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Great Breakthroughs in 20th-century Science, Including the Original Papers
Pantheon
November 2005
576 pages
ISBN: 0375421688
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction
An unprecedented explosion of creativity, insight, and
breakthrough occurred in every field of science in the last
century. From the theory of relativity to the first quantum
model of the atom to the mapping of the structure of DNA,
these discoveries profoundly changed the way we understand
the world and our place in it. Now the physicist and
novelist Alan Lightman tells the stories of two dozen of
the most seminal discoveries. In lucid and literary prose, Lightman paints the
intellectual and emotional landscape of each discovery,
portrays the personalities and human drama of the
scientists involved, and explains the significance and
impact of the work. He explores such questions as whether
there were common patterns of research, whether the
discoveries were accidental or intentional, and whether the
scientists were aware of or oblivious to the significance
of what they had found. Finally, Lightman gives an
unprecedented and exhilarating guided tour through each of
the original papers, which are included in the book. Here
are Einstein and Bohr, McClintock and Pauling, Planck and
Heisenberg, and many others in their own words, grappling
with the nature of the world. Original in its scope and
depth, The Discoveries offers an extraordinary exploration
into the nature of scientific discoveries and the minds of
the men and women who made them.
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