Interspersed are fascinating details of how secrecy, professional jealousy, international politics, natural disasters, personality, financial competition, and international trade impacted the advance of science and technology. Anyone who just knows high level details of the accomplishments of famous names like Huygens, van Leeuwenhoek, Newton, and Wren will come away from this book with an improved understanding of the times in which “natural philosophy,” engineering, mathematics, biology, and physiology began to emerge in the West. What is most fascinating about this book is how the author intertwines the social, political, and personal details of the age. Towards the end of the book the author does uncover some details of women who were involved in scientific advances but who did notreceive the credit they deserved. It is mostly the “great men” we learn about. It concentrates on the “great men” who created modern Western science. Late 17th Century London and the Royal Society provide the setting for this book.
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