HISTORY OF SCIENCE Antiquity to 1700

These 36 lectures present a broad survey of natural philosophy from the Babylonians to the Age of Newton. Part I presents the scientific contributions of the Middle Eastern kingdoms, Egypt, Greece, and the Roman use of Greek knowledge. Part II covers the Fall of Rome to about 1400 and offers an interesting discussion of the West's dependence on Arabic texts for the rediscovery of great science. Part III addresses the Renaissance and the Scientific Revolution. Dr. Principe has a pleasant speaking voice and is clearly a master of his subject. Equally clear is his passion for teaching it. The lectures are never boring. The presentation is nontechnical; for example, he discusses the increasing mathematization of science, but math itself is not a subject. For a broad sweep of the history of science, these are strongly recommended. R.E.K. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/JUL 03]