In his play about Galileo, Bertolt Brecht has him say: "Science knows only one commandment: contribute to science." And those who write about science contribute as much as those who do it-and perhaps more, since a discovery not written up is a discovery that might as well not have occurred.

This is a collection of articles and excerpts representing an overview of science writing, from Herodotus speculating on Egyptian geology to George Smoot analyzing the results from COBE. Some of the writers are primarily popularizers (Isaac Asimov, Rachel Carson, Walter Sullivan) and some are scientists who made an especial effort to write for the public (Arthur S. Eddington, Stephen Jay Gould, Carl Sagan), but some of the pieces are by and for scientists, just sufficiently accessible to be included here (as with the articles by Darwin, Wallace, Kepler, and Helmholtz). The pieces run the gamut of the sciences-astronomy, biology, geology, physics-and a gamut of issues relating to the sciences, from the process of discovery (Mach talking about the human sense of position) to philosophy (Bacon and Popper) to observational notes (Darwin on Galapagos finches and Galileo on his first look through a telescope). There are breathtaking excerpts from the moment when a new science is born: Alfred Russel Wallace realizing the concept of natural selection, Lavoisier explaining the new organization of substances he has discovered (and thereby setting the foundations of modern chemistry).

While reading, I somehow found less interesting than I thought I would, but my problem may be that I have a strong background in the history of science and have been exposed to much of this before. That being said, I am finding that this book is sticking with me in ways that few books do. I continue to think about the articles and recall them.

So for anyone who is interested in science or the history of science, who wants to experience science being made, or who just appreciates good, strong writing, this book is highly recommended.

I now have a new appreciation for Science all because of this book! Reading this was very touching and helped me understand why science is so important to our lives. They even got essay's done by some scientist you have never heard about that are totally irrelevant to what you hear everyday at school, at work, or just walking around. My favorite writings were of Course Galileo's beatiful description of the stars and Jupiter. GREAT BOOK! BUY IT NOW!

Bolles has collected an assortment of what he describes as "great" scientific writings. Great in this context refers to writings that, in Bolles' subjective analysis, are among the best scientific literature has to offer. As a result, what appear in this anthology are not always landmark papers that advanced a particular branch of science or introduced a new theory. They are, however, a fascinating collection, dating back to the dawn of science and provide a wonderful sense of perspective on the slow and steady progress of natural philosophy.

Both me and my wife have been reading this book regularly to understand our children better. It is both interesting and practical. What I like best about it is that its recommndations as to how to raise children are mostly based on experience and research, not on anyone's opinions.

And one more thing: my two-year-old daughter LOVES the pictures inside!

This is a superbly written book, capturing the drama behind the discovery of the concept of the Ice Age. Bolles tells the story from the perspective of three different 19th century investigators: Kane, a gentleman adventurer, Lyell, one of the founders of modern geology, and Agassiz, one of the world's greatest naturalists. Using what is almost like a diarist method to tell the tale, the author interweaves the points of view of all three individuals taking the reader through the stages of the theory's conception and gestation. It seems amazing that what seems so abundantly apparent to modern students of earth history is blindly missed by many very astute 19th Century scientists. Furthermore, when a clear arguement with supporting data is resisted, it seems almost a willful desire to deny the existance of an Ice Age. Indeed such it may have been, as this was an era when strongly held religious beliefs, which had shaped much of the thinking up to that time, were beginning to crumble. In Ice Finders Bolles expertly creates an exciting and informative history of one of the intellectual adventures of science.

Edmond Bolles book "The Ice Finders" is a real treat, perhaps the best I've read this year. In this tale of the discovery of the concept of "Ice Age", Bolles weaves together the story of three people of different times and places. We are treated to three biographies of people who played important but very different roles forming a new view and understanding of the world-a view we carry to this day to such an extent it's hard to imagine anything else.

Bolles displays for us an intellectual adventure I'd never thought about before, as well as ego trips, and quixotic expeditions. And what a cast of characters including Charles Darwin, the Lowell's of Massachusetts, Ralph Emerson and others who add great spice to the stories. The book is intellectually stimulating, entertaining and fun. Here is a piece of history I knew nothing about until reading Bolles book. What a bargain-all in one book.

This is a wonderful little book about three individuals deeply involved in the exploration and discovery of the earth and it's origins during the 19th century - Louis Agassiz a Swiss Professor and politician; Elsisha Kent Kane, who spent two years trapped in the ice of Greenland and published "Arctic Exporations," his account of the ordeal; and Charles Lyell, a Scottish Geologist.

Bolles interweaves each figure's story and experiences as they work their way toward the discovery and acceptance of the previous Ice Ages and how they explain many argued about features of earth, such as erractic boulders and glacial moraines - many of which were accepted as the outcome of biblical events. And these primary explainations were a major hurdle to our ever-expanding understand of the earth, it's origins as ours.

The names of these three individuals will probably be familar to any reader of Arctic Exploration, Discovery and History.