The Age of Wonder
How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science
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Narrated by:
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Gildart Jackson
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By:
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Richard Holmes
About this listen
National Book Critics Circle Award, Nonfiction, 2010
The Age of Wonder is a colorful and utterly absorbing history of the men and women whose discoveries and inventions at the end of the eighteenth century gave birth to the Romantic Age of Science.
When young Joseph Banks stepped onto a Tahitian beach in 1769, he hoped to discover Paradise. Inspired by the scientific ferment sweeping through Britain, the botanist had sailed with Captain Cook in search of new worlds. Other voyages of discovery—astronomical, chemical, poetical, philosophical—swiftly follow in Richard Holmes's thrilling evocation of the second scientific revolution. Through the lives of William Herschel and his sister Caroline, who forever changed the public conception of the solar system; of Humphry Davy, whose near-suicidal gas experiments revolutionized chemistry; and of the great Romantic writers, from Mary Shelley to Coleridge and Keats, who were inspired by the scientific breakthroughs of their day, Holmes brings to life the era in which we first realized both the awe-inspiring and the frightening possibilities of science—an era whose consequences are with us still.
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- Unabridged
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Falling Upwards tells the story of the enigmatic group of men and women who first risked their lives to take to the air and so discovered a new dimension of human experience. Why they did it, what their contemporaries thought of them, and how their flights revealed the secrets of our planet in wholly unexpected ways is its subject.
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Great history of early ballooning
- By Jeffrey L. Smith, PE on 11-30-24
By: Richard Holmes
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The Book That Changed America
- How Darwin's Theory of Evolution Ignited a Nation
- By: Randall Fuller
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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The compelling story of the effect of Charles Darwin's book On the Origin of Species on a diverse group of American writers, abolitionists, and social reformers, including Henry David Thoreau and Bronson Alcott, in 1860.
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Oversold
- By Roger on 03-03-17
By: Randall Fuller
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The Discoverers
- A History of Man's Search to Know His World and Himself
- By: Daniel J. Boorstin
- Narrated by: Christopher Cazenove
- Length: 5 hrs and 26 mins
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Why didn't the Chinese discover America? Why were people so slow to learn the earth goes around the sun? How and why did we begin to think of "species" of plants and animals? How, when, and why did people begin digging in the earth to learn about the past? How did the study of economics begin? These are but a few of the fascinating questions answered by Dr. Boorstin, Librarian of Congress Emeritus.
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One of my Top 10 Fav. Books!
- By shannonnn on 05-09-05
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The Strangest Man
- The Hidden Life of Paul Dirac, Mystic of the Atom
- By: Graham Farmelo
- Narrated by: B. J. Harrison
- Length: 19 hrs and 28 mins
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Paul Dirac was among the great scientific geniuses of the modern age. One of the discoverers of quantum mechanics, the most revolutionary theory of the past century, his contributions had a unique insight, eloquence, clarity, and mathematical power. His prediction of antimatter was one of the greatest triumphs in the history of physics.
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Excellent biography of great physicist
- By Eileen on 05-09-13
By: Graham Farmelo
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The Greater Journey
- Americans in Paris
- By: David McCullough
- Narrated by: Edward Herrmann
- Length: 16 hrs and 50 mins
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The Greater Journey is the enthralling, inspiring—and until now, untold—story of the adventurous American artists, writers, doctors, politicians, architects, and others of high aspiration who set off for Paris in the years between 1830 and 1900, ambitious to excel in their work.
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McCullough takes it to the next level
- By gregory m loyd on 07-12-11
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Magnificent Rebels
- The First Romantics and the Invention of the Self
- By: Andrea Wulf
- Narrated by: Julie Teal
- Length: 15 hrs and 1 min
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When did we begin to be as self-centered as we are today? At what point did we expect to have the right to determine our own lives? When did we first ask the question, how can I be free? It all began in the 1790s in a quiet university town in Germany when a group of playwrights, poets, and writers put the self at center stage in their thinking, writing, and their lives.
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fascinating overall, too much drama
- By soup cook on 11-27-22
By: Andrea Wulf
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Isaac Newton
- By: James Gleick
- Narrated by: Allan Corduner
- Length: 5 hrs and 45 mins
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James Gleick has long been fascinated by the making of science: how ideas order visible appearances, how equations can give meaning to molecular and stellar phenomena, how theories can transform what we see. In Chaos, he chronicled the emergence of a new way of looking at dynamic systems; in Genius, he portrayed the wondrous dimensions of Richard Feymnan's mind.
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BRUTAL
- By Andrew on 05-25-05
By: James Gleick
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The Invention of Air
- By: Steven Johnson
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 6 hrs and 6 mins
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Best-selling author Steven Johnson recounts - in dazzling, multidisciplinary fashion - the story of the brilliant man who embodied the relationship between science, religion, and politics for America's Founding Fathers. The Invention of Air is a title of world-changing ideas wrapped around a compelling narrative, a story of genius and violence and friendship in the midst of sweeping historical change that provokes us to recast our understanding of the Founding Fathers.
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Good scientific history
- By Roger on 05-03-10
By: Steven Johnson
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Melville in Love
- The Secret Life of Herman Melville and the Muse of Moby-Dick
- By: Michael Shelden
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 6 hrs and 48 mins
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Herman Melville's epic novel, Moby-Dick, was a spectacular failure when it was published in 1851, effectively ending its author's rise to literary fame. Because he was neglected by academics for so long, and because he made little effort to preserve his legacy, we know very little about Melville, and even less about what he called his "wicked book". Scholars still puzzle over what drove Melville to invent Captain Ahab's mad pursuit of the great white whale.
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intriguing
- By Jean on 06-18-16
By: Michael Shelden
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Turner
- The Extraordinary Life and Momentous Times of J. M. W. Turner
- By: Franny Moyle
- Narrated by: John Sackville
- Length: 17 hrs and 45 mins
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J. M. W. Turner is one of the most important figures in Western art, and his visionary work paved the way for a revolution in landscape painting. Over the course of his lifetime, Turner strove to liberate painting from an antiquated system of patronage. Bringing a new level of expression and color to his canvases, he paved the way for the modern artist.
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Balanced biography of a complex artist
- By Thomas S. on 05-05-17
By: Franny Moyle
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Once upon a time, philosophy was a dangerous business-and for no one more so than for Baruch Spinoza, the seventeenth-century philosopher vilified by theologians and political authorities everywhere as "the atheist Jew." As his inflammatory manuscripts circulated underground, Spinoza lived a humble existence in The Hague, grinding optical lenses to make ends meet. Meanwhile, in the glittering salons of Paris, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was climbing the ladder of courtly success.
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What listeners say about The Age of Wonder
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- Andrew Glasgow
- 07-28-15
Fascinating history and biography rolled into one.
Great storytelling of an incredible time in human history, the evolution of the scientist in Western culture.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Corry Venema-Weiss
- 04-30-19
wonder-full
a great listen. a literal fleshing out of history. how early scientists invented their individual disciplines, but more importantly how they invented the very idea of scientist.
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- Granack
- 09-28-20
Fine book, poorly labeled chapters
Really disappointed the chapters are unlabeled, and out of sync, making it hard to really dig-in to this good book. Cross-referencing is frustrating, and irritating. It wouldn't take much to label these chapters just like the book.
This is a fine scholarship, written well, and told by an excellent reader. I just wish this audio book format was more accessible.
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- Rums
- 06-03-18
Great history of early scientific explorations
I enjoyed learning about early scientific explorations in Georgian and Regency England, both as a scientist, and as someone interested in the time-period an an Austen fan. It is a long book and the narrative jumps around sometimes, but the author does a great job in trying to present a coherent picture.
The audiobook narrator does an excellent job.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 10-03-16
An in depth look at the romantic science period
A great story of the beginning of the science most of us know about, before after Newton and before Darwin, there was a time where they found the beginning of the universe, the idea of electromagnetic forces and many other sciences that the Victorian era stood upon to reach such lofty heights.
This is the story of the men... and women who made science something that people did as a pursuit for the good of humanity.
A well told and often gossipy tone, the story of the time of science is well told. A good read for the history and science buff in us.
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- Adam Mason
- 09-23-21
History's interesting stories that are rarely told
Great ride through history and the lives that changed the investigation of our universe when coming out of a dark period for our species.
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- Christopher M. Wiley
- 07-26-22
Surprisingly Fascinating!
With just the right amount of detail, and covering all the most interesting aspects of these great scientists' lives, this book takes you through all the most memorable and important episodes of the Romantic age of scientific exploration. Exquisite narration.
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- A reader
- 02-19-13
Voyages of discovery and ages of wonder
This is, in essence, a very detailed history of science in the period between Newton and the dawn of modern science in the mid-1800s, with a particular focus on excitement of discovery and the lives of a few scientists. The book opens with Captain Cook's trip to Tahiti, and then swings through the discovery of Uranus, the birth of air travel (by balloon), and the rapid evolution of chemistry, among other topics. The biographies are quite detailed, covering the work, personal, and professional lives of the scientists involved. To that end, I would agree with the other reviewer - the title is misleading to the extent that the classic Romantics (Byron, Keats, Shelly, etc.) are covered only in passing, and art and literature is not the clear focus.
On the other hand, this book covers a fascinating period in science, one that is rarely written about, since it is less sexy than either the time of Newton or the birth of modern physics. In the stories in this book, you can see how science transitions from a period of pure discovery to an attempt to follow a scientific method. And this is told through engaging stories of life in Tahiti, the early experiments with electricity by genuine mad scientists, and the early days of flight (the President of the Royal Society's first thought when he heard about balloons was to tie them to carriages in order to make the load lighter for horses!) Additionally, for someone like me who doesn't usually like biographies, I found the coverage of the lives of the scientists compelling and the storytelling to be top notch.
A couple of things weigh the experience down. First, the book is a bit long, but there is a lot to keep you listening, though the detail does pile up. Also, the reader is mostly average, except when he tries to do American accents, which is outside his range.
Overall, though, if you like the history of science and want something different, or you are interested in the late 18th/early 19th century, this is a really great listen. For others, it may be a less compelling subject, but it is well written and full of new information.
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21 people found this helpful
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- A
- 01-26-15
Fantastic Book! Great science history
I loved learning about all the amazing scientific figures especially William Herschel and Humphry Davy. Also the section on the advent of balloon flight. The book features mini-biographies that are woven together seamlessly. It's sprinkled with fun anecdotes and details throughout.
The one suggestion would be to get through the first section on Joseph Banks. It's more about geographic exploration and less about science- it's the least interesting part of the book- which gets much better afterwards.
The narration by Gildart Jackson is sublime. He handles all the French, German, Latin, scientific terms and even gives distinct accents to all spoken characters. He gives Davy what I assume is a Cornish accent. His American accent is charming if not perfectly accurate. He's a terrific reader.
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- Diane
- 08-04-11
Misleading title
I had greatly anticipated the release of this book, believing that it would explore how the growing field of scientific inquiry influenced the development of Romantic thought as expressed in politics, literature, philosophy, art and music in the first half of the 19th century.The title seems to suggest an exploration of the question of how science plays into the culture of a period--a question of ever increasing relevance to subsequent generations.
The book should instead be titled something like, "The History of Science in England from the mid-18th Century through the early 19th century." The lives and work of 8-10 "scientists" (the term being something of an anachronism for the period) working in England are described in excruciating detail--great for someone interested in the history of science, I suppose, but very tedious for someone interested in the the culture as a whole. Literature of the period is only passingly referenced with the exception of Coleridge (Holmes' special area of interest, I believe) and Mary Shelly's "Frankenstein," the latter treatment being, by far, the best part of the book in my opinion. Authors whose connection to the science of the age is less clear or who rebelled against rationalism altogether, such as William Blake, are generally ignored. The impact of the new science on religion and politics are occasionally referenced but there is essentially no discussion of philosophy, the arts or of anything that takes place outside of England unless it is a direct precursor to the main topic of discussion--which occurs in England, of course.
Even if one accepts Holmes' limited use of the term "romantic" as limited to romanticism in science (a limitation which is not at all clear from the "Romantic Generation" of the title), his exposition of the transition from Enlightenment principles of rationalism and universality to Romantic thought is obscured by the sheer weight of prosaic factual detail--honestly, the last thing I felt was "wonder."
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