BOOK OF FEBRUARY

Seeing Further : The Story of Science and the Royal Society
Author (Editor)  : Bill Bryson
Publisher            : Harper Collins
Price                  : £25
ISBN                 : 0007302568

On a damp weeknight in November 1660, a dozen or so men gathered at Gresham College in London. A twenty-eight year old -- and not widely famous -- Christopher Wren was giving a lecture on astronomy. As his audience listened to him speak, they decided that it would be a good idea to create a Society to promote the accumulation of useful knowledge. With that Royal Society was born.

2010 is a special year for the Royal Society. It is turning 350 this year. Since its inception the Royal Society has pioneered scientific discovery and exploration. The oldest scientific academy in existence, its backbone is its Fellowship of the most eminent scientists in history including Charles Darwin, Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein.

The Royal Society continues to do today what it set out to do all those years ago. Truly international in its outlook, it has created modern science. Seeing Further celebrates its momentous history and achievements, bringing together the very best of science writing. Filled with illustrations of treasures from the Society's archives, this is a unique, ground-breaking and beautiful volume, and a suitable reflection of the immense achievements of science.

Published to mark its 350th anniversary, Seeing Further shows that the history of scientific endeavour and discovery is a continuous thread running through the history of the world and of society - and is one that continues to shape the world we live in today.Edited and introduced by Bill Bryson, with contributions from Richard Dawkins and others, this beautiful, lavishly illustrated book tells the story of science and the Royal Society, from 1660 to the present. This unique, ground-breaking and beautiful volume will be a worth addition to the bookshelf of anybody that is interested in science.

(Book Review Text Courtesy: http://www.royalsociety.org/, http://www.amazon.co.uk/, http://www.guardian.co.uk/)