Customer Reviews (2)

Best Book
I consider this my favorite book in my library of hundreds of books. Dr. Bronowski was a leading nuclear physicist - one of those that came to this country to escape the Nazi war machine in the 1930's. After surveying the damage at Hiroshima, he decided to change careers, so he became a leading microbiologist (how many people can make that switch?). Finally, he created a BBC television series that formed the basis for this book as well as all the follow-on science documentaries that we see today. Dr. Sagan used him as an inspiration. His description of the uncertainty inherent in the scientific process is a classic. If you haven't read this book - or seen the series - you are missing something vital.

A remarkable time in history
Nowadays many different books have been written to explain the unfolding of humans and civilization. This book covers many great products and inventors instead of all the great wars.In the 1970, this was unique to the public. In addition, this book is the template for those to follow.
The contents include:
1 Lower than the Angles (evolution of the head)
2 The Harvest of the Seasons (the pace of cultural evolution)
3 The Grain in the Stone (blood group evidence of migration)
4 The Hidden Structure (fire)
5 The Music of the Spheres (the language of numbers)
6 The Starry Messenger (the cycle of seasons)
7 The majestic Clockwork (Kepler's laws)
8 The Drive for Power (Everyday technology)
9 The ladder of Creation (are other formulas of life possible?)
10 World Within World (the periodic table)
11 Knowledge of Certainty (There is no absolute knowledge)
12 Generation upon generation (cloning of identical forms)
13 The Long Childhood (The commitment of man)


I have the original hardback book, reference book, and study guide. The local library still has the original videotapes. You have to be an institution to purchase them.

DVD is now available in region 1. It is a tad more pricy.
This DVD set that matches or rivals the book.

This is a humanities course at the local collage. A plus was actually getting to go through the Watts Towers as a kid. This work does rings around "Connections" by James Burke because it is the story of the people behind the connections.

I am not saying that this book replaces others, but that it has more to say without resorting to today's sound bite system of writing.

The Ascent of Man (5 volume set)
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