THE AGE OF WONDER: HOW THE ROMANTIC GENERATION DISCOVERED THE BEAUTY AND TERROR OF SCIENCE
by Holmes, Richard
- Used
- near fine
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Near Fine/Near Fine
- Seller
-
Buffalo, Wyoming, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
New York: Pantheon Books, 2008. First Edition . Hardcover. Near Fine/Near Fine. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Book is in NF condition with trace edge wear noted, bumping to spine ends else a bright and solid copy. Dust jacket is in NF condition with light edge wear noted, bumping to spine ends & corners else still bright, intact and whole. JEX 6/21
Synopsis
A riveting history of the men and women whose discoveries and inventions at the end of the eighteenth century gave birth to the Romantic Age of Science. When young Joseph Banks stepped onto a Tahitian beach in 1769, he hoped to discover Paradise. Inspired by the scientific ferment sweeping through Britain, the botanist had sailed with Captain Cook on his first Endeavour voyage in search of new worlds. Other voyages of discovery--astronomical, chemical, poetical, philosophical--swiftly follow in Richard Holmes's original evocation of what truly emerges as an Age of Wonder. Brilliantly conceived as a relay of scientific stories, The Age of Wonder investigates the earliest ideas of deep time and space, and the explorers of "dynamic science," of an infinite, mysterious Nature waiting to be discovered. Three lives dominate the book: William Herschel and his sister Caroline, whose dedication to the study of the stars forever changed the public conception of the solar system, the Milky Way, and the meaning of the universe; and Humphry Davy, who, with only a grammar school education stunned the scientific community with his near-suicidal gas experiments that led to the invention of the miners' lamp and established British chemistry as the leading professional science in Europe. This age of exploration extended to great writers and poets as well as scientists, all creators relishing in moments of high exhilaration, boundary-pushing and discovery. Holmes's extraordinary evocation of this age of wonder shows how great ideas and experiments--both successes and failures--were born of singular and often lonely dedication, and how religious faith and scientific truth collide. He has written a book breathtaking in its originality, its storytelling energy, and its intellectual significance.From the Hardcover edition.
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Details
- Bookseller
- JB's Book Vault
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 004417
- Title
- THE AGE OF WONDER: HOW THE ROMANTIC GENERATION DISCOVERED THE BEAUTY AND TERROR OF SCIENCE
- Author
- Holmes, Richard
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Near Fine
- Jacket Condition
- Near Fine
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First Edition
- Publisher
- Pantheon Books
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 2008
- Keywords
- Holmes, Age, Wonder, Science, History
- Bookseller catalogs
- Science & Technology;
- Size
- 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall
Terms of Sale
JB's Book Vault
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About the Seller
JB's Book Vault
Biblio member since 2019
Buffalo, Wyoming
About JB's Book Vault
20+ years book selling experience returns to the used and rare book market. JB's Book Vault offers good books at fair prices coupled with friendly, knowledgeable service. Don't see what you are looking for? Drop me a note. New books arrive weekly. Updates now available on Facebook & Minds.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
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