The Age of Wonder：The Romantic Generation and the Discovery of the Beauty and Terror of Science

TheAgeofWonderisacolorfulandutterlyabsorbinghistoryofthemenandwomenwhosediscoveriesandinventionsattheendoftheeighteenthcenturygavebirthtotheRomanticAgeofScience.?WhenyoungJosephBankssteppedontoaTahitianbeachin1769,hehopedtodiscoverParadise.InspiredbythescientificfermentsweepingthroughBritain,thebotanisthadsailedwithCaptainCookinsearchofnewworlds.Othervoyagesofdiscovery—astronomical,chemical,poetical,philosophical—swiftlyfollowinRichardHolmes'sthrillingevocationofthesecondscientificrevolution.ThroughthelivesofWilliamHerschelandhissisterCaroline,whoforeverchangedthepublicconceptionofthesolarsystem;ofHumphryDavy,whosenear-suicidalgasexperimentsrevolutionizedchemistry;andofthegreatRomanticwriters,fromMaryShelleytoColeridgeandKeats,whowereinspiredbythescientificbreakthroughsoftheirday,Holmesbringstolifetheerainwhichwefirstrealizedboththeawe-inspiringandthefrighteningpossibilitiesofscience—anerawhoseconsequencesarewithusstill.