And the Genius of the Royal Society - The Story of Science

Bill Bryson's latest book is the story of the founding of the Royal Society of London, a unique group if there ever was one. Founded in 1660, it has done more to advance science than any other institution in the world including all the great English universities, including the great German institutions of the late 19th and early 20th centuries where so much applied science was achieved, and including our finest schools in the early part of this century.

Twelve men got together at Gresham College in London 350 years ago, and together founded a group dedicated to the assistance and promotion of the accumulation of knowledge. Could you imagine the difficulty of keeping such a group together for 3 ½ centuries? There was no endowment to bind them to a common cause, and no lineage of professor and student. There were wars, famine, depressions, and radical changes in government, and yet the society survived, and prospered through it all, based on the need for each of the members to add to the body of knowledge that we all benefit from today.

Bryson (he's the editor) by putting this book together has created a gift for those of us who truly appreciate great books. This story has never been told in anything approaching this kind of quality. From the exquisite artwork and graphics to the selection of contributing writers, it's first class all the way. The basis of the Royal Society was CLARITY OF EXPRESSION. They did not want scholars who were interested in impressing you with their language. It was about the power of their intellectual achievements, but people at the same time had to understand those achievements. Fortunately, the Royal Society had a succession of noteworthy secretaries who enforced clarity, a full 100 years before the English government adopted the idea of secretaries for itself.

Some of the unique characteristics of the Royal Society of London include:

* The Society was truly international in nature. That is why it is the Royal Society of London, not Great Britain. Had it been Great Britain, it might not have survived the centuries, and certainly had it survived, it would not be in its present form. It was the international flavoring that created the international acceptance.

* Prior to its formation, all science was done in Latin, the language of the ages. The Royal Society implemented the universal acceptance of English as the language of science, and it has been that way ever since.

* The Society basically invented the concept of scientific publishing with rigorous standards, and PEER REVIEW. Both concepts are still employed today universally.

* They systematized experimentation in science, and this was a revolution by itself.

* Have you ever noticed how many scientists talk using jingoistic language? To the extent that this is no longer prevalent today is the direct result of the Royal Society which argued vehemently for simple, direct language.

LAYOUT OF THE BOOK

There are 22 chapters in a narrative stretching 486 pages. There is then a list for further reading, and a list of illustrations followed by an excellent index. There are 22 outstanding authors that have contributed diverse works to this book. A few examples are James Gleick who is probably Isaac Newton's definitive biographer.

Richard Dawkins has written about Charles Darwin who was a celebrated member of the Royal Society. Paul Davies writes about the universe, and Ian Stewart writes a beautiful piece about math. It is left to Martin Rees to write about 50 years from NOW. There is not a single selection that I would not categorize as outstanding.

Bryson has also done something totally unique that I have seen employed by the publishing industy. Next to each of the 22 chapters in the book, he puts a distinctive colored bar next to the author's name. If you now hold the book closed in your hand and look at the edge of the book, the publishers have run a series of color bars along the edge of the closed pages. You literally only have to look at the color on the edging to find the chapter you want. You do not have to go by page number. It is absolutley ingenious, and amazing that no one has used this technique.

CONCLUSION:

In 350 years there have been 8200 members of the Royal Society of London, that's it. Today there are approximately 1400 Fellows. There have been 69 Nobel Laureates. If you made a list of the most extraordinary members, it would be at least a page in length. Bill Bryson has once again put together a magnificent book that covers enormous ground, and reading it is an education in itself. After reading Bryson's, A Short History of Nearly Everything, I was hoping that this book would be just as good. It may be even better, because of the assortment of great minds that have contributed to it. You are going to love this book, and thank you for reading this review.

Richard C. Stoyeck

This is a pretty good book, but not what I was expecting. I am a big fan of Bill Bryson's writing, so when I saw a new book that was "by Bill Bryson" I eagerly bought it on my Kindle without even reading the description. I knew I'd like it because I've enjoyed all his books. It wasn't until I got to the first chapter that I realized he only wrote the introduction of this book. Mea culpa, but caveat emptor.

Published in the 350th anniversary year of the Royal Society of London, "Seeing Further: The Story of Science and the Royal Society" is more a book about science than a book about the Royal Society.

Of all the qualifications in the world, the letters FRS (fellow of the Royal Society) would certainly be the mostly highly prized ones, much better than PhD (which merely indicates that the individual at one time did enough work to earn a degree). FRS indicates that the individual has accomplished work of high standard over a prolonged period recognised by his or her fellow scientists.

This book is worth reading, but one caveat; be aware that the American eBook doesn't come with the illustrations (not in itself a bad thing - the illustrations are pretty to look at, but in the main don't add much to the text), but do include the captions, in the middle of the text, which is a little off-putting. One example, in a discussion of the experiments which could have been performed on the peak of Tenerife, the Kindle version includes:

... And many more: candles, vials of smoky liquor, sheep's bladders filled with air, pieces of iron and copper, and various living things, to be carried thither.
Opposite & Previous Page:
A record of the founding of the Royal Society and the first meeting, 28 November 1660.
A stew of good questions, but to no avail ...

Buyer beware! This is the reason I initially gave it 1 star as a warning.

The book consists of 21 essays by 21 authors, so it's difficult to give an overall opinion. What I liked, others won't (and vice versa). I personally prefer books to be written by the one author who then has enough space to develop his or her ideas (there's a chapter by Paul Davies who has condensed several of his books, such as "the Eerie Silence" and "the Goldilocks Zone" and one by Richard Holmes writing about ballooning, which was also discussed in his "the Age of Wonder").

The chapter I liked most of all was the one by Oliver Morton "Globe and Sphere, Cycles and Flows: How to See the World" which starts with the evocative image from Apollo 17 on December 7, 1972 of the fully illuminated Earth from 29,000 km. It finishes with the Earth as seen by the Mars Exploration Rover 'Spirit'. Without the images, it wouldn't mean much ...

In picking up a collection of this sort, one hopes for essays that inform, entertain and stimulate further thinking, and these succeed on all counts. But there is a major bonus: Nearly all are written by many of today's most-recognized, original science writers ---in some cases scientists, in others literary figures of scientific bent. As a result, the quality of the writing, while not wholly consistent, is mostly very good and a pleasure to read. In short, this diverse collection of essays likely will interest any reader who enjoys excellent, popular scientific writing.

As several disappointed readers point out, this is not another "Walk in the Woods" of delightful Bryson rambling. His contribution in this instance (beyond a short introduction) is an excellent editorial hand in selecting well-qualified contributors who also write very well. Also (another complaint), this is not a history of the Royal Society. Although Bryson and some of the contributors stretch mightily at times to tie the essays to an RS theme, the Society plays a very attenuated role in all but a handful of the essays. The extraordinary role of the RS has been splendidly developed in other books relating the history of science & scientists in the period (including, e.g.: "Age of Wonder"; "The Clockwork Universe"; "The Fellowship"; "Ingenious Pursuits"; "The Philosophical Breakfast Club"; and the earlier "Lunar Men"), not to mention in excellent biographies of many of its famous members.

But don't be put off by these minor marketing deceptions --- this really is a splendid collection of up-to-date reflections on fascinating topics of and about science by some very original contemporary thinkers.

I found this book somewhat disappointing. It didn't quite live up to the billing of its title. I expected a book entirely devoted to the history of the Royal Society and the fascinating scientific discoveries its members have produced.

The book starts with an introductory chapter by Bill Bryson, the editor, and then follows with single-chapter contributions from many different authors, some scientists in their own right but the majority science writers, or experts in the history and/or philosophy of science. The introductory chapter describes the founding of the Royal Society and its exalted place in the history of science, and whet my appetite for more details about what the Royal Society has actually done since its founding in 1660. And indeed some of the chapters did focus on this. But many others were only tangentially (if at that) related to the Royal Society, and devoted themselves to well-written but sometimes wordy discourses on various aspects of modern science and its philosophical and sociocultural implications. These may of course interest many readers but in my opinion do not really fulfill the promise of the book's title.

I have read many such treatises over the years, but have become increasingly aware that writing about science, especially branches of science highly dependent on the language of mathematics, can never convey the essence of the topic and are plagued with the pitfalls of trying to translate mathematical grammar and syntax into English. Inevitably they are as much about the personal opinions, however sophisticated and informed, of the author as about the actual business of the science being described. This is particularly true when the topic is the philosophical or sociocultural implications of physics. My attitude toward such musings has hardened along the lines of Richard Feynman's bemused dismissal.

There's no disputing matters of taste, so if you enjoy this type of writing, you will enjoy this book. If you're looking for lots of interesting insights into what the Royal Society and its members have done since 1660, you'll probably be a bit disappointed.

In 2010, the Royal Society celebrated its 350th birthday. Its official foundation date is 28 November 1660, when a group of twelve men met at Gresham College after a lecture by Christopher Wren, then the Gresham Professor of Astronomy. This group of men, who included Robert Boyle, John Wilkins, Sir Robert Moray, and William, Viscount Brouncker, decided to found `a Colledge for the Promoting of Physico-Mathematicall Experimentall Learning'.

The Society was to meet weekly to witness experiments and discuss scientific topics. The first Curator of Experiments was Robert Hooke. Sir Robert Moray told Charles II of this venture, and the Society obtained its first Royal Charter in 1662. In the second Royal Charter of 1663 the Society is referred to as 'The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge'.

`Science is an unending quest: as its frontiers advance, new mysteries come into focus just beyond those frontiers.'

This collection of essays celebrates the existence and achievements of the Royal Society. More than 80 Nobel Laureates have been members of the Royal Society, and its members have included Isaac Newton, Benjamin Franklin, Charles Darwin, Ernest Rutherford and Francis Crick. Current fellows include Richard Dawkins and Stephen Hawking.

The essays have been written by an eclectic group of authors - including novelists (Margaret Atwood, Maggie Gee, and Neal Stephenson), historians (Georgina Ferry, Richard Holmes and James Gleick) and scientists (Richard Dawkins, Steve Jones and Sir Martin Rees). Other writers include Gregory Benford, Henry Petroski and Margaret Wertheim.

`Royal Society of London describes a location, not an allegiance.'

My favourite essays in this collection were those by: Richard Holmes (`A new age of flight: Joseph Banks goes ballooning'); Henry Petroski (`Images of Progress: Conferences of Engineers'); Ian Stewart (`Behind the Scenes: the hidden mathematics that rules the world'); and Gregory Benford (`Time: The Winged Chariot').

`Mathematics is simply the catalogue of all possible patterns.'

I enjoyed reading this book and I'd recommend reading it slowly, enjoying each essay before moving on to the next. It isn't necessary to understand all of the science ( I certainly don't) in order to appreciate the achievements: the history is fascinating in its own right.

`Sometimes complexity can be simple too.'

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

This is not an easy read but a worthy read. The story of the formation of the Royal Society and the paths taken to create a body somewhat removed from the politics of the day. This story is told through various authors who track man`s accumulation of knowledge, the humorous hubris which we fall prey to and the amazing concepts that have become the facts which form our world as we know and experience it.
It is informative, enjoyable and mostly accessible. I, being weak in mathematics did have to concentrate on those sections, but still found information that intrigued me.
The most important thread of the book is that we all, both laymen and scientists, owe future generations a strong moral and ethical set of parameters for the implementation and application of our ever expanding knowledge. It not only the responsibility of "Citizen Scientists", but all of us to participate. This can only be accomplished if we as laymen support the understanding of science and take the effort to have at least a rudimentary understanding of the basics in all scientific fields. This book is a good start on that understanding, and provides a wealth of future reading recommendations.

I loved this book because it gives all of us seekers a glimpse back in time, when there was no internet, there was no computer to look up any information at all. These giants took off in the world of science, as we know it today.

Edited and introduced by Bill Bryson, this book tells the story of science and the international Royal Society, from way back in the 1600s to now. Writers include Richard Dawkins, Margaret Atwood, Richard Holmes, Martin Rees, Richard Fortey, Steve Jones, James Gleick, and Neal Stephenson, among others.

The book is also gorgeously illustrated with photographs, documents, and treasures from the Society's exclusive archives.

The subjects are endless. Its members have split the atom, discovered the double helix and the electron, and given us the computer and the World Wide Web. Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, Robert Hooke, Robert Boyle, Joseph Banks, Humphry Davy, John Locke, Alexander Fleming, Stephen Hawking--all have been fellows.

Isaac Newton, mentioned often in the book, famously remarked in a letter to his rival Robert Hooke dated February 5, 1676 that: "What Descartes did was a good step. You have added much several ways, and especially in taking the colours of thin plates into philosophical consideration. If I have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants." The last sentence sums it up!

I have been a Bryson devotee for a decade. He can do no wrong. I don't need to study his reviews. If he wrote it, I'll enjoy it -until I fell victim to the use of his name in large font to trick unsuspecting loyal followers into buying "Seeing Further". Very difficult if not impossible read. Sorry he let his good name be attached to this book. I always read the reviews.

Review on the Kindle book as of November 10th...

Someone has argued that a poor review solely based on the formatting of the book is inadequate. However good the point may be, I still would not recommend a book, whether paperback or Kindle, to a friend if the organization of it were bad. This book is poorly formatted, and given the dramatically increasing number of people using Kindle, I think the two stars I am giving this book are relevant.

The content is great. Fascinating as usual with Bryson, though most of it obviously has not been written by himself but by 21 different scholars.

But the KINDLE formatting make reading it a slightly annoying experience. As mentioned previously, not only have the illustrations been completely omitted, but their captions have been left behind right in the text. Really?

Kindle books are outrageously expensive, sometimes more than plain, good old paperbacks. Don't get me wrong, I love the Kindle. But if we're going to pay so much for a book (that we can't sell, exchange or return) the least we can expect from the store is to provide quality stuff.

EDIT: the store sent out an email informing me that there was a free update available for this book!!! It downloaded in a few seconds and all the pictures are now available! So I now there are no reasons whatsoever for not buying this great read!
As usual, great the store customer service.

Disappointed I have to say. If you are looking into the paperback, you should go for it though.

I enjoyed Seeing Further, but then, I enjoy reading about history, minute stories of individual lives and discovery. This is a collaborative work led by Bryson, so the reader who enjoys a more direct narrative (such as that in A Walk in the Woods) may not find quite what they expect in this book.
I loved hearing from other writers, scientists, thinkers--and that collaboration with Bryson makes Seeing Further even more interesting for me, however, I realize some readers do not enjoy the switch to other voices, and so I'll suggest that you make up your own mind in this case.
As for me, I will purchase Seeing Further, as a reference book for myself and my children, for visits back to stories, historical happenings, and the arc of human discovery led by the Royal Society.

At the end of Peter Greenaway’s film “Prospero’s Books,” Prospero swears to give up magic, break his staff and drown his books. One by one, the marvelous volumes of arcane lore that kept Prospero and his daughter alive are tossed in the drink (in a nice touch, the last to go is a collection of Shakespeare’s plays).

The best essays in Seeing Further read like something from Prospero’s lost library.

If you have ever been entranced while watching a flight of hot air balloons float over town or field, you can probably understand why the French were excited almost beyond bearing while watching the very first manned balloon ascents, and perhaps you can imagine one or two Frenchmen shaking their fists and foretelling the retribution that was sure to fall upon the intrepid philosophers who were daring to journey so far beyond man’s natural bounds.

The public arguments that surrounded Ben Franklin’s lightning rod (it was his invention and the thing that made him famous, since it allowed man, for the first time, to attempt to control a force of nature, one long associated with the wrath of the gods, no less) were in no way different from the public scientific debates we are familiar with today (and, for that matter, I don’t think the lightning rod debates have yet been settled to everyone’s satisfaction).

The other day, while I was in the shower, it occurred to me that there are phenomena that can be explained if we assume that they are mediated by factors that lie outside of space and time. The next day, reading Seeing Further, I learned that Leibniz beat me to this idea by several hundred years, but then Kant said that my/Leibniz’s idea (Leibniz stealing my idea long before I was born can be explained if the process was mediated by factors that lie outside of space and time), while not necessarily wrong, was completely useless, because human brains aren’t designed to deal with things like this. But then Gödel thought that Husserl had overcome Kant’s objection, but Husserl’s writing is so murky that even a guy with the smarts of Gödel couldn’t be sure that he had completely figured out what Husserl was saying. But then quantum mechanics came along and it suggests that we might have to learn to think about such things, like Husserl thought, if that is what Husserl thought. So it appears that this business of things that lie outside of space and time is still up in the air, and old Leibs and I will just have to wait and see how it all works out.

To fully appreciate Seeing Further, it might help if you are the kind of person who gets outlandish ideas in the shower. The Fellows of the Royal Society appear to be that kind. After they invented the shower, anyway.

I suppose that I too must try to make it clear that the twenty-one essays in this book, each by a different author, were edited by Bill Bryson, not written by him. I feel that the people who were wrathful at being sold this book while they were under the false impression that it was written by Bill Bryson, and who have avenged themselves by giving this book a one or two star rating, have done a disservice to their favorite author. Bryson, editing this book, certainly must have labored with the same care and good intentions I am sure he exhibits when writing his own, no doubt admirable, books.

This is a package of essays celebrating The Royal Society, the oldest organized science society in the world.

Bill Bryson is the named editor of the collection, but my immediate impression is that he didn't actually do any of the editing - and if he did, he should be ashamed. The articles are very uneven.

Bryson does contribute an introductory essay.

Twenty-one other authors contributed essays as well and they range from fascinating to boring to hilarious. The late Stephen H. Schneiders's defense of climate research is unintentionally humorous. Schneider was an auditor of the IPCC, which has been pretty well debunked with its fear mongering claims, such as of the Himalayan snow mass melting in our lifetime, an entirely bogus claim conjured up by a special interest group.

I personally found Henry Petroski's essay on civil engineering particularly engaging.

Overall, this is a reasonably good blending of the story of how the Royal Society has encouraged scientific development and even preserved scientific knowledge before it became clear it had any practical use. It is difficult to classify this book. It has an overall feeling of being a commemorative celebrating the existence of the Royal Society. There is a lot of science between the covers, but as noted above, it is a collection of 21 essays with different authors from different specialties, not a few of whom have big axes to grind or special interests to publicize.

An interesting book to browse, but I wouldn't drive out in a blizzard to lay hands on it.

Jerry

I would not recommend this book.

While the content and essays can be engaging to anyone interested in science, I feel that the title and prominent use of Bill Bryson's name are nothing more than bait and switch advertising. I expected a true history of the Royal Society itself, "The Story Of Science & The Royal Society", emphasis on STORY. I wanted to read tales of experiments gone awry, victorian adventures of discovery, the scientific notions, potions, characters, and anecdotes of each generation and how they developed into the modern science industry we have today.

But this book is not a story. It contains only the smallest amount of information about the actual Royal Society. It quickly settles into a seemingly random array of essays by prominent scientists about their particular fields of study. While the content of these essays varies from dry and boring to fascinating, none of it fulfills the expectation I developed from the cover, descriptions, and known reputation of Bill Bryson. There is no story. I believe that a lot of people will purchase this book and be disappointed, not by the content so much as by the deception. I was. How can that be good for science?

Interesting book in that it is not a Bill Bryson book. Bill edited the book. The publisher slapped his name on it to generate sales.

This book is a series of essays about a wide range of scientific topics. It is not a book about the Royal Society of England.

Some very good essays and some very boring essays in this one. I wish the publisher had been truthful about what this books was really about.

I've tried to find something engrossing in this book but failed miserably. I like science and subjects related to science, also, Bryson is one of my favourite writers but, as he hasn't written it, merely put a few essays together, I'll say that it's not his fault in this case.
I just wish I had realised before purchase that this is not a 'Bryson' book and is devoid of all forms of amusement.
It is not really about science, The Royal Society or even a travelogue through history.
The Emperor's new clothes....

Terrific read. Covers history of this breakthrough society started in England whose luminaries include all the scientific greats, and continues in importance and contributions through today. If you are a member then you are given the title, FRS or Fellow of the Royal Society (and as we know, they do enjoy their titles in England).
Favorite chapters read: Bryson, Gleich, Goldstein, Dawkins, Jones, Davies, Stewart, and Rees.

I would not recommend this book.

While the content and essays can be engaging to anyone interested in science, I feel that the title and prominent use of Bill Bryson's name are nothing more than bait and switch advertising. I expected a true history of the Royal Society itself, "The Story Of Science & The Royal Society", emphasis on STORY. I wanted to read tales of experiments gone awry, victorian adventures of discovery, the scientific notions, potions, characters, and anecdotes of each generation and how they developed into the modern science industry we have today.

But this book is not a story. It contains only the smallest amount of information about the actual Royal Society. It quickly settles into a seemingly random array of essays by prominent scientists about their particular fields of study. While the content of these essays varies from dry and boring to fascinating, none of it fulfills the expectation I developed from the cover, descriptions, and known reputation of Bill Bryson. There is no story. I believe that a lot of people will purchase this book and be disappointed, not by the content so much as by the deception. I was. How can that be good for science?

Four stars because the work, which covers how we got here and who led the tribe, he did not cover the role of the soul's quest in the drive. The "eating of the Apple" begins our curious quest to know.

As others have noted, Bryson's actual contribution here is just the intro. One can not believe that he had much to do with 'editing' of the articles, as they are very ponderous in places, and terribly difficult to read, compared to Bryson's own writing, which I HIGHLY recommend otherwise.

Perhaps my biggest complaint though, is the design of the book itself. The page margins are horrible - the left is huge, the right miniscule - so much so that one can not see the last word on any sentence on left-hand pages, or the first word on any sentence on right-hand pages. I don't know if my copy was somehow mis-printed, but I rather doubt it. It just looks like very poor design. A pain in the neck to read.

First, every reader should know that Seeing Further is GORGEOUS book. It is filled with color photographs of everything from Newton's death mask to beautiful glimpses of distant galaxies. But it's also a treasure trove of fascinating stories about the personalities, geniuses, mad scientist, and the like who have made the extraordinary discoveries of modern science. Bryson is in top form in bringing together this remarkable look at the glories of science.

As others have noted, Bryson's actual contribution here is just the intro. One can not believe that he had much to do with 'editing' of the articles, as they are very ponderous in places, and terribly difficult to read, compared to Bryson's own writing, which I HIGHLY recommend otherwise.

Perhaps my biggest complaint though, is the design of the book itself. The page margins are horrible - the left is huge, the right miniscule - so much so that one can not see the last word on any sentence on left-hand pages, or the first word on any sentence on right-hand pages. I don't know if my copy was somehow mis-printed, but I rather doubt it. It just looks like very poor design. A pain in the neck to read.

I did not buy the book, but since I have everything else by this author I was considering doing so. The the store title says Bryson is the author, but the cover of the book clearly (well not so clearly really, I really had to squint) states that Bryson is merely the editor. Thanks to the other one star reviewers for pointing this out or I would have missed it and been very unhappy.

I resent seeing Bill Bryson's name featured on the cover of this book. No one would probably buy the book if not for Bryson's name in LARGE font.
He sold his name and consequently, his soul, in my opinion. Very disappointing action.

I am a big fan of Bill Bryson's work and have read most of his books. I was so excited to see this book because the topic sounded fascinating. It was a huge disappointment to find that this is a collection of essays only remotely connected to the title of the book. This is a topic that could have been wonderfully done by Bryson.

If a publisher decides to offer a book electronically and not include illustrations, Kindle must be obligated to state this clearly. Why a publisher would do this is mysterious to me. But the point is I tend to count on the store/kindle to be trusworthy and forthcoming about such things, otherwise trust frays, and there are an ever growing number of ways to download books...