Spanning four thousand years of civilisation, 'Science' tells the stories behind the brilliance, brainstorming, setbacks, and formulae that are central to our understanding of life and the universe.
A decent but brief introduction to the history of scientific ideas.
The book is sorted into groups by subject rather than by chronology of ideas, even though there are links between ideas in different topic groups; it can be a little confusing.
It's worth a read if you are interested in scientific history but don't have a particular topic you wish to study. However it isn't the best general introduction I have seen (try Bill Bryson's 'A Short History of Nearly Everything' for something more in-depth and entertaining).