ONE wet evening in November 1660, a small group of scholarly gentlemen founded a society 鈥渢o assist and promote the accumulation of useful knowledge鈥�. This lavish volume reflects on the 350 years of intellectual adventures that ensued, from the problems that concerned the Royal Society鈥檚 early members, such as lightning rods and ballooning, to those that exercise its fellows today.
As well as big-name writers there are unexpected gems, notably Margaret Wertheim鈥檚 discussion of how cosmology leaves no room for a concept of self, and Oliver Morton鈥檚 plea for us to stop seeing Earth as a fragile blue drop and instead view it as a dynamic system of cycles and flows. In his colourful introduction, Bill Bryson says what impresses him about the society is the 鈥渂oundlessness of its range鈥�. This book fully lives up to that description.
HarperPress