The Knowledge

How to Rebuild Our World from Scratch

By: Lewis Dartnell

Narrated by: John Lee

Most of us are ignorant about the fundamental principles of the civilization that supports us, happily utilizing the latest - or even the most basic - technology without having the slightest idea of why it works or how it came to be. If you had to go back to absolute basics, like some sort of postcataclysmic Robinson Crusoe, would you know how to re-create an internal combustion engine, put together a microscope, get metals out of rock, accurately tell time, weave fibers into clothing, or even how to produce food for yourself?

Regarded as one of the brightest young scientists of his generation, Lewis Dartnell proposes that the key to preserving civilization in an apocalyptic scenario is to provide a quickstart guide, adapted to cataclysmic circumstances. The Knowledge describes many of the modern technologies we employ, but first it explains the fundamentals upon which they are built. Every piece of technology rests on an enormous support network of other technologies, all interlinked and mutually dependent. You can't hope to build a radio, for example, without understanding how to acquire the raw materials it requires, as well as generate the electricity needed to run it.

But Dartnell doesn't just provide specific information for starting over; he also reveals the greatest invention of them all - the phenomenal knowledge-generating machine that is the scientific method itself. This would allow survivors to learn technological advances not explicitly explored in The Knowledge as well as things we have yet to discover. The Knowledge is a brilliantly original guide to the fundamentals of science and how it built our modern world as well as a thought experiment about the very idea of scientific knowledge itself.

©2014 Lewis Dartnell (P)2014 Tantor

Enlightening

Worthy of everyone's time! Great text for all high schools. I'll read again to retain more of this. I highly recommend!

This Is an AMAZING book

I highly, highly recommend this book. It has a conceit, which is that you are basically asked to imagine that the world has all but ended, at least as we know it, and that you are one of the few survivors. How are you and your significantly-reduced-in-number fellow humans going to bring the world up to the level of civilization the world was at before the imagined catastrophe?

The author, in precise, finished prose that is never overweening, nor offputtingly jocular (but also never dull) takes the listener on a journey toward the things that would need to be done to re-establish civilization by retracing the steps of our forbears--the ones, in particular, which progressively lead to greater and greater degrees of technological progress.

Along the way, you'll learn so many fascinating things about farming, weaving, metallurgy, chemistry, anatomy, and tons more.

I hasten to add that the narration was also superb.

So much better than I hoped

This is an extremely engaging read filled with information I never even thought of before. I'd really like to turn some of this information into science experiments for my children. I can't recommend this book enough even if you only have a passing interest in the science that underpins our world.

I see the world differently now

That was amazing. I consider myself quite knowledgeable and knew a reasonably amount of the content covered, but was still blown away by some of the amazing knowledge that humanity has discovered and that the author has put together so well.

This way of thinking about the world and learning could be a great way for getting kids into science. There should be classes covering this.

I THOUGHT I was smart...

Read/Listen to this carefully, and you, too, can be the Eugene of your zombie apocalypse group. Just make sure you keep that mullet fresh.

Interesting discussion of basic chemistry

Although this book started out slow, I was more impressed with the book the further I got into it. It discusses the basic chemistry behind technologies such as glass, steel, acids, heating, foods, clothing, photography, metal working, medicine, etc., etc. It is a "what if" scenario of what would happen if there were a nuclear holocaust and the survivors needed to concoct basic technologies. The author draws upon the works of others to build a book which truly challenges the scientific knowledge of readers.

An interesting look at preparation

This book provides useful knowledge for not only the end of the world, but also any dire circumstances you may find yourself in.

Biased and with Bold Assumptions

A fairly interesting book however the bias of the author clearly shows through and some of the assumptions made as to what society after the "fall" would be like seem a little far fetched.

Tyler Durden Handbook

Doomsday thinking isn't great for one's mentality but this would be an excllent resource for FEMA and grass roots prepper groups to bond over for disaster preperation (and to avoid the propoganda that divides them). That said, wow... if a teen me would have had this text... yikes. It's definitly worthy of being a restricted section tome. Law enforcement or military or other trusted leadership positions for a time or crisis or helping out in the developming world for makeshift solutions... but maybe some age restriction on having the thing pop up on reviews or options to buy... some way to shadow hide it from falling into reckless young hands.

I want book two!!

I learned more in this book than all my highschool science classes put together. I want John Lee to write a second book that goes more in-depth!