Lynn Thorndike

“ How to approach the subject, how to organize the material, and how to present it to the reader, are problems which many of the longer histories of science have failed to solve satisfactorily. Professor Libby adheres roughly to chronological order, but his chapter-headings are topical. He discusses science as a whole and in the broadest sense, and does not as a rule consider the individual sciences separately. On the other hand, certain leaders of scientific thought and accomplishment are singled out, and their lives, personalities, and genius are entertainingly set forth. ”

“ English-speaking scientists, for example, seem to receive rather more than their due ratio of attention. But the author makes it clear enough that "science is international", and tells its story in a broad, human, and tolerant manner. ”

“ The statement that Roger Bacon "transmitted in a treatise that fell under the eye of Columbus the view of Aristotle in reference to the proximity of another continent on the other side of the Atlantic" (p. 54) , is misleading in more than one respect. ”