The age of wonder : how the romantic generation discovered the beauty and terror of science

Book

ISBN: 9780375422225
ISBN: 0375422226
ISBN: 9781400031870 (1st Vintage Books ed.)
Physical Description: xxi, 552 p., [24] p. of plates : ill. (some col.), maps ; 25 cm.
Edition: 1st U.S. ed.
Publisher: New York : Pantheon Books, c2008.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:	Includes bibliographical references (p. 485-525) and index.
Formatted Contents Note:	Joseph Banks in paradise -- Herschel on the moon -- Balloonists in heaven -- Herschel among the stars -- Mungo Park in Africa -- Davy on the gas -- Dr. Frankenstein and the soul -- Davy and the lamp -- Sorcerer and apprentice -- Young scientists.
Summary, etc.:	"The Age of Wonder" explores the earliest ideas of deep time and space, and the explorers of "dynamic science": an infinite, mysterious nature waiting to be discovered. Three lives dominate the book: William Herschel, his sister Caroline, and Humphry Davy.