To Explain the World: The Discovery of Modern Science - Softcover

"The long march toward the modern scientific method is well-trodden territory for historians of science, but in tackling this familiar topic, Steven Weinberg offers a thoughtful, supplementary viewpoint."--The Washington Post

"Weinberg has combined his credentials with his knowledge of the history of science to examine a fascinating issue: how attempts to explain the world have changed over time. . . . He writes simply and clearly, and includes many telling insights."--BBC Focus

"An ingenious account. . . . The author has a keen understanding of the precise details of his subject. . . . Readers will come away with a stimulating view of how humans learn from nature."--Kirkus

"The book is a magnificent contribution to the history and philosophy of science. It tells an exciting story. Why on earth did good science take so long to arrive?. . . . Weinberg writes with great verve and clarity."--The Times Literary Supplement

"A thoughtful history."--The New Yorker

"Steven Weinberg, the world's preeminent physicist, provides a masterful journey through humankind's scientific coming of age. With its refreshing candor and lyrical prose, To Explain the World is a delightful celebration of our passionate drive for understanding."--Brian Greene

"This book transmutes the base metal of a mere history of science into pure gold -- into a magisterial celebration of a long and heroic struggle, still incomplete, to understand nature. Only a committed scientist of Steven Weinberg's brilliance, experience and breadth of insight could have accomplished this."--Ian McEwan

"Refreshing and well-written. . . . To Explain the World tells a rich, meaningful tale about the emergence of science."--The New York Times Book Review

"Fascinating. . . . A sweeping narrative of the progression of ideas. . . . Weinberg masterfully explains how the emergence of the modern scientific method, the mechanism by which we interrogate the world and devise well-supported explanations we can be confident in, is itself a discovery."--Lewis Dartnell, The Telegraph

"Weinberg exemplifies a growing tendency in popular science writing to offer the matter of science and not just a superficial reading. It gives the book a bracing intellectuality. . . . This is a great book, a necessary book for our time."--The Independent