents a vivid reminder of the book as agent of social, political and personal revolution. Twelve Books that Changed the World "presents a rich variety of human endeavour and a great diversity of characters. Here are famous books by Darwin, Newton and Shakespeare - but we also discover the stories behind some less well-known works, such as Marie Stopes' Married Love", the original radical feminist Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman" - and even the rules to an obscure ball game that became the most popular sport in the world ...

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Books About Books, Science, Writing, Literature, Shakespeare

300 pages, Hardcover

First published April 10, 2006

About the author

Melvyn Bragg, Baron Bragg, FRSL, FRTS (born 6 October 1939) is an English author, broadcaster and media personality who, aside from his many literary endeavours, is perhaps most recognised for his work on The South Bank Show.

Bragg is a prolific novelist and writer of non-fiction, and has written a number of television and film screenplays. Some of his early television work was in collaboration with Ken Russell, for whom he wrote the biographical dramas The Debussy Film (1965) and Isadora Duncan, the Biggest Dancer in the World (1967), as well as Russell's film about Tchaikovsky, The Music Lovers (1970). He is president of the National Academy of Writing. His 2008 novel, Remember Me is a largely autobiographical story.

He is also a Vice President of the Friends of the British Library, a charity set up to provide funding support to the British Library.

Reviews

[Smiley · Rating 4 out of 5]

In fact, I had randomly read only 9 books out of its 12 since 2009 according to my preferences; my first three being The King James Bible (1611), Experimental Researches in Electricity (3 volumes, 1839, 1844, 1855), and Principia Mathematica (1687). My preferences for the first rely mainly on its literary credit, for the second on Michael Faraday whose fame has impressed me since my lower secondary school years, and for the third on my admiration of Sir Isaac Newton. Till a few days ago I found these 3 remained unread, probably due to my waning motive or the degree of consequential ground-breaking impact of each book on each field achieved to the world at large; the unread 3 books are as follows: The Rule Book of Association Football (1863), On the Abolition of the Slave Trade (1789), and Patent Specification for Arkwright's Spinning Machine (1769).

Since some of my friends and book lovers have clicked 'Like' on my review, I think I would say something more on why this book is worth reading and spending our time: first, each book content has wisely been well-planned and long enough for one's sitting because it does not cover too many pages. As we can see from the first three books I read as examples (illustration pages excluded): The King James Bible (15 pages), Experimental Researches in Electricity (17 pages), and Principia Mathematica (18 pages).

Second, each one is interestingly readable due to its related illustrations as follows:
The King James Bible: 1611 book cover, The title page of the 1568 'Bishops' Bible', The title page of the 1535 Coverdale Bible, 'The martyrdome of Master William Tindall in Flanders', 'Explorer David Livingstone reads the Bible to his men' - an engraving from 1874.
Experimental Researches in Electricity: 1839 book cover, The frontispiece for Davy's lectures at the Royal Institution, A page depicting experiments with magnets from Faraday's Experimental Researches in Electricity, A page from Faraday's diary recording his discovery of electromagnetic induction, 1831, Faraday lecturing on magnetism at the Royal Institution.
Principia Mathematica: 1687 book cover, Newton's own corrections for the second edition of Principia, The frontispiece of Volume II of Principia, translated into English in 1729, A contemporary cartoon satirising Newton's theory of gravity, Newton's experiments into the nature of colour, from Opticks published in 1704.

And third, for each book, there is a timeline depicting important events, discoveries, missions, etc. through the years since its first publication; only one to be cited from each book:
The King James Bible: 1940 Winston Churchill draws on the King James Bible in his 'Finest Hour' speech inaugurating the Battle of Britain (p. 286)
Experimental Researches in Electricity: 1864 James Clerk Maxwell describes electromagnetic field in four classic equations, which also allow calculation of the speed of light (p. 232)
Principia Mathematica: 1992 The Vatican admits that the Catholic Church erred in condemning Galileo's work proving that the planets circle the Sun and not the Earth (p. 34)

To continue . . .

[Jane White · Rating 4 out of 5]

i can't quite finish this book and after three consecutive loans the library is making me take this one back ... but I have loved what I have read.
It is an easy read - in a hard kind've way.
I can't read it at night as I end up spending teh whole night lying awake thinking about what I had read ... and so I haven't even gotten half way through in about seven weeks.
But I plan to re-borrow the book on another day and maybe over those next few months I'll get closer to the end.
I have enjoyed reading Bragg's commentary and have learned a lot about Isac Newton and feminist Marie Stopes.
Other texts in this eclectic book include the Magna Carta, the rule book of association football, On the abolition of the slave trade, A vindication of the rights of women, experimental resaear4ch on electricity, the King James Bible and Shakespeare's The first folio.

[Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a really interesting book, but then what else would you expect from Melvyn Bragg. The book does what it says , it discusses 12 books and explains why, in the opinion of the author they changed the world.

As he points out in his preface the title is '12 books' not 'THE 12 books', his selection having changed numerous times during the writing and obviously different people will choose different books. However his explanations as to why his choice is as it is extremely well argued and things which I wouldn't have thought worthy of inclusion are easily justified.

His selection ranges from Newton's 'Principia Mathematica' to 'The rule book of Association Football', and from Darwin's 'Origin of the Species' to 'The King James Bible'. A real mixture of things and fascinating to read, whether all in one go or just to dip into when the spirit moves.

[Keary Birch · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating read. Gives an insight into 12 books that I really should read (some of which I have).

Spend some quality time and do yourself a favour and become more knowledgable.

Bit religious in place.

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm sure many holes could be picked in his exact choice of books, but this really does make for an informative and fun read. His sympathetic attitude to Christians is most welcome, and his willingness to show the link between Darwinism and Eugenics was particularly brave. He was also just fabulous on Adam Smith.

A good writer on some very good books.

Liked it a lot.

[Nate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this one.

[Phil Whittall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love books. I think the gift of reading was one of the best things my parents ever did for me. Melvyn Bragg is another bibliophile and this book is above all else a testament to the enduring power of the written word.

It's well written and fascinating stuff start to finish. He stretches the idea of 'book' here and there but he makes a convincing case for the 12 books from this island that have indeed changed the world. They are:

Principia Mathematica by Isaac Newton'
Married Love by Marie Stopes
Magna Carta by Assorted English Barons
The Rule Book of Association Football by some English toffs
On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin
On the Abolition of the Slave Trade by William Wilberforce
A Vindication of the Rights of Women by Mary Woolstonecraft
Experimental Researches on Electricity by Michael Faraday
Patent Specification for Arkwright's Spinning Machine by Richard Arkwright
The King James Bible by William Tyndale and 54 scholars
Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith
The First Folio by William Shakespeare

I think the case is weakest for no9 but other than that they all have a bearing on our lives today. The words I use (Shakespeare, Tyndale), the sport I love (FA), the freedoms I enjoy (Magna Carta), the technology I use (Newton, Faraday), the mortgage and products I use (Arkwright, Smith), the freedoms my wife has (Woolstonecraft, Stopes), the freedoms Barack Obama has (Wilberforce) and even my understanding of the world I live (Newton, Darwin, Faraday).

What was interesting to me is the portrayal of Christians in the book, the respect for God that the deist Newton had to the deep powerful faith of Tyndale, Wilberforce and Faraday. What struck me the most though was the contrast of two consecutive chapters from Darwin to Wilberforce. In the first chapter Christians who opposed and continue to oppose the understanding of evolution come out in a very poor light and we see religion at some of its worst, to seeing faith at its world changing best in the following chapter on William Wilberforce.

What sort of faith do I have? One that resists new information, new understanding, rigid in my thinking and unbending in my attitudes or one that sees a better world, has vision and power to persevere for justice. I imagine the difference between perseverance and unbending rigidity is slim indeed.

Lastly, I've been trying to think of other books that could justifiably claim to have changed the world in which we live and have few others to add - any thoughts?

[Tony Lawrence]

Bragg has narrowed this down to British (mostly English) writers of influential and seminal books ... or other written works, including the Magna Carta, the Football Association Laws, Arkwright's Spinning Machine patent application, Faraday's experiments on electricity & magnetism, and the various reports of Wilberforce's speech calling for a ban on the slave trade (no official Hansard's record was available then). Non-fiction is covered by Shakespeare's First Folio. Religion has the King James Bible, commerce & economics has Adam Smith's 'Wealth of Nations', and of course Newton and Darwin are shoe-ins.

It's a great collection of books that can be said to change, even define, the modern world, and with continuing impact and relevance. Not to be too controversial, there are clearly a lot more white men credited, the exception being 2 books on female emancipation (Stopes and Wollstonecraft), the latter extended to a wider context of Civil and Human Rights.

I wonder what new ideas/inventions/movements in the C20th & C21st might be added to the list, in the last 100 years and the way live now. What books - if that's not too quaint a concept - will be seen in hindsight to encapsulate the information age/internet/web, nuclear physics, modern medicine/neuroscience, artificial intelligence, the growing awareness of climate change (and how we address it?), inter-planetary exploration, for example.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting selection and included some I had read, some I knew a lot about even though I've never really read them, and others I knew nothing of.

Each book was put in context and its choice justified by Bragg. While he has succeeded in making even The Rules of Association Football seem important, he has not tempted me to read it, but then I'm not sure that's his aim. It certainly is a whistle stop tour through several hundred years of British culture, but it is that parochialism that makes me question the title.

[Frank Cardenas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book as it allowed me to get a gist of highly important but difficult-to-read books I would've never chosen to read by my own will. The language is clear and it makes it easy for us to understand the powerful influence those books had and continue to have nowadays. Nice read.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

2½ stars. Uneven in places, but a good survey overall. Made me stop to reflect what 12 books have most changed my life (as opposed to the world as a whole). If you like books about books, give it a try.

[carynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

eh. was interesting, learned much, but mostly to despise any author with his picture on the front cover. Melvyn has such a pompous way of writing, he certainly earned his surname.

[Rat de bibliothèque · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was alright. But mostly - it was awful.

[Shiloah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read. I learned much!

[Stephen Hunter · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting idea and I particularly liked the chapter on the Kings James Bible as the bible is not something I have thought about where it came from. Fascinating to read about William Wilberforce. Some odd choices I thought, it was a wide definition of 'book' eg a spinning wheel patent as a book, but each to their own and he makes a case for them eg the FA rule book. I suppose the bent is towards work that contributed to society, hence the choices. Wealth of Nations sounds like a snorefest. The 12 books being:
- Principae Mathematica
- Married Love
- Magna Carta
- Rule book of association football
- Origin of the species
- On the abolition of the slave trade
- A vindication of the rights of woman
- Experimental researches in electricity
- Patent spec for Arkwright's Spinning Wheel.
- The King James bible
- Wealth of Nations
- The first folio (Shakespeare)

Finished in Wellington NZ

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was curious, having familiarity with some of the books included. Narrators can make or break an audiobook; the various narrators for this were fine, but nothing exciting. The material was largely dull, however. Some of the discussion for a few of the books was interesting (including quotes and historical context for the books), but there was nothing really new or exciting for the books I knew. The few books that were previously unknown to me were so obscure and odd that I had difficulty agreeing with their inclusion. And the audio book only included 10 of the 12 chapters -- Chapters 5 and 6 ("On the Origin of Species" by Charles Darwin and "On the Abolition of the Slave Trade" by William Wilberforce) are completely missing.

[Dr Susan Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A useful compendium of essays on interesting people - good to get his bucket list and to find scientists there and women! Very happy to find Marie Stopes here - for her birth control work of course and not for her palaeobotany, but both are important, and Somerville. Will probably dip into it again.

[Marius Veiss · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read by Melvyn Bragg and I can gladly say that it was as informative as his podcast series ‘In Our Time’.

Mr Bragg manages to encapsulate 12 titles in a mere 350 pages, synthesising how technology, genius, rationality, esprit de corps and religion have brought people together regardless of their backgrounds.

[Mir Shahzad · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very good book, it explains that how the world is changed.

[Paul Cooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought provoking choice of books, and an introduction to the history behind the headlines that we all know but never delve under.

[Emma Dargue · Rating 2 out of 5]

Brief outline of the books Bragg thinks changed the world. Nothing special or particularly interesting.

[Sarah Cm · Rating 3 out of 5]

My main issue is that they are all from the British Isles so the list is quite constrained.

[Roy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably should we titled "12 BRITISH books that changed the world" but it does a pretty good job of arguing why each changed the world. A short read.

[David Highton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting selection

[Jon · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the book of the TV series, and as one might expect, is therefore shallow, trite, and dull. It contains information, but you already know it all.

[John Grinstead · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first look Melvin Bragg's selections might appear a little random and certainly not a collection that one would automatically jump to but his ability to draw out the story of the author, their work and the influence that they have subsequently had on societies across the world is profound. He manages to convey not only a genuine interest in the work but in the social impact throughout history of such inspirational characters from Shakespeare to Stopes. Melvin Bragg's style can sometimes be a little dry and will not appeal to everyone but perserverance brings its rewards and he makes some otherwise fairly obscure books accessible to many.

[Girts Gailans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Literally, a wonderful book; a book of books, in fact.

It seems at first like an impossible claim - that any book could have changed the world. But Bragg gently analyses and explains the background to the book and its author; their life, their world and what was happening in it. He goes on to justify the inclusion of the book thoroughly and convincingly, without resorting to hyperbole, by demonstrating the effect that the book has had, not just in its own sphere, but in the wider world by changing opinions, attitudes, knowledge, appreciation.

Excellent! One to treasure and read again.

[Caleb Liu · Rating 3 out of 5]

This being Bragg, the choices are utterly Anglocentric. The book was wonderfully readable, but could have done with a little more depth - it served more to whet the appetite than fully satisfy it. In particular, more sources could have been examined, but this never claimed to be an authoritative work of scholarship more a piece of good entertaining fun, to which it succeeds quite well.

[Nadine · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I learned from this book is that the twelve books that changed the world are more interesting than reading about the twelve books that changed the world. Still it's fun to haul out TBTCtW during parties and ask guests to try and guess all twelve tomes.

Okay, it's fun if you're a nerd. Which I am. So there.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The inclusion of each book is justified as part of Bragg's essay on the significance of the book to our culture. He writes with a real love for the works. I particularly liked how he made the case for the influence of more obscure works. Enjoyed reading it all the way through but one could dip in and out.