The Invention of Science

The seventeenth century saw the emergence of the mindset that characterizes modern science. David Wootton lucidly describes the individuals, the experiments and the controversies that marked this intellectually turbulent and transformative era. ... This fascinating and scholarly book should receive a wide readership.

Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal, President of the Royal Society 2005-10

This is a superb book, at once cogent, revisionist and profound. It offers the most novel and significant account of the Scientific Revolution to appear for many years ... it is simply rather brilliant.

Michael Hunter, Professor of History at Birkbeck, University of London

A truly remarkable piece of scholarship. His work has an ingenious and innovative linguistic foundation, examining the invention and redefinition of words as tracers of a new understanding of nature and how to approach it. His erudition is awesome, and his argument is convincing.

Owen Gingerich, Professor Emeritus of Astronomy and of the History of Science at Harvard University

A grand, whooping narrative that is also exhaustively researched. It will, I am certain, become a landmark in the discipline of the history of science.

Andrea Wulf, Financial Times