Social Histories of Science (57 books)

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Books about how society and culture have shaped scientific inquiry (and vice versa).

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1	The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic—and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World by Steven Johnson (Goodreads Author) 3.89 avg rating — 58,018 ratings score: 1,085, and 11 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
2	The Discoverers: A History of Man's Search to Know His World and Himself by Daniel J. Boorstin 4.11 avg rating — 11,933 ratings score: 893, and 9 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
3	The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum 4.02 avg rating — 38,361 ratings score: 681, and 7 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
4	The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science by Richard Holmes 3.97 avg rating — 10,272 ratings score: 482, and 5 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
5	Ingenious Pursuits: Building the Scientific Revolution by Lisa Jardine 3.76 avg rating — 331 ratings score: 480, and 5 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
6	The Scientists: A History of Science Told Through the Lives of Its Greatest Inventors by John Gribbin 4.11 avg rating — 1,269 ratings score: 475, and 5 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
7	Blood Work: A Tale of Medicine and Murder in the Scientific Revolution by Holly Tucker (Goodreads Author) 3.65 avg rating — 2,648 ratings score: 389, and 4 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
8	The Scientific Revolution by Steven Shapin 3.63 avg rating — 689 ratings score: 369, and 4 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
9	Cathedral, Forge, and Waterwheel: Technology and Invention in the Middle Ages by Frances Gies 3.88 avg rating — 960 ratings score: 295, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
10	Aladdin's Lamp: How Greek Science Came to Europe Through the Islamic World by John Freely 3.60 avg rating — 315 ratings score: 294, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
11	A Social History of Truth: Civility and Science in Seventeenth-Century England by Steven Shapin 4.10 avg rating — 88 ratings score: 291, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
11	The Jewel House: Elizabethan London and the Scientific Revolution by Deborah E. Harkness 3.70 avg rating — 711 ratings score: 291, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
11	The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (Goodreads Author) 4.14 avg rating — 832,584 ratings score: 291, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
14	The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time by John Kelly (Goodreads Author) 3.88 avg rating — 12,406 ratings score: 290, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
15	The American Plague: The Untold Story of Yellow Fever, the Epidemic that Shaped Our History by Molly Caldwell Crosby (Goodreads Author) 3.91 avg rating — 6,857 ratings score: 280, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
16	The House of Wisdom: How the Arabs Transformed Western Civilization by Jonathan Lyons 3.87 avg rating — 1,100 ratings score: 278, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
17	The Scientific Life: A Moral History of a Late Modern Vocation by Steven Shapin 3.58 avg rating — 67 ratings score: 196, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
18	Thunderstruck by Erik Larson (Goodreads Author) 3.79 avg rating — 59,098 ratings score: 195, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
18	The Crime of Galileo by Giorgio de Santillana 3.70 avg rating — 71 ratings score: 195, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
20	The Man Who Loved China: The Fantastic Story of the Eccentric Scientist Who Unlocked the Mysteries of the Middle Kingdom by Simon Winchester 3.85 avg rating — 4,937 ratings score: 193, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
20	In the Wake of the Plague: The Black Death and the World It Made by Norman F. Cantor 3.40 avg rating — 5,559 ratings score: 193, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
22	The Map That Changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology by Simon Winchester 3.81 avg rating — 14,421 ratings score: 189, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
22	Where the Wild Things Were: Life, Death, and Ecological Wreckage in a Land of Vanishing Predators by William Stolzenburg (Goodreads Author) 4.23 avg rating — 2,108 ratings score: 189, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
24	The Anatomy Murders: Being the True and Spectacular History of Edinburgh's Notorious Burke and Hare and of the Man of Science Who Abetted Them in the Commission of Their Most Heinous Crimes by Lisa Rosner 3.67 avg rating — 200 ratings score: 183, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
25	The Scientific Revolution and the Origins of Modern Science by John Henry 3.72 avg rating — 115 ratings score: 177, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
26	The Riddle of the Compass: The Invention that Changed the World by Amir D. Aczel 3.33 avg rating — 517 ratings score: 176, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
27	The Fellowship: Gilbert, Bacon, Harvey, Wren, Newton, and the Story of a Scentific Revolution by John Gribbin 3.84 avg rating — 165 ratings score: 172, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
28	The Lunar Men: Five Friends Whose Curiosity Changed the World by Jenny Uglow 3.99 avg rating — 841 ratings score: 170, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
29	A World Lit Only by Fire: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance: Portrait of an Age by William Manchester 3.82 avg rating — 13,138 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
29	The Riddle of the Labyrinth: The Quest to Crack an Ancient Code by Margalit Fox (Goodreads Author) 4.02 avg rating — 3,806 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
29	How to Tame a Fox (and Build a Dog): Visionary Scientists and a Siberian Tale of Jump-Started Evolution by Lee Alan Dugatkin 4.21 avg rating — 1,969 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
29	Sex Science Self: A Social History of Estrogen, Testosterone, and Identity by Bob Ostertag 3.90 avg rating — 31 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
33	Has Feminism Changed Science? by Londa Schiebinger 3.88 avg rating — 74 ratings score: 99, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
33	Einstein's Mistakes: The Human Failings of Genius by Hans C. Ohanian 3.61 avg rating — 172 ratings score: 99, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
33	The Abacus and the Cross: The Story of the Pope Who Brought the Light of Science to the Dark Ages by Nancy Marie Brown (Goodreads Author) 3.63 avg rating — 301 ratings score: 99, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
33	The Royal Art of Poison: Filthy Palaces, Fatal Cosmetics, Deadly Medicine, and Murder Most Foul by Eleanor Herman (Goodreads Author) 3.99 avg rating — 5,279 ratings score: 99, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
37	The Demon Under the Microscope: From Battlefield Hospitals to Nazi Labs, One Doctor's Heroic Search for the World's First Miracle Drug by Thomas Hager (Goodreads Author) 4.10 avg rating — 5,988 ratings score: 98, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
38	Never Pure by Steven Shapin 3.92 avg rating — 40 ratings score: 97, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
38	Uranium: War, Energy and the Rock That Shaped the World by Tom Zoellner (Goodreads Author) 3.88 avg rating — 2,480 ratings score: 97, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
40	Nature's Body: Gender in the Making of Modern Science by Londa Schiebinger 4.04 avg rating — 189 ratings score: 96, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
40	The Family that Couldn't Sleep by D.T. Max (Goodreads Author) 3.92 avg rating — 6,722 ratings score: 96, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
42	The Mind Has No Sex?: Women in the Origins of Modern Science by Londa Schiebinger 4.02 avg rating — 122 ratings score: 95, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
43	The Rejection of Continental Drift: Theory and Method in American Earth Science by Naomi Oreskes 4.38 avg rating — 34 ratings score: 94, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
43	Broca's Brain: Reflections on the Romance of Science by Carl Sagan 4.05 avg rating — 11,012 ratings score: 94, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
43	Pickled, Potted, and Canned: How the Art and Science of Food Preserving Changed the World by Sue Shephard 3.73 avg rating — 209 ratings score: 94, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
46	Indians and Anthropologists: Vine Deloria, Jr., and the Critique of Anthropology by Thomas Biolsi (Editor) 4.03 avg rating — 36 ratings score: 93, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
47	Anthropology and Anthropologists: The Modern British School by Adam Kuper 3.78 avg rating — 87 ratings score: 92, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
47	In Reckless Hands: Skinner v. Oklahoma and the Near-Triumph of American Eugenics by Victoria F. Nourse 3.58 avg rating — 113 ratings score: 92, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
49	The Storage Box of Tradition: Kwakiutl Art, Anthropologists, and Museums, 1881-1981 by Ira Jacknis 4.50 avg rating — 4 ratings score: 91, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
50	The Eradication of Smallpox: Edward Jenner and The First and Only Eradication of a Human Infectious Disease by Hevre Bazin 3.44 avg rating — 9 ratings score: 90, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
50	Mendel in the Kitchen: A Scientist's View of Genetically Modified Foods by Nina V. Fedoroff 3.94 avg rating — 194 ratings score: 90, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
52	The 13th Element: The Sordid Tale of Murder, Fire, and Phosphorus by John Emsley 3.80 avg rating — 548 ratings score: 89, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
53	Tomorrowland: Our Journey from Science Fiction to Science Fact by Steven Kotler (Goodreads Author) 3.77 avg rating — 1,439 ratings score: 84, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
54	Darwin's Odyssey: The Voyage of the Beagle by Kevin Jackson 3.97 avg rating — 348 ratings score: 83, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
55	Distilling Knowledge: Alchemy, Chemistry, and the Scientific Revolution (New Histories of Science, Technology, and Medicine) by Moran 3.62 avg rating — 79 ratings score: 81, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
56	A People's History of Science: Miners, Midwives, and Low Mechanicks by Clifford D. Conner 3.76 avg rating — 357 ratings score: 78, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
57	A Social History of Knowledge, Volume 1: From Gutenberg to Diderot by Peter Burke 3.92 avg rating — 198 ratings score: 77, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars