The Lunar Men

出版者:Farrar, Straus and Giroux

作者:Jenny Uglow

页数:608

出版时间:2003-10-1

价格:USD 38.00

装帧:Paperback

isbn号码:9780374528881

图书标签:科学史工业革命英國英国研究英国聊天沙龙歷史

In the 1760s a group of amateur experimenters met and made friends in the English Midlands. Most came from humble families, all lived far from the center of things, but they were young and their optimism was boundless: together they would change the world. Among them were the ambitious toymaker Matthew Boulton and his partner James Watt, of steam-engine fame; the potter Josiah Wedgwood; the larger-than-life Erasmus Darwin, physician, poet, inventor, and theorist of evolution (a forerunner of his grandson Charles). Later came Joseph Priestley, discoverer of oxygen and fighting radical.

With a small band of allies they formed the Lunar Society of Birmingham (so called because it met at each full moon) and kick-started the Industrial Revolution. Blending science, art, and commerce, the Lunar Men built canals; launched balloons; named plants, gases, and minerals; changed the face of England and the china in its drawing rooms; and plotted to revolutionize its soul.

Uglow's vivid, exhilarating account uncovers the friendships, political passions, love affairs, and love of knowledge (and power) that drove these extraordinary men. It echoes to the thud of pistons and the wheeze and snort of engines and brings to life the tradesmen, artisans, and tycoons who shaped and fired the modern age.

用户评价

写到最后一页作者终于想起来要总结一下了……整体组织有点凌乱，但是作者很擅长用引文让读者进入18世纪后半叶的英国，有趣的历史事件和逸闻也很多，假期懒散之后读来“收魂”很合适。

写到最后一页作者终于想起来要总结一下了……整体组织有点凌乱，但是作者很擅长用引文让读者进入18世纪后半叶的英国，有趣的历史事件和逸闻也很多，假期懒散之后读来“收魂”很合适。

写到最后一页作者终于想起来要总结一下了……整体组织有点凌乱，但是作者很擅长用引文让读者进入18世纪后半叶的英国，有趣的历史事件和逸闻也很多，假期懒散之后读来“收魂”很合适。

写到最后一页作者终于想起来要总结一下了……整体组织有点凌乱，但是作者很擅长用引文让读者进入18世纪后半叶的英国，有趣的历史事件和逸闻也很多，假期懒散之后读来“收魂”很合适。

写到最后一页作者终于想起来要总结一下了……整体组织有点凌乱，但是作者很擅长用引文让读者进入18世纪后半叶的英国，有趣的历史事件和逸闻也很多，假期懒散之后读来“收魂”很合适。