Great Essays in Science

by Martin Gardner

Martin Gardner, author of numerous books on science, mathematics, and pseudo-science, has assembled thirty-four extraordinary essays by eminent philosophers, scientists, and writers on the fundamental aspects of modern science.As Gardner makes clear in his preface to the formerly titled Sacred Beetle and Other Great Essays in Science, his intent is not to teach the reader science or to report on the latest trends and discoveries. "Rather, the purpose of this book is to spread before the reader, whether his or her interest in science be passionate or mild, a sumptuous feast of great writing - absorbing, thought-disturbing pieces that have something to say about science and say it forcibly and well."Gardner's entertaining biographical commentaries make Great Essays in Science a rich store of good reading and an informal history of the people and ideas that have shaped our culture and transformed our everyday lives. This collection includes works by Isaac Asimov, Rachel Carson, Charles Darwin, John Dewey, Albert Einstein, Jean Henri Fabre, Sigmund Freud, Stephen Jay Gould, Aldous Huxley, Julian Huxley, William James, Ernest Nagel, Bertrand Russell, Carl Sagan, Lewis Thomas, H.G. Wells, and others.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Essays, Philosophy, Reference, Mathematics

442 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1957

About the author

Martin Gardner was an American mathematics and science writer specializing in recreational mathematics, but with interests encompassing micromagic, stage magic, literature (especially the writings of Lewis Carroll), philosophy, scientific skepticism, and religion. He wrote the Mathematical Games column in Scientific American from 1956 to 1981, and published over 70 books.

Reviews

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I liked most about this book was it's variety of essays, some of which I never would have read by themselves. At the same time some of the essays seemed fairly irrelevant. All in all it was an enjoyable read. I especially liked the (completely dated) essay which talked about the certainty of vegetation on Mars, while it doesn't reflect contemporary thought it was interesting to read something which was written with some degree of certainty and which has proved to be far from the truth. The change in thought is progress and without it life would be somewhat less interesting.

[Alayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

It has taken me ages to read this book, a collection of essays in Science, mainly physics. Some of them were profound, deeply moving, and others very dated. Some were written so technically that I gave up on them. But despite the age of the book, I enjoyed (most) of the essays in it.

[Bill Yates · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title is somewhat misleading. A few of the essays are truly great, and some others are interesting. A few are so unreadable as to be incomprehensible.

[Lucas · Rating 3 out of 5]

2/3rds of the essays are really good, interesting and funny to read. The other third are boring tho. Just skip those ones.

[Firda · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many great essays indeed (although some are quite obsolete, mind though I was reading the first published edition from 1940s). Although, I think I must admit I often have problems reading essays, oops.

[Maciej Chojnacki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oczekiwałem jednak czegoś więcej, chociaż jest tam kilka perełek. Całość na solidnym poziomie, na pewno nie rozczaruje.

[Belle Meade School]

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