The Day the Universe Changed: How Galileo's Telescope Changed The Truth and Other Events in History That Dramatically Altered Our Understanding of the World - Softcover

Burke, James

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0316117048 ISBN 13: 9780316117043

Publisher: Back Bay Books, 1995

Synopsis

In The Day the Universe Changed, James Burke examines eight periods in history when our view of the world shifted dramatically: in the eleventh century, when extraordinary discoveries were made by Spanish crusaders; in fourteenth-century Florence, where perspective in painting emerged; in the fifteenth century, when the advent of the printing press shook the foundations of an oral society; in the sixteenth century, when gunnery developments triggered the birth of modern science; in the early eighteenth century, when hot English summers brought on the Industrial Revolution; in the battlefield surgery stations of the French revolutionary armies, where people first became statistics; in the nineteenth century, when the discovery of dinosaur fossils led to the theory of evolution; and in the 1820s, when electrical experiments heralded the end of scientific certainty.
Based on the popular television documentary series, The Day the Universe Changed is a bestselling history that challenges the reader to decide whether there is absolute knowledge to discover - or whether the universe is "ultimately what we say it is."

About this title

About the Author:

James Burke, the BBC's chief reporter on the Apollo missions to the moon, was awarded the Royal Television Society silver medal in 1973 and the gold medal in 1974. The PBS series Connections was over two years in the making, the research and filming taking the author to twenty-three countries. James Burke lives in London.

From AudioFile:

James Burke synthesizes the entire course of Western history and science into this brief audiobook about how "knowledge" is subjective to the time and place in which it is created. He takes this argument further in explaining why and how science can be subjective, despite claims to the contrary. He delivers all this in a smooth and crisp British accent that reveals his experience in broadcasting, and his career with the BBC lends his voice subtle authority. However, listeners may feel overwhelmed with his long-winded explanations, which sometimes lose touch with where they started. Burke's delivery needs something more to keep listeners engaged, such as background music or more musical interludes to facilitate transitions. L.E. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

About this edition

• Publisher: Back Bay Books
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 0316117048
• ISBN 13: 9780316117043
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352