A review by martha_w
The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science by Richard Holmes

5.0

Excellent history of some fascinating science. Also, a really wonderful biography. "Age of Wonder" is meant to describe a time period (before the Victorian era) where scientists were motivated by a sense of wonder. Holmes does a really nice job demonstrating that through the individual scientists he profiles and by bringing in writers and poets of the day, many who were writing about the wonders of nature and the universe. I really liked this somewhat different approach to a scientific story.