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The Geek Atlas: 128 Places Where Science and Technology Come Alive
The history of science is all around us, if you know where to look. With this unique traveler's guide, you'll learn about 128 destinations around the world where discoveries in science, mathematics, or technology occurred or is happening now. Travel to Munich to see the world's largest science museum, watch Foucault's pendulum swinging in Paris, ponder a descendant of Newton's apple tree at Trinity College, Cambridge, and more. Each site in The Geek Atlas focuses on discoveries or inventions, and includes information about the people and the science behind them. Full of interesting photos and illustrations, the book is organized geographically by country (by state within the U.S.), complete with latitudes and longitudes for GPS devices. Destinations You won't find tedious, third-rate museums, or a tacky plaque stuck to a wall stating that "Professor X slept here." Every site in this book has real scientific, mathematical, or technological interest--places guaranteed to make every geek's heart pound a little faster. Plan a trip with The Geek Atlas and make your own discoveries along the way.
542 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
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606 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 31, 2013
A fascinating book to read from front to back or to thumb through. Organised into 128 chapters, the book features museums, cemeteries, historical sites, etc. that would be of interest not just to geeks, but to people who what to know the technological, scientific or mathematical histories behind the places featured in this book.
Each chapter is only a few pages long, yet gives enough fascinating details to make you want to visit the site. A sidebox is also provided with each chapter, giving a more in-depth explanation (mathematical, physical or technological).
Most of the sites featured in the book are in the US, UK and Europe. Hopefully, a future edition of the book (with 256 entries?) will feature more Asian and African sites of interest.
Each chapter is only a few pages long, yet gives enough fascinating details to make you want to visit the site. A sidebox is also provided with each chapter, giving a more in-depth explanation (mathematical, physical or technological).
Most of the sites featured in the book are in the US, UK and Europe. Hopefully, a future edition of the book (with 256 entries?) will feature more Asian and African sites of interest.
January 24, 2022
If you want to go visit some truly fascinating places, this book is a great place to start. I bought this book at a time when doing a lot of travel was not economically feasible for my family, and now that it is other factors Im looking at you COVID-19) are interfering, but I do still have plans to visit many of the places described in this volume. Until them, repiodically perusing Graham-Cumming's book is almost as good.
July 28, 2022
The list of sites is amazing and the page or 2 about the science associated with the site are incredible if not a bit overwhelming at times. The author does do a heroic job in the science pages of explaining in layman's terms.
I tried looking for a website where more sites could be found with no luck. I was hoping to find more closer to home.
I tried looking for a website where more sites could be found with no luck. I was hoping to find more closer to home.
August 10, 2009
The Geek Atlas strives to highlight sites where you can connect with science and technology. I think it mostly succeeds. Each chapter treats one site, explaining its significance, and includes a sidebar that discusses a scientific principle connected with the site.
For example, the chapter on the museum holding the Spruce Goose talks about the museum and the plane. The sidebar discusses the ground effect. Ground effect increases the lift of a wing flying near the ground, and some experts have argued that the Spruce Goose was only able to lift off because of the ground effect.
I certainly got excited about many of the sites in the book. One example is an astronomical observatory from the 18th century built in India. It was amazing to read about all the things observable using just carvings, pinholes, and sundials. Many chapters similarly highlighted other sites that have a fascinating connection to science and technology.
Some of the other chapters didn't really seem to fit the description of "Places where Science and Technology Come Alive." For instance, Akihabara in Tokyo, which is basically an electronics bazaar, and the Apple headquarters in California, where you can only visit the gift shop.
Entries for Shockley Semiconductor, Fairchild Semiconductor, and the HP garage could be forgiven. Although the first two don't exist anymore and the last can't be entered, still they are places where seminal advances in electronics happened. The statue of Alan Turing sure seems out of place, however, since his achievements could have been included in one of the chapters at Bletchley Park.
One of my other issues with this book is the fact that he wrote multiple chapters for the same site. Bletchley Park has two chapters (one for code breaking, the other for a computing museum) as does White Sands, New Mexico. In some cases, I think he did this to justify the sidebars (probably why the Turing statue is included) and still keep with the overall format of the book. I would have put them in subsections of the same chapter, and still included the sidebars.
Overall, a very enjoyable book, that got me excited about science, deepened my knowledge about some subjects outside my own field, and added a few places to my want to see list.
For example, the chapter on the museum holding the Spruce Goose talks about the museum and the plane. The sidebar discusses the ground effect. Ground effect increases the lift of a wing flying near the ground, and some experts have argued that the Spruce Goose was only able to lift off because of the ground effect.
I certainly got excited about many of the sites in the book. One example is an astronomical observatory from the 18th century built in India. It was amazing to read about all the things observable using just carvings, pinholes, and sundials. Many chapters similarly highlighted other sites that have a fascinating connection to science and technology.
Some of the other chapters didn't really seem to fit the description of "Places where Science and Technology Come Alive." For instance, Akihabara in Tokyo, which is basically an electronics bazaar, and the Apple headquarters in California, where you can only visit the gift shop.
Entries for Shockley Semiconductor, Fairchild Semiconductor, and the HP garage could be forgiven. Although the first two don't exist anymore and the last can't be entered, still they are places where seminal advances in electronics happened. The statue of Alan Turing sure seems out of place, however, since his achievements could have been included in one of the chapters at Bletchley Park.
One of my other issues with this book is the fact that he wrote multiple chapters for the same site. Bletchley Park has two chapters (one for code breaking, the other for a computing museum) as does White Sands, New Mexico. In some cases, I think he did this to justify the sidebars (probably why the Turing statue is included) and still keep with the overall format of the book. I would have put them in subsections of the same chapter, and still included the sidebars.
Overall, a very enjoyable book, that got me excited about science, deepened my knowledge about some subjects outside my own field, and added a few places to my want to see list.
November 10, 2012
What a cool book! Chock full of science and technology destinations and museums around the world plus additional background information and explanations about the science and scientists behind them. This is a book I know my dad would have appreciated and I know more than one self-professed geek/science nerd that will find this book fascinating.
One small quibble: I was surprised that Seattle's Museum of Flight was not on the list. Hmmm...
Anyway, buy it for your favorite science geek.
One small quibble: I was surprised that Seattle's Museum of Flight was not on the list. Hmmm...
Anyway, buy it for your favorite science geek.
February 3, 2011
Very enjoyable book, though a little too hit-and-miss for me to earn the top 5-star rating. That's partly a personal thing. Each reader will take different things from the book, depending on what science-y things they're most interested in, which countries they might be most likely to visit etc. But it was a thoroughly enjoyable book, and I recommend it highly.
March 11, 2017
Not finishing this one, marking it as reference. It was actually too geeky for me. Too much science, not enough travel. In most cases I think it would be more useful to check the appropriate sections when planning a trip after the destination is selected than to use it in selecting destinations.
August 11, 2011
Fun read, plenty of places I had know idea you could visit. My only complaint is that it is very Europe and UK centric. Certainly has places I've been and ones that I want to go to. This book collected lot's of information that would have been hard to find on it's own.
May 11, 2014
A terrific reference for travel geeks interested in science, math and history.
August 1, 2012
As a geek and a traveler, I would love to visit all these sites.
Want to read
October 27, 2009This sounds really cool. I'll have to get my hands on a copy.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews