In this new edition of the top-selling coursebook, seasoned historians Peter J. Bowler and Iwan Rhys Morus expand on their authoritative survey of how the development of science has shaped our world.

Exploring both the history of science and its influence on modern thought, the authors chronicle the major developments in scientific thinking, from the revolutionary ideas of the seventeenth century to contemporary issues in genetics, physics, and more. Designed for entry-level college courses and as a single-volume introduction for the general reader, Bowler and Morus present the history of science not as a series of names and dates but as an interconnected and complex web of relationships joining science and society.

Thoroughly revised and expanded, the second edition draws on the latest research and scholarship. It also contains two entirely new chapters: one that explores the impact of computing on the development of science and another that surveys the complex interaction of Western science with the cultures of the rest of the world.

Peter J. Bowler is professor emeritus of the history of science at Queen's University Belfast. He has written many books, including Darwin Deleted: Imagining a World Without Darwin, also published by the University of Chicago Press, and A History of the Future: Prophets of Progress from H. G. Wells to Isaac Asimov.

Iwan Rhys Morus is professor in the Department of History and Welsh History at Aberystwyth University in Wales. His most recent books include The Oxford Illustrated History of Science and Nikola Tesla and the Electrical Future.