- by Jim Al-Khalili
This is a very interesting book which takes on the important task of explaining how arabic scholars and arabic science (the word arabic strictly meaning those who have produced in arabic with the golden age - a period within the life of the Abbasid age , because many of these important scholars were Persian and from different places in Central-Asia, Like Khawarizm, etc... ) were true pathfinders in different fields, including philosophy, physics, chemistry, mathematics, astronomy, economy, history, geography, medicine, and more. He proves the originality of many of these schools and scholars, and dismisses the myth that these great pathfinders were mere translators and preservers of greek sciences and philosophy.
A rich book, with a very wide scope, which might have the minor weaknesses (naturally) of covering important areas too quickly or skipping other important scholars and scientists... Another issue is the relative lack of interest in the spiritual aspects of learning and philosophy, which were extremely important, but this is understandable considering the writer's initial declaration that science is the ultimate interest of his. This might have led to a somehow superficial coverage of some topics (like Jabir's and Al-Razi's Alchemy), but that is a small bump on the road.
A number of the sciences and scholars discussed:
"Good cannot be brought forth, and evil cannot be avoided, except by knowledge" - Al-Biruni
This is a very interesting book which takes on the important task of explaining how arabic scholars and arabic science (the word arabic strictly meaning those who have produced in arabic with the golden age - a period within the life of the Abbasid age , because many of these important scholars were Persian and from different places in Central-Asia, Like Khawarizm, etc... ) were true pathfinders in different fields, including philosophy, physics, chemistry, mathematics, astronomy, economy, history, geography, medicine, and more. He proves the originality of many of these schools and scholars, and dismisses the myth that these great pathfinders were mere translators and preservers of greek sciences and philosophy.
A rich book, with a very wide scope, which might have the minor weaknesses (naturally) of covering important areas too quickly or skipping other important scholars and scientists... Another issue is the relative lack of interest in the spiritual aspects of learning and philosophy, which were extremely important, but this is understandable considering the writer's initial declaration that science is the ultimate interest of his. This might have led to a somehow superficial coverage of some topics (like Jabir's and Al-Razi's Alchemy), but that is a small bump on the road.
A number of the sciences and scholars discussed:
- Jabir bin Hayyan - The chemist and alchemist
- Al-Khawarizmi - Algebra and Algorithms
- Al-Kindi - Philosophy
- Al-Razi - Medicine
- Ibn Al-Haytham - Physics
- Ibn Sina and Al-Biruni --- The great Polymaths and Geniuses
- Many More
"Good cannot be brought forth, and evil cannot be avoided, except by knowledge" - Al-Biruni
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