The Clockwork Universe

Isaac Newton, The Royal Society, and the Birth of the Modern World

By: Edward Dolnick

Narrated by: Alan Sklar

Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

The Clockwork Universe is the story of a band of men who lived in a world of dirt and disease but pictured a universe that ran like a perfect machine. A meld of history and science, this book is a group portrait of some of the greatest minds who ever lived as they wrestled with natures most sweeping mysteries. The answers they uncovered still hold the key to how we understand the world.

At the end of the 17th century, an age of religious wars, plague, and the Great Fire of London when most people saw the world as falling apart, these earliest scientists saw a world of perfect order. They declared that, chaotic as it looked, the universe was in fact as intricate and perfectly regulated as a clock. This was the tail end of Shakespeare's century, when the natural and the supernatural still twined around each other. Disease was a punishment ordained by God, astronomy had not yet broken free from astrology, and the sky was filled with omens. It was a time when little was known and everything was new. These brilliant, ambitious, curious men believed in angels, alchemy, and the devil, and they also believed that the universe followed precise, mathematical laws, a contradiction that tormented them and changed the course of history. The Clockwork Universe is the fascinating and compelling story of the bewildered geniuses of the Royal Society, the men who made the modern world.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2011 Edward Dolnick (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

It's a Wonder We Left the Dark Ages

This book sets everything up with a concise account of the kinds of nonsense and "old wives' tales" people believed back in the Middle Ages. It's important to note that people in those times weren't stupid, but superstition permeated everything, and society kept locks on the doors of advancement for a long time, often out of fear. And then little by little, some brave and brilliant minds risked ridicule or worse and slowly unlocked the secrets that transformed our understanding and gave birth to modern science. This is that story of what they did, how they did it, and some of the drama that unfolded because of it. That drama is precisely why I make the remark in the title of this review. This book will reveal that the Dark Ages weren't quite so dark, the Enlightenment wasn't that enlightening, and yet we made it this far in spite of ourselves because of the chain of events that did transpire. It's an interesting account that fills in some of the story behind the story.

For science fans good listen

I enjoyed this book because I like the topic. It traces the evolution of cosmology from ancient greek times to modern times. Much of the book covers the three most famous scientist of their times. Galileo, Kepler and Newton. It does a great job explaining how the world evolved from a theory of the earth at the center of the universe to the universe as we now know it. The earth centric view was destroyed as soon as Galileo discovered the moons of Jupiter. The Earth could no longer be the center of the universe since those moons orbited Jupiter. The book also covers how Newton proved that the planets travel in an elliptical orbit about the sun.

This book is probably not for everyone, but if you like the subject of the history of science it is worth the listen.

The Wonder of Calculus

The idea that calculus changed the way people thought, worked, lived and died is truly amazing! As a history teacher, this book opened new vistas for me to ponder.

Excellent History of the Science

An excellent history of the science, yes, but also a lively depiction of the men who discovered and loved it. I’m no scientist but in no place does the telling of the history slow or become bogged down. Near perfection, start to finish. Alan Sklar is sensational.

Newton doesn't create to amaze

Newton was an amazing genius whose mind uncovered the way the world works. Through his Principia and study of Optics, Newton revolutionized science in the 17th century. In 1600, he would have been burnt at the stake, but in the middle to late 1600s, by using mathematics, including his discovery of calculus, he was able to measure moving objects, the existence and impact of gravity on earth and celestial objects, and the qualities of light. To this day, his genius amazes us.

Appealing to the non-scientific.

Give this book a chance even if you are not scientific. It is a really fascinating history lesson told in an entertaining way.

Reveals a world I never realized existed

In the 1600s curiosity was looked upon as a sin, trying to unveil the mind of God. Progress was viewed likewise, trying to improve upon the world God had provided. As miserable as their lives were and as horrible as the fate that followed death, people of those days believe "this is the best of all possible worlds." This mindset prevailed for 1,000 years. Fortunately for us, around 1660 there arose a small band of "natural philosophers" who enjoyed experimenting and thinking about the natural world. Isaac Newton, was the genius among them, although his ideas almost didn't get written down, he was so neurotic and anti-social and self-angrandizing. This book's beautifully written and read, very easy to follow. There are a few other books that have changed or enlarged my worldview this much. "How the mind works," by Stephen Pinker, "A short history of nearly everything," by Bill Bryson, and "Longitude," by Dava Sobel come to mind. This book is right up there with them.

Nicely done telling of the dawn of science

Very nice expose into the time and the characters that formed the bedrock for much of the modern age of science. It was fascinating to hear about the culture and the personalities of these great thinkers.

A great listen!

Wow! Amazing book that I tried to stretch out and savor. I listened to some chapters multiple times... Well written and superbly performed. Laughed out loud much more than I had anticipated (which was nil).

Maximum Education -- & every minute enjoyable !

Fascinating history of how the study of natural science originated in England, providing for the first time a hope of replacing universal superstition and ignorance. Focuses on investigations conducted during the 1600s, mostly in England and also in Germany, Holland, France, Italy.

First thing I did when I finished the book was to begin it again; it was that enjoyable and informative. Thank you, Edward Dolnick, wherever you are !