Far too often, public discussion of science is carried out by journalists, voters, and politicians who have received their science secondhand. The Story of Science shows us the joy and importance of reading groundbreaking science writing for ourselves and guides us back to the masterpieces that have changed the way we think about our world, our cosmos, and ourselves. Able to be referenced individually, or read together as the narrative of Western scientific development, the book leads readers from the first science texts by the Greeks through 20th-century classics in biology, physics, and cosmology. The Story of Science illuminates everything from mankind's earliest inquiries to the butterfly effect. Each chapter recommends one or more classic books and provides accounts of crucial contributions to science, sketches of the scientist-writers, and explanations of the mechanics underlying each concept. The Story of Science reveals science to be a dramatic undertaking practiced by some of history's most memorable characters. It reminds us that scientific inquiry is a human pursuit -- an essential, often deeply personal, sometimes flawed, frequently brilliant way of understanding the world.