The Science of Liberty - by Timothy Ferris (Paperback)

About the Book

In this intellectual history, science writer Timothy Ferris makes a case for science as the inspiration behind the rise of liberalism and democracy.

From the Back Cover

In his most powerful book to date, award-winning author TimothyFerris makes a passionate case for scienceas the inspiration behind the rise of liberalismand democracy. Ferris showshow science was integral to the AmericanRevolution but misinterpreted inthe French Revolution; reflects on thehistory of liberalism, stressing its widelyunderestimated and mutually beneficialrelationship with science; and surveysthe forces that have opposed scienceand liberalism--from communism andfascism to postmodernism and Islamicfundamentalism. A sweeping intellectualhistory, The Science of Liberty is a stunninglyoriginal work that transcends theantiquated concepts of left and right.

Review Quotes

"The best popular science writer in the English language today." - Christian Science Monitor
"Timothy Ferris is the best science writer of his generation." - Washington Post
"Engaging. . . . Ambitious. . . . Ferris usefully reminds us that science was an integral part of the intellectual equipment of the great pioneers of political and individual liberty. . . . Ferris is on firm ground in arguing that the political influence of the scientific enterprise has been liberalizing and progressive. . . . And he provides convincing indictments of various illiberal ideologies." - The New York Times Book Review
"Engaging. . . . Ambitious. . . . Ferris usefully reminds us that science was an integral part of the intellectual equipment of the great pioneers of political and individual liberty." - The New York Times Book Review
"An important and extremely readable book. . . . Lively. . . . Clear and perceptive. . . . Ferris is one of America's most skillful communicators about science. . . . He shows himself a fascinating historian too. . . . Ferris is an engaging narrator with clear insights into the workings of science and democratic societies; he has a powerful message, too." - The San Francisco Chronicle
"An important and extremely readable book. . . . Lively. . . . Clear and perceptive. . . . Ferris is one of America's most skillful communicators about science. . . . He shows himself a fascinating historian too." - The San Francisco Chronicle
"Lucid and captivating. . . . Deeply important. . . . Ferris's clear and educative account makes for an enjoyable read." - A. C. Grayling, The New Scientist
"Unfashionably optimistic. . . . Ferris provides irrefutable evidence that, despite the tragedies of war and terrorism, there has been astounding progress in both the living standards and the degree of personal freedom enjoyed by the majority of the human race." - The Financial Times
"An important, timely, and splendidly written book. . . . Ferris is among the half-dozen foremost explicators of the physical sciences alive today. He is also a man for whom the English language is not a tool, but an instrument on which to perform with grace and precision. The Science of Liberty is a profound delight. . . . Ferris's perspective is a joy, and his vivid account of the vast conceptual divide between the American Revolution's appeal to reason and the French Revolution's tyranny, hysteria, and terror is itself worth the price of admission." - The Washington Post
"An important, timely, and splendidly written book. . . . Ferris is among the half-dozen foremost explicators of the physical sciences alive today. . . . The Science of Liberty is a profound delight." - The Washington Post