The Ascent Of Man

I have read many books which have permanently enriched my life, but I believe this is the best one. It intertwines history, science, philosophy, and human values in a fasinating story of mankind. No dry theories, this book contains dramatic stories of man struggling to develop into what? That is the true beauty of this book. It asks (and I believe answers) what it is to be truly human - what it is we are struggling to develop into.

I consider this my favorite book in my library of hundreds of books. Dr. Bronowski was a leading nuclear physicist - one of those that came to this country to escape the Nazi war machine in the 1930's. After surveying the damage at Hiroshima, he decided to change careers, so he became a leading microbiologist (how many people can make that switch?). Finally, he created a BBC television series that formed the basis for this book as well as all the follow-on science documentaries that we see today. Dr. Sagan used him as an inspiration. His description of the uncertainty inherent in the scientific process is a classic. If you haven't read this book - or seen the series - you are missing something vital.

a must read for any educated individual. it shows the cultural context of human evolution which gave Homo Sapiens its uniqueness emphasizing the remarkable achievments in science and technology. this book teaches a modern person to reflect on the meaning and values of the long history around mankind and extract useful lessons.

Bronowski uses the Darwinian metaphor for the "Descent of Man" from the apes to trace the Ascent of Man as it has come this far. Man is at once flesh, emotions, intelligence, spirit and soul. Fulfillment of the destiny of man is the rise from cruel beastliness to embodiment of all that is "good". Secular and non-secular views of the goals of society and spirituality are presented in newly conceived paradigms of astonishing freshness. This book, and the TV series Bronowski put together, captured the imagination and enthusiasm of people who knew about it in much the same way as the movie "2001" interested people. Rereading this book some 20 years later, it is still fresh.

This year (or possibly last year) was the thirtieth anniversary of this amazing landmark series. I had expected the BBC to release it on this occasion but they did not. Are we going to have to wait until the 50th anniversary before seeing it on DVD? I encourage every fan of Bronowski and The Ascent of Man to e-mail BBC and demand they get a move on!!!

This book is written in a splendorous manner, very well illustrated. It makes a voyage throughout the history of man, going through any conceivable place in space and time. It is one of those books that do make you a better person after you read it.

A fascinating subject for a study, but one that could be treated in many different, less speculative and more informative ways. After reading Peter Ackroyd's 'The Plato Papers' I found the Bronowski's initial chapters difficult to swallow. From mere scraps of available evidence from thousands of years ago, Bronowski paints vivid pictures of the development of early thought. Sure, they can make for intersting reading - but are best taken with a pinch of salt.

All the old canonical bores are rehearsed here (e.g. the 'Copernican revolution', Galileo as martyr to science), which makes for an easy, predictable read.

This book really should offer nothing new to readers with a reasonable grounding in history - in fact quite the opposite, may even seem dated in the light of more recent findings and revisions (not to mention writers who think things through: Why is Galileo a martyr to science? Didn't he dogmatically defend Copernicus and ignore Kepler? And didn't Copernicus simply re-introduce ideas that were discovered 'scientifically' by the Pythagoreans and abandoned when Plato and Aristotle all but throttled empirical science?).

I don't agree with the subtext book at all. Do people still think that science is the culmination of human development? No - it's a view that's been seriously in question since the creation of the atom bomb. And today creationism is making a firm comeback, genetically modified foods are treated with suspicion, futurists are terrified of nanotechnology... It's a whole different world, and one that Bronowski's book does nothing to prepare us for - and this would be my main argument for looking on, beyond this doubtless classic but seriously tired book.