David Allen Park (often cited as David Park) was Professor of Physics Emeritus at Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts.
He graduated from Harvard in 1941, and earned his Ph.D. from University of Michigan. He also was associated with the Harvard Radio Laboratory and the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton before returning to Williams as an assistant professor in 1952.
I found this book in a used bookstore in Berkeley when I was in high school, and read it before starting college. Reading this book got me excited about my Physics classes and contributed in part to my decision to earn a degree in Physics. The writing is very engaging and the explanations are very clear. I know not everyone wants to learn and understand about Physics, but for those who do you couldn't do much better than this book. This book is very well researched and filled with great quotes from scientists and philosophers about the value of scientific knowledge.
I have come to believe that physicists are our once and future philosophers. Park's The How and the Why is one my primary pieces of evidence to support this theory.