Author:John Gribbin
In this book, John Gribbin tells the story of the people who made science and the turbulent times they lived in. As well as famous figures such as Copernicus, Darwin and Einstein, there are also the obscure, the eccentric, even the mad. This diversecast includes, among others, Andreas Vesalius, landmark 16th-century anatomist and secret grave-robber; the flamboyant Galileo, accused of heresy for his ideas; the obsessive, competitive Newton, who wrote his rivals out of the history books; GregorMendel, the Moravian monk who founded modern genetics; and Louis Agassiz, so determined to prove the existence of ice ages that he marched his colleagues up a mountain to show them the evidence.
Moving
—— Mail on SundayAmusing and candid
—— Daily ExpressHeartwarming
—— Time and LeisureA well-written and riveting read 9/10
—— Your DogThe Stern Review led the way in explaining the economic theory of climate change. His Blueprint sets out in practical terms why the world needs to act, what we need to do, and how, if we take action, we can build a new era of prosperity and growth.
—— Adair Turner, Chairman of the FSA and Chairman of the Climate Change CommitteeDespite his gloomy predictions Lord Stern's overall argument is one of optimism
—— Louise Gray , Daily TelegraphThe book is written for a wider audience than the official report and incorporates some more recent (and worrying) findings from climate science
—— Economistlays out a road-map for managing the climate crisis
—— Robert Constanza , NatureImpassioned...will give pause to all but the most doctrinaire
—— Daragh Downes , The Irish TimesImmensely informative
—— Ian Pindar , GuardianHe has lost none of his virtuosity in explanation, narration and the presentation of a clinching fact
—— Evening StandardDawkins remains a superb translator of complex scientific concepts ... he has a way of making the drollest details feel like a revelation
—— Publishers WeeklyThis is the book Richard Dawkins needed to write and many need to read - a comprehensive account of evolution which faces the difficulties and questions his critics have raised. In it he draws on his great ability to write about science in a way that is clear, absorbing and vivid
—— Lord Harries of Pentregarth (formerly Bishop Richard Harries)... He is an awesome thinker, a superb writer whose explanatory skills I envy, who dismisses his opponents with the thoroughness of a top silk
—— The TimesDawkins emerges like a prize-fighter, knocking out of the ring all objections
—— NatureMost importantly his writing radiates an intense sense of fascination. He is a great explainer, taking complex biological processes and making them accessible
—— IndependentIf you want to understand evolution, I doubt there are many better at explaining it to laymen than Dawkins... A writer who is red in tooth and pen, his opponents don't stand a chance
—— Scottish Sunday HeraldAn accessible, colourful and beautifully detailed look at many scientific wonders - whether it's the great variety of dogs or the sex life of orchids - and a great primer for those coming fresh to the subject
—— Irish TimesRichard Dawkin's new book... gives the fact-rejecters their just deserts
—— Daily TelegraphThe book is full of evidence, some familiar and some new. Its case is presented in a manner succinct, clear and sometimes vivid
—— Daily TelegraphNo other book currently available approaches Dawkin's comprehensive yet accessible treatment of the extraordinarily diverse and massive body of data that drives ineluctably to the same conclusion
—— National Center for Science EducationThe Greatest Show on Earth is a lucid, thorough and often exciting survey of evolution and takes in rats' teeth, dogs, bacteria, the so-called missing link, crustaceans, giraffe anatomy, hummingbirds, chimpanzees, enzymes - you name it. It is informed in nearly every paragraph by Mr. Dawkins's irrepressible enthusiasm
—— Sarah Lyall , New York TimesThe Greatest Show on Earth... is essential reading. I would currently rate it... as the best overall book on the evidence for Evolution
—— Marc E. Miquel , SCOPEThis is a magnificent book of wonderstanding: Richard Dawkins combines an artist's wonder at the virtuosity of nature with a scientist's understanding of how it comes to be
—— Matt Ridley, author of "Nature via Nurture"