bHistoriesyoucantrust./bThefirstpartofthebooktellsthestoryofscienceinbothEastandWestfromantiquitytotheEnlightenment:fromtheancientMediterraneanworldtoancientChina;fromtheexchangesbetweenIslamicandChristianscholarsintheMiddleAgestotheChineseinventionofgunpowder,paper,andtheprintingpress;fromtheScientificRevolutionofsixteenthandseventeenthcenturyEuropetotheintellectualfermentoftheeighteenthcentury.Thechaptersthatfollowfocusontheincreasinglyspecializedstoryofsciencesinceendoftheeighteenthcentury,coveringexperimentalscienceinthelaboratoryfromMichaelFaradaytoCERN;theexplorationofnature,fromintrepidVictorianexplorerstotwentiethcenturyprimatologists;themappingoftheuniverse,fromthediscoveryofUranustoBigBangtheory;theimpactofevolutionaryideas,fromLamarck,Darwin,andWallacetoDNA;andthestoryoftheoreticalphysics,fromJamesClarkMaxwelltoQuantumTheoryandbeyond.Aconcludingchapterreflectsonhowscientistshavecommunicatedtheirworktoawiderpublic,fromtheGreatExhibitionof1851totheinternetintheearlytwenty-firstcentury.
