How the Victorians Took Us to the Moon

Praise for Iwan Rhys Morus:

"A real landmark. Finally, two first-rate academic historians--one a specialist in biological and earth sciences, one in physical sciences—both firmly committed to sociological, contextual approaches, offer an overview of their discipline.”

"An accessible, well-written book, with many nuanced and fascinating stories of individual sciences and the communities of science. An ambitious and successful introduction to the history of science.”

"An impressively comprehensive, clear, and accessible survey of the history of science since the Scientific Revolution that tells students not only what they should know, but also how and how not to think about the history of science.”

"Attractively illustrated and easy to use, the book explains difficult scientific and philosophical issues in brief and often surprisingly clear terms. The field of history of science has been calling out for a book just like this one.”

"Morus sets out to provide a new 'Big Picture' of nineteenth-century physics that is more in tune with the insights of recent work in the history of science. In short, there is currently no book even closely equivalent to this.”

"Morus is to be congratulated on writing an account of the rise of physics that is not only accessible to scientists, students, and the general reader but of major interest to scholars. Should henceforth be integral to any general history of modern Europe.”

"This is a story about the ascendance of physics as viewed by the public and, more importantly, by government and industry. As Morus puts it, physics became 'the ultimate authority in nature'. It is a fascinating story, well told and mostly based on the latest research by professional historians of science.”

"In a beautifully written and engaging synthesis, Morus sheds new light on familiar topics and people. The result is by far the best history of 19th-century physics that is now available.”

"This delightfully written book traces the evolution of the subject. The book is informative, well structured and a joy to read. It ought to appeal not only to the relatively narrow audience of science historians, but to working physicists and to the general public.”

"A masterfully written historical analysis. The book, which fills most admirably a huge gap in the secondary literature, is a 'must read' for undergraduates. I also highly recommend it to historians of science and technology; to general historians, and to scientists, for the sense it provides of the importance of sociocultural context to scientific content.”

"Morus's excellent history of physics in the nineteenth century, When Physics Became King, considers the field in an age when physics and physicists came to play a prominent role in the culture. A few good histories of physics exist—but none as readable or comprehensive as Morus's superb book.”