The Age of Wonder — Richard Holmes

I have always been very interested in the history of science and technology, and this book really pandered to that interest. Covering the late 1700s to the early 1800s, this is a beautifully written and fascinating look at the intertwining of science and culture in the “Romantic” era in Britain. I had no idea that scientists like Humphry Davy also wrote poetry and were closely associated with poets like Coleridge, Wordsworth, Shelley and Byron, who in turn had been deeply interested in contemporary science.

Even putting aside that fascinating side of the book, The Age of Wonder is also a wonderful collection of scientific biographies, covering the lives and work of Joseph Banks, William and Catherine Herschel, William’s son John Herschel, Humphry Davy and Michael Faraday, not to mention the explorer Mungo Park. Really well done.