THEY DEMANDED TO SEE THE WORLD FOR THEMSELVES - AND CHANGED THE COURSE OF HISTORY …

Seventeenth-century England was racked by civil war, plague and fire; another event was also turning the world upside down- the revolution in science.

This is the story of how the founding fathers of the Royal Society-from the extravagant ‘natural philosopher’ Francis Bacon to the polymath, inventor and adventurer Edmund Halley, from the fiery Robert Hooke, whose work was written out of history, to his ambitious rival Isaac Newton-brought about an end to superstition and ignorance, and created a whole new model of the universe.

‘Gribbin’s lucid pen and narrative skill make him a leader in the field of popular science writing … highly readable’ INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

Rich and readable’ THE TIMES

‘A crowded story of politics, science and opportunism’ GUARDIAN

‘We can be proud that the scientific revolution happened here’ DAILY TELEGRAPH

‘The master of popular science writing … Gribbin reveals the complex relationship between science and the politics of the day, to show how so much was achieved against the odds’ SCOTSMAN