The Science of Liberty: Democracy, Reason, and the Laws of Nature

( 13 )
Pick Up In Store

Pick Up in Store

Reserve and pick up in 60 minutes at your local store

Paperback
$15.34
BN.com price
$15.99 List Price (Save 4%)
Marketplace (New and Used)
from
$3.99
$15.99 List Price (Save 75%)
Usually ships in 1-2 business days
All (24)  
Used (8)  
New (16)  
Close
Sort by
Page 1 of 3
Showing 1 – 10 of 24 (3 pages)
$3.99
(Save 75%)
Horizon Books OH
Seller since 2005

Feedback rating:

(3953)

Condition:

New — never opened or used in original packaging.

Like New — packaging may have been opened. A "Like New" item is suitable to give as a gift.

Very Good — may have minor signs of wear on packaging but item works perfectly and has no damage.

Good — item is in good condition but packaging may have signs of shelf wear/aging or torn packaging. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Acceptable — item is in working order but may show signs of wear such as scratches or torn packaging. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Used — An item that has been opened and may show signs of wear. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Refurbished — A used item that has been renewed or updated and verified to be in proper working condition. Not necessarily completed by the original manufacturer.

New
New Book and Cover in Excellent Condition

Ships from: Cleveland, OH

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$4.00
(Save 75%)
Housing Works UBC NY
Seller since 2005

Feedback rating:

(3143)

Condition: Like New
Like New Minimal wear to cover. Pages clean and binding tight. Paperback.

Ships from: New York, NY

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$4.72
(Save 70%)
Central Kentucky Book Supply KY
Seller since 2006

Feedback rating:

(1201)

Condition: Acceptable
2011 Paperback Fair Acceptable-Prebound Paperbacks. Any item over 4lbs is not eligible for international shipping.

Ships from: Nicholasville, KY

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$5.75
(Save 64%)
helvic55
Seller since 2010

Feedback rating:

(236)

Condition: New
2011-02-08 Paperback New New, unread and unused book with clean pages and light shelf wear. May have a remainder mark.

Ships from: Amherst, NY

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$6.74
(Save 58%)
Books Any
Seller since 2010

Feedback rating:

(1917)

Condition: New
2011 Trade paperback New. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 368 p.

Ships from: Valley Stream, NY

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$6.74
(Save 58%)
TenBestBooks NY
Seller since 2005

Feedback rating:

(68)

Condition: Very Good
Very Good 0060781513 Very good copy. Some light wear to cover. Otherwise clean and tight, lightly read. Not ex-library. No markings. USPS tracking number provided for U.S. ... orders. Read more Show Less

Ships from: Utica, NY

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$7.36
(Save 54%)
helvic55
Seller since 2010

Feedback rating:

(236)

Condition: New
2011-02-08 Paperback New, unread book with light shel New, unread book with light shelf wear. May have a remainder mark.

Ships from: Amherst, NY

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$8.74
(Save 45%)
Extremely_Reliable
Seller since 2007

Feedback rating:

(3210)

Condition: New
Buy with confidence. Excellent Customer Service & Return policy.

Ships from: Richmond, TX

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
$9.08
(Save 43%)
Great Book Deals
Seller since 2008

Feedback rating:

(12288)

Condition: New
Absolutely Brand New & In Stock. 100% 30-Day Money Back. Direct from our warehouse. Over 5+ Million Customers served. In business since 1997. Happy Customers is Our #1 Goal. ... Customer Service toll free upport Monday-Friday EST Hrs. 4 to 14 business day Delivery Time by US Post Office. Read more Show Less

Ships from: Oldsmar, FL

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
$9.59
(Save 40%)
Textbookcenter.com
Seller since 2005

Feedback rating:

(46119)

Condition: Very Good
SHIPS FAST! via UPS(AK/HI Priority Mail) within 24 hrs/ used sticker/some hilite

Ships from: Columbia, MO

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
Page 1 of 3
Showing 1 – 10 of 24 (3 pages)
Close
Sort by
NOOK Book (eBook)
$10.99
BN.com price

Available on NOOK devices and apps

  • Nook Devices
  • NOOK
  • NOOK Color
  • NOOK Tablet
  • Tablet/Phone
  • NOOK for iPad
  • NOOK for iPhone
  • NOOK for Android
  • NOOK for Android (Tablet)
  • NOOK Kids for iPad
  • PC/Mac
  • NOOK Study
  • NOOK for PC
  • NOOK for Mac

Want a NOOK? Explore Now

More About This Book

Overview

In his most important book to date, award-winning author Timothy Ferris—"the best popular science writer in the English language today" (Christian Science Monitor)—makes a passionate case for science as the inspiration behind the rise of liberalism and democracy. Ferris argues that just as the scientific revolution rescued billions from poverty, fear, hunger, and disease, the Enlightenment values it inspired has swelled the number of persons living in free and democratic societies from less than 1 percent of the world population four centuries ago to more than a third today.

Ferris deftly investigates the evolution of these scientific and political revolutions, demonstrating that they are inextricably bound. He shows how science was integral to the American Revolution but misinterpreted in the French Revolution; reflects on the history of liberalism, stressing its widely underestimated and mutually beneficial relationship with science; and surveys the forces that have opposed science and liberalism—from communism and fascism to postmodernism and Islamic fundamentalism.

A sweeping intellectual history, The Science of Liberty is a stunningly original work that transcends the antiquated concepts of left and right.

Editorial Reviews

The Financial Times
“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 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.”
More Reviews (4) Fewer Reviews
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 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.”
Curt Suplee
An academic polymath known chiefly as the author of The Whole Shebang, about cosmology, and other uncommonly lucid books, [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. As a result, The Science of Liberty is a profound delight whether one puts it down convinced or not…Even when he is covering familiar ground, Ferris's perspective is a joy…
—The Washington Post
Kirkus Reviews
Prolific science writer Ferris (Seeing in the Dark: How Backyard Stargazers Are Probing Deep Space and Guarding Earth from Interplanetary Peril, 2002, etc.) explains how liberal democracy and a robust scientific environment walk hand in hand. If one thinks of democracy as an elected government that guarantees human rights and freedoms-in its most basic, unadorned form-and science as the social enterprise of research involving observation and experiment, then what follows is self-evident: Liberal democracy's anti-authoritarianism and freedom of speech, travel and association allows for all available intellectual sources to be tapped in the service of scientific skepticism and experimentation. Science flourishes in a flexible milieu, increasing knowledge, power and wealth, and thus demonstrating that liberal governance works, no matter how inelegantly. As Ferris writes, "this book favors the messy, selfish, and often foolish and greedy push-and-pull of democracies as they are-neither rational nor expert but experimental-as better tuned to the spirit of science than are enchantments with authoritarian expertise and top-down planning." The author thoroughly and eloquently establishes the link between science and liberty, starting with the Renaissance and running through today, providing overviews of turning points in the progress of democracy and science and vest-pocket profiles of important personalities like Bacon, Galileo, Descartes, Newton, Locke and Paine-not to forget the venalities of Hitler, Stalin and Mao. Questions that flow from the narrative-When does the state put a governor on free enterprise? How does the Tuskegee syphilis experiment apply? What is the role of science inimperialism and colonialism?-are handled with intelligence and sensitivity, taking a cue from the invariant ethics Ferris would like to see guide science, which include truth-telling and ethical, even humanistic practices. Ferris keenly demonstrates that the health and happiness of the planet is tied to a strong marriage of science and democracy.

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780060781514
  • Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
  • Publication date: 2/8/2011
  • Pages: 368
  • Sales rank: 255,536
  • Product dimensions: 5.84 (w) x 8.92 (h) x 1.02 (d)

Meet the Author

Timothy Ferris
Timothy Ferris

Timothy Ferris's works include Seeing in the Dark, The Mind's Sky (both New York Times best books of the year), and The Whole Shebang (listed by American Scientist as one of the one hundred most influential books of the twentieth century). A fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Ferris has taught in five disciplines at four universities. He is an emeritus professor at the University of California, Berkeley and a former editor of Rolling Stone. His articles and essays have appeared in The New Yorker, Time, Newsweek, Vanity Fair, National Geographic, Scientific American, The Nation, The New Republic, The New York Review of Books, The New York Times Book Review, and many other publications. A contributor to CNN and National Public Radio, Ferris has made three prime-time PBS television specials: The Creation of the Universe, Life Beyond Earth, and Seeing in the Dark. He lives in San Francisco.

Biography

Timothy Ferris (born August 29, 1944) is a science writer and the best-selling author of twelve books, including The Science of Liberty (2010) and Coming of Age in the Milky Way (1988), for which he was awarded the American Institute of Physics Prize and a nomination for the Pulitzer Prize. He also wrote The Whole Shebang: A State-of-the-Universe(s) Report (1997), a popular science book on the study of the universe.

Ferris is a native of Miami, Florida, and a graduate of Coral Gables High School. He attended Northwestern University, graduating in 1966, and studied for one year at the Northwestern University Law School before joining United Press International as a reporter, working in New York City.

    1. Hometown:
      San Francisco, California
    1. Date of Birth:
      August 29, 1944
    2. Place of Birth:
      Miami, Florida
    1. Education:
      B.S., Northwestern University, 1966
    2. Website:
      http://www.timothyferris.com

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Science & Liberty 1

Chapter 2 Science & Liberalism 16

Chapter 3 The Rise of Science 35

Chapter 4 The Science of Enlightenment 57

Chapter 5 American Independence 89

Chapter 6 The Terror 109

Chapter 7 Power 128

Chapter 8 Progress 149

Chapter 9 The Science of Wealth 168

Chapter 10 Totalitarian Antiscience 191

Chapter 11 Academic Antiscience 236

Chapter 12 One World 261

Acknowledgments 293

Notes 295

Index 355

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5
( 13 )

Rating Distribution

5 Star

(8)

4 Star

(4)

3 Star

(0)

2 Star

(1)

1 Star

(0)

Your Rating:

Review Guidelines
Add Recommendations
Your Name: Create a Pen Name or Leave Anonymously

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked, or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer. However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

  • - HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
  • - Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
  • - Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
  • - Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
  • - Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
  • - Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
  • - Advertisements or commercial solicitation

Reminder:

  • - By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
  • - Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
  • - See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.
Search for Products You'd Like to Recommend

Recommend other products that relate to your review. Just search for them below and share!

Create a Pen Name

Your Pen Name is your unique identiy on BN.com. It will appear on the reviews you write and other website activities. Your Pen Name cannot be edited, changed or deleted once submitted.

Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously

We're sorry, but penname is already taken.

Please select one of the following:
Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously

penname is available!

By visiting the BN.com website or marking a purchase on BN.com, a User is deemed to have accepted the Terms of Use.

Continue Anonymously

Welcome, penname

You have successfully created your Pen Name. Start enjoying the benefits of the BN.com Community today.

Sort by: Showing all of 13 Customer Reviews

  • Posted April 10, 2010

    THE SCIENCE OF LIBERTY IS OUTSTANDING

    Just finished reading a book I would like to recommend. It is by Timothy Ferris called "The Science of Liberty". It talks about the rise of liberal democracy as a result of the enlightenment, the product of scientific thought or methodology. Timothy Ferris is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is emeritus professor at University of California, Berkeley and former editor of Rolling Stone. He argues that "just as the scientific revolution rescued billions from poverty, fear, hunger, and disease, the Enlightenment values it inspired has swelled the number of persons living in free and democratic societies form less than 1% of the world population 4 centuries ago to more than 1/3 today." He researches the evolution and the linkage of liberal democracies and scientific development. The history itself is interesting and gives one pause to think. He in the last chapters goes into the dangers of "Totalitarian Anti science" and "Academic Anti science". This he shows as a threat to further research and political freedom. Examples include the Nazi time when academics in Germany embraced Hitler. It also shows examples in Soviet Russia when Lysenko held sway and retarded Russian biology for decades. Now the threat of religious inspired totalitarianism in the form of the religious right in the U.S. and Islamists in the middle east. This will go on the recommended read list.

    4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted March 20, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    New Ferris book excellent and thought provoking

    Tim Ferris is up to his usual excellent standards in this new book
    where he examines the relationship between liberty and science.
    Ferris shows how the scientific spirit, the willingness to experiment,
    is reflected by and related to the best of our liberal democracies.
    He is excellent at pointing out that democracies thrive with strong
    science and that science is at it's best with democracies!
    This a superb book! Enjoy!

    3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted April 12, 2010

    Science and the Enlightenment

    If, as the author proclaims, the Enlightenment was inspired by scientific progress, perhaps one could believe that philosophy was meanlngless and natural philosophy, that is, science, was all. This dubious theory is at the heart of Ferris's book, and one should be allowed to question such a materialistic suggestion. The core of the Enlightenment was much more complicated, and less dependent upon science than upon the questioning of the dusty reckonings of scholaticism and church dogma. What does it matter if Thomas Jefferson kept a record of the day's temperature? Rubbish. The enlightenment was a revolution of thinking, of mentality, not of thermometer temperatures?
    His book contributes only to the hardening of the view that without Newton the Enlightenment would not have taken place. In fact, Newton was only a part of the whole.

    1 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted April 11, 2012

    Good read

    Had to read this for a history class and it is a pretty good read. It is a little hard to follow the authors thought process sometimes, but you eventually get use to it. It does broaden your horizons and makes you think.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted March 9, 2012

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted May 4, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted August 17, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted July 8, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted July 15, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted January 28, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted July 4, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted August 18, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted August 18, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

Sort by: Showing all of 13 Customer Reviews
If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble
Why is this product inappropriate?
Comments (optional)
500 character limit