The House of Wisdom: How Arabic Science Saved Ancient Knowledge and Gave Us the Renaissance

by Jim Al-Khalili

Overview

A myth-shattering view of the Islamic world's myriad scientific innovations and the role they played in sparking the European Renaissance.

Many of the innovations that we think of as hallmarks of Western science had their roots in the Arab world of the middle ages, a period when much of Western Christendom lay in intellectual darkness. Jim al- Khalili, a leading British-Iraqi physicist, resurrects this lost chapter of history, and given current East-West tensions, his book could not be timelier. With transporting detail, al-Khalili places readers in the hothouses of the Arabic Enlightenment, shows how they led to Europe's cultural awakening, and poses the question: Why did the Islamic world enter its own dark age after such a dazzling flowering?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780143120568
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	03/27/2012
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	444,354
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.10(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Jim al-Khalili is a leading theoretical nuclear physicist, a trustee of the British Science Association, and a senior advisor to the British Council on science and technology. He has written a number of popular science books, which have been translated into thirteen languages so far.

Editorial Reviews

Jim al-Khalili…has taken on the task of elevating this neglected period to its rightful place in history. His new book, The House of Wisdom, reflects a depth of research, an ability to tell a fascinating story well and fair-­mindedness where minds too often are closed.
—The New York Times

John Noble Wilford

There is a commonly held view that during the Middle Ages, Arabic scientists focused mainly on translating into Arabic the scientific knowledge of ancient civilizations while contributing little to scientific advancement. Physicist al-Khalili (Univ. of Surrey, UK; Quantum: A Guide for the Perplexed) vigorously challenges this theory by documenting the remarkable contributions of Arabic astronomers, mathematicians, physicians, physicists, chemists, and philosophers, who were scholars at a scientific academy in Baghdad known as the House of Wisdom. While the names of these "forgotten geniuses and unsung heroes" may be unfamiliar to most of us, their scientific legacies still reverberate. One such legacy is that algebra was developed as a distinct branch of mathematics by House of Wisdom scholar al-Khwarizmi in the ninth century. VERDICT Al-Khalili brings to life a vibrant intellectual period of Islamic history when there was not only tolerance for other religions and cultures but a synergy between science and Islam. Anyone interested in the early history of science or the development of the scientific method before Galileo will find this an engaging study.—Cynthia Knight, Hunterdon Cty. Lib., Flemington, NJ

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