"If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants," said Isaac Newton. Newton was himself one of the towering intellectual giants of all times, but he was keenly aware of how much he and every scientific explorer must depend on the contributions of those who explored before him. Indeed, our modern world may be said to rest upon the shoulders of the giants of science in this book.
These are the men and women—who have crossed new frontiers, broken through to new paths, and charted new worlds of knowledge for those who followed.
Newton's statement was the inspiration for this book, so the author has concentrated on those figures whose contributions were basic. Some of the inventors, engineers, practicing physicians, who have applied those basic principles men such as Edison, Bell, Salk, Von Braunare more familiar to us than the "pure" scientists, but this book is concerned with the primary ideas that make possible an electric light, a telephone, a vaccine, a satellite, or any of the other marvels of technology.
These basic ideas are lent life by the realization that they were conceived by real people, so the lives of the giants of science are woven into the explanations of their contributions, and each article has a portrait of the scientist. Taken together, the articles arranged in order of time, give an overall view of the progress of science in terms of its high points. Each article is further illustrated with diagrams and pictures relating to the scientific discoveries.
Author Philip Cane is a science teacher who has also worked as a research scientist and technical writer. Artist Samuel Nisenson has created a number of books on the great figures and events of history.
—from the dust jacket
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