Didn't like it as much as I'd hoped. Although brilliant in places, it didn't entirely work for me. The Age of Wonder seemed to lack focus. By that I mean; was the Age of Romantic Science the foreground or background to the lives of the main protagonists (Banks, Davy and Herschel)? If the former, this book was too narrow a slice. It didn't evoke the social sensibilities of the era. If the later, then the power of the characters was diluted. Any of the characters could have been a fascinating lens on these times and carried the book.

Although not one of my favorites of the last year, it did engender an interest in learning more about this era of science.

I've never read a book like this before, but it was really worth it. The author does a good job of turning science, history, and real documents into an enjoyable narrative and I learned so much about this period of scientific discovery. Great read!

i was in this one more for the history than the science but i thought it was great.

weird things:
"In Venice, they gingerly sampled the gondolas."
___ i forgot..

surprisingly amount of text devoted to nitrous oxide and hot air balloons?
the last chapter was the most interesting.

"perhaps the earliest animal-rights manifesto ever written:

For here forlorn and sad I sit,
Within the wiry grate,

... well it's here - http://www.rc.umd.edu/editions/contemps/barbauld/poems1773/mouses_petition.html

Three scientist’s lives are documented here, Joseph Banks, William Herschel and Humphrey Davy. Whereas the scientists of the previous generations were priests, and science was restricted to a religious worldview; these men were driven by a different sense of exploration. The era of popular science, since that could inspire and be understood by children was characterized. A public face to science was being created, and wonder was the instigating factor.

The book contains dense family history, politics, and the leading figures of their time. At times the material is a struggle, and the details so immaterial, but so many of the stories are spellbinding, it’s easy to get really into the matter. The Indian Jones-esque arrival of Joseph Banks to Tahiti, and his love affair with the tribal people is riveting. William Herschel’s boyish wonder for creating a 40-foot telescope and documenting celestial data is an amazing tale of how we expanded our boundaries. Humphrey Davy and his poet-scientist imaginations helped us build the chemical understanding of the world today. Also that whole escapade on building a lamp for miner’s was like a clever little mystery.

A big book, with a lot of ideas, but you really do get the sense that these men and women (Caroline Herschel included of course) made a huge difference in bringing science to the public at large. Further, it starts science toward a less deterministic path, and brings us to the footsteps of Darwin.

This is a great history of scientific discoveries from ages past. It skips the most well known and rather sheds light on those that we rarely think about these days (hot air balloons were really scary and dangerous when invented). Easy to read as it’s split into chapters that (almost) stand on their own. A great read for anyone looking for inspiration to get into sciences.

This was a very long book but I still enjoyed it. It is interesting to learn about the personal lives of scientists that are just mentioned in passing during school. It made me wonder why the men of our day no longer have any poetic abilities. One "f" word, surprisingly.