The Faber Book of Science (Faber and Faber, 1995). An anthology of science-writing by scientists, from Leonardo da Vinci to the present day, specially chosen to be intelligible to non-scientists. Published in America as Eyewitness to Science. Scientists and Writers Illuminate Natural Phenomena from Fossils to Fractals (Harvard University Press, 1997). Short-listed for the Rhone-Poulenc Prize. “Most people would do better not to touch another science book until they have read John Carey’s anthology. There can be few happier marriages between the ‘two cultures’ of science and literature”, Independent. “Everything an anthology should be: it is entertaining, stimulating and occasionally startling. Carey’s reading is prodigious, and even the more familiar of his choices are illuminated by commentaries that crackle with literary and indeed scientific insights”, Nature. “Crystallises the essence of great science – the awe of discovery, the emotions stirred by breakthroughs and the intellectual brilliance of those who have shaped our understanding of the world”, The Times. “Carey’s introduction is a piece of science writing that should in its own right occupy a central place in any future anthology…it is a marvellous book”, Lewis Wolpert, Sunday Times. “An enthralling anthology that illuminates the world of science, and explains its wonders with lyrical clarity”, Observer.
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