Scientists Who Changed History

by D.K. Publishing

Explore the lives and achievements of more than 85 of the world's most inspirational and influential scientists with this innovative and boldly graphic biography-led book. The second title in DK's new illustrated biography series, Scientists profiles trailblazing individuals from Greek mathematicians, such as Archimedes and Pythagoras, through physicists of the early 20th-century, such as Marie Curie and Albert Einstein, to modern greats such as Stephen Hawking and Tim Berners-Lee. Each featured individual has made a major contribution to one or more scientific fields, from physics and astronomy to chemistry, biology, psychology, and from genetics and computer science to geology and palaeontology. Combining elements of biography, history, and analysis, Scientists Who Changed History explains the groundbreaking contributions made by these revolutionary men and women in a clear and informative way.

Genres: Science, History, Nonfiction, Biography

320 pages, Hardcover

First published September 5, 2019

About the author

Dorling Kindersley (DK) is a British multinational publishing company specializing in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 62 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a consumer publishing company jointly owned by Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA and Pearson PLC. Bertelsmann owns 53% of the company and Pearson owns 47%.

Established in 1974, DK publishes a range of titles in genres including travel (including Eyewitness Travel Guides), arts and crafts, business, history, cooking, gaming, gardening, health and fitness, natural history, parenting, science and reference. They also publish books for children, toddlers and babies, covering such topics as history, the human body, animals and activities, as well as licensed properties such as LEGO, Disney and DeLiSo, licensor of the toy Sophie la Girafe. DK has offices in New York, London, Munich, New Delhi, Toronto and Melbourne.

Source: Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This excellent book gives you a whirlwind tour of some of the most famous scientists from 650 BCE through the present. Eighty-nine individuals get a page or more outlining their lives, education, and important contributions to science. Additionally there are two page “directories” where ninety-one other scientists get a paragraph highlighting their works.

Nearly every book about science and scientists I read growing up focused exclusively on Western scientists. Of these, nearly all were white males. The writers at DK publishing have tried to make this book of scientists much more inclusive by featuring scientists from a larger geographic, racial, and sexual group. Of course, over the years many women scientists and people of color have had their discoveries appropriated by white men or ignored by history. DK focuses on some of this past injustice by highlighting two examples; Alice Ball and Rosalind Franklin.

Following the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 CE Christianity swept through Europe and banned most scientific research and publishing. This time is often referred to as the Dark Ages. Academic books, along with several scientists, were burned on literal pyres of ignorance. Fortunately, while science was floundering in Europe, in the Islamic world science thrived. This book highlights Al-Khwarizmi and Alhazen as two important examples. Additionally Mid-Eastern libraries retained copies of earlier Western scientific scholarship allowing the West access to these works when reason and enlightenment returned.

As with any book trying to take on such a huge history in one volume people are left out and lives are summed up in a small space. There are also so many people and so much information it can seem overwhelming. On the flip side, the importance of science and scientists are summed up in this easy to read, reasonably sized volume. Scientists Who Changed History condenses three millennia into three hundred pages, making scientific history accessible and interesting.

If you think that you are already a student of scientists that changed the world, you may be surprised by many people featured here that your earlier books left out. If you think that science is not important, just skimming this book you will quickly find that your everyday world would not exist as it does if not for these scientists. Overall I think that writers at DK Publishing, along with their consultant Chris Woodford, have done an excellent job. I enjoyed reading this book, being reminded of the works of so many scientists, and discovering many more that I had not hear of before.

[christinemm · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had hoped I could use this in my grade 8 classroom but the information assumes too much prior knowledge and the vocabulary is high, if a reader really is trying to understand it all. I think it is for adults or college age or very interested and informed high schoolers. The biographies vary from short to 3-4 pages. Cool artwork for the portrait of each. This is one in a series.

[Maja · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book about “Scientists who changed history” without Nikola Tesla?

I wanted to give this book a 3 star rating, the content is decent, suitable for young readers and for adults, easy to read. But I’d rather have less illustrations and more content on scientists.

[Hafiz Hussain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, what a fantastic book. I got a chance to understand that thousands of people spend their whole life on one thing, and later, millions of human beings enjoy their inventions wihtout knowing.
The most important part, I want to say thanks to mice who sacrifice their life for human beings in experiments. I am afraid of rats or mices, but still, I have more respect for you. :)

[Alis · Rating 4 out of 5]

questa lettura è stata davvero molto interessante e mi ha permesso di conoscere tanti scienziati e scienziate che non conoscevo!
me lo sono letto piano piano, focalizzandomi anche sui loro scritti, e devo dire che ho trovato molte ispirazioni!
molto interessante

[MK · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book with high expectations as it was highly rated, but the font size and the layout was uneven, making it extremely uncomfortable to read.

I am satisfied with the content that introduces great scientists of the past.
However, it is difficult to view all milestones, profiles, and quotes on one page.

If you want to read books that introduce past scientists, the following books from the same DK series are the best. Easy to read, the main points are summarized, and the quality is high.

▼100 Scientists Who Made History（Andrea Mills, Stella Caldwell）
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...

[John Behle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining and educational mini-bios on landmark scientists from 650 BCE to the World Wide Web. The layout and graphics presentation makes it easy to flip through and choose which breakthrough story appeals to you. There are many cases of realizing, "I did not know that..."

This handsome DK (formerly known as Dorling Kindersley) book portrays and addresses these superstars in our setting as a global village . Many of these pathfinders refuse to patent their findings, saying sharing their knowledge is simply part and parcel of being human.

Reading these advancements of our natural world projected an uplifting effect on me.

[Roy McDine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic insight into the history of scientific discoveries and the incredible scientists who have helped shape our future. Only negative is the choice of black text on dark pages, which made clear reading slow going.

[Kirby · Rating 5 out of 5]

A concise and readable look at scientific advances throughout history. My takeaway from this book is that there will always be others skeptical of new knowledge, that others will take credit for another's discoveries and that advances are often built of previous discoveries by others.

[Vincent Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very concise descriptions, but includes many lesser-known names (at least for me) and achievements. Loved the visual aspects as well.

[Akash Das · Rating 4 out of 5]

A phenomenal book.

[Marcel Schwarz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very inspiring read about some of the greatest minds of our world.

[Jean Farmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and well-presented

[Jitendra Singh Sandhu · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the great book on scientists
www.ChemistryNotesInfo.com

[Grant Keegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scientists Who Changed History is an incredibly comprehensive, detailed and well put together guide from DK. I'm already familiar with DK's amazing quality in pretty much every single guide book they have made, but this is a topic that I am particularly passionate about, so I really enjoyed looking back through history and meeting the greatest minds to exist.

The book goes into detail explaining history's most well-known scientists and their main achievements. I enjoyed how perfectly it summarizes in one or two pages what they have done, and also the context of their discoveries and inventions. If you know someone who is really passionate about science I recommend giving them this book as a gift, it is very entertaining and informative.

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