Cuvier’s History of the Natural Sciences

“I need to tell you about a book that is astonishing, prodigious, and colossal. Reading it was a labor of lust, an escape into clear thinking, and a delight on many levels. These superlatives apply to the book’s author, its content, and to the scholarship evident in bringing the work to a modern audience. . . . So what’s so enthralling about some lectures from 1829? Nearly everything, as it turns out. . . . No matter whose work Cuvier reports, these discussions are lucid, insightful, and fascinating. . . . In the end, the wonder of this book is in the vast panoply of names, dates, ideas, places, wars, and theories that make up our ancient history. The vastness of the story and the clarity with which it is told is a marvel. One wonders at the brilliance of Aristotle, but equally at the brilliance of Cuvier who tells the story so well, and at the perseverance and scholarship of Pietsch for making this package intelligible. For those who never thought much about the history of science this book will be an eye-opener. I couldn’t put it down.”