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meganzc's review
5.0
I wish this (or at least the first four chapters) had been required reading back in high school. The way the book combines scientific and historical awe with a firm refusal to engage in scientific or historical hero-worship is worthwhile in and of itself, but then, on top of that, Eiseley's writing is just dazzling. The last two essays are less a history of science and more polemic / philosophical. I appreciated them just as much now but I wouldn't recommend them to my high school self.
trsr's review
4.0
A lovely read, especially the last chapter. Interesting to see how he arrives at the centrality of ethics and at looking beyond the nature that we know.
ghostlytrckster's review
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
"Men who could visualize readily the horrors of a universal Flood were deaf to the roar of the invisible Niagara falling into the rain barrel outside their window. They could not hear it because they lived in a time span so short that the only way geologic change could be effected was by the convulsions of earthquakes, or the forty torrential days and nights that brought the Biblical Deluge."
This is a collection of six lectures given at the University of Cincinnati in 1959. They are beautifully written, if a bit dated. The first three lectures were captivating and thought-provoking, but the final three were honestly a bit frustrating. I picked this up because I thought it would be interesting to read as a young scientist not unlike the students Dr. Eiseley was speaking to. However, with lines such as "...as primitive as those of red Indians," and "...The stability of nature on the planet...is threatened by nature's own product, man," it becomes quite clear the time that Dr. Eiseley was speaking in.
Overall, I don't think that this book isn't worth reading. A lot of other readers have found something in it that I simply could not. If you do choose to read this, however, I think it is very important to think critically about what Dr. Eiseley is saying, and not just accept the flowery language at face-value.
This is a collection of six lectures given at the University of Cincinnati in 1959. They are beautifully written, if a bit dated. The first three lectures were captivating and thought-provoking, but the final three were honestly a bit frustrating. I picked this up because I thought it would be interesting to read as a young scientist not unlike the students Dr. Eiseley was speaking to. However, with lines such as "...as primitive as those of red Indians," and "...The stability of nature on the planet...is threatened by nature's own product, man," it becomes quite clear the time that Dr. Eiseley was speaking in.
Overall, I don't think that this book isn't worth reading. A lot of other readers have found something in it that I simply could not. If you do choose to read this, however, I think it is very important to think critically about what Dr. Eiseley is saying, and not just accept the flowery language at face-value.
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