The Fellowship: Gilbert, Bacon, Harvey, Wren, Newton, and the Story of a Scentific Revolution

This would be the book Stephenson could have written instead of the execerable Silver Age series, if only he was able to write good non-fiction. Fascinating, well-written look at the early development of science in the West.

Gribbin’s devotion to all things scientific makes him the perfect person to write about the early days of the scientific revolution and the Royal Society, England’s premier scientific society (and still in existence today). The Society was founded in November 1660 as a group of 12 natural philosophers with the aim of creating experiments which would allow them to understand the laws of nature and the universe without bias from religion or previous suppositions. Gribbin’s history narrates the lives of some two dozen scientists and thinkers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. While it seems a little heavy on biographical detail at times, the various threads to come together to give a very good picture of the creation of the show more scientific method. A decent start for those looking background on the history of science. show less

Maybe I am being a little picky because this period of history is one of my favorites. I like reading about science & history, but am usually bored by biography, and for my tastes there was too much biography. The parts where the science & the conflict with the orthodoxy were discussed were very good, but the parts where the lives of the scientists were discussed really drug for me. Restoration England basically gave birth to science and the modern world, and the Royal Society was at the heart of it. Gribbon does a nice job of quickly summarizing the influences that made this possible, but then gets bogged down a bit. I'd recommend Carl Zimmer's amazing "Soul Made Flesh" for those interested in this topic. Although Zimmer's book doesn't show more cover the actual Royal Society foundation so much, it does tell the heart of the story(how folks went from believing that THINKING about things was the right way to figure out how they worked, to realizing that OBSERVING them was far superior).

Of course for people who can't get enough of Restoration England and the foundation of modern thought, this book is still worthwhile. show less

Very interesting history of the establishment of the Royal Society. Well written and entertaining.

The Fellowship refers to the Royal Society (English science group) from the first ideas about scientific investigation to the society's healthy position some 100 years later. The professional biographies and where possible personal biographies of the key players are presented in an accessible and interesting manner.