The Story of Science: Newton at the Center: Newton at the Center (The Story of Science)

Gr. 7-10. In the second volume of a planned six-book series, Hakim surveys the interlocked histories of early modern astronomy, physics, mathematics, and chemistry–from the invention of printing to the discovery of radioactivity at the end of the nineteenth century. This is a lot of territory to cover, and particularly with respect to the explosion of research in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Hakim introduces so many major figures, in such rapid succession, that they aren’t always easy to keep straight–despite a number of piquant biographical tidbits. Furthermore, her main narrative is surrounded by such an array of marginal glosses, explanations, examples, and experiments, in various typefaces, that it sometimes seems to intrude on rather than unite the material. Still, her animated discourse lends immediacy to every breakthrough, and this outing, though overstuffed, should be considered essential reading for its elucidation of difficult concepts, unfailingly relevant diagrams and illustrations, and engaging portraits of individuals caught up in a whirl of world-altering insights into what makes the universe tick. An annotated resource list is appended. John Peters Copyright American Library Association. All rights reserved