The Day the Universe Changed, James Burke
The Day the Universe Changed, James Burke
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The Day the Universe Changed
Pivotal Moments in Time that Radically Altered the Course of Human History

Author: James Burke

Narrator: James Burke

Abridged: 3 hr 1 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 11/14/2006

Synopsis

James Burke's examination of the moments in history when a change in knowledge radically altered man's understanding of himself and the world around him in The Day the Universe Changed.

When humans understood that the earth was flat and it was the center of the universe, all life revolved around that truth. Then, Galileo introduced his telescope. And with that single innovation, architecture, music, literature, science, politics—all of it changed, mirroring the new view of truth. This program is James Burke's examination of the moments in history when a change in knowledge radically altered man's understanding of himself and the world around him.

Few people are able to look at human history and see it not as a jumble of half-remembered names and dates, but as an intricate mosaic of neatly interlocking pieces. Fewer still can describe the patterns and explain the parts of the puzzle so that it not only makes sense, but so that it also fascinates and intrigues, excites and entertains. James Burke tells history like it's the plot of the most interesting mystery ever written.

This program is read by the author.

About James Burke

James Burke, the BBC’s chief reporter on the Apollo missions to the moon, was awarded the Royal Television Society silver medal in 1973 and the gold medal in 1974. The PBS series Connections was over two years in the making, the research and filming taking the author to twenty-three countries. James Burke lives in London.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Douglas on December 10, 2011

I absolutely *love* this book. It may well be the only non-fiction book that I have ever said this about, but I found so much entertainment as well as a wealth of education in it that it deserves this banner. Mr Burke takes historically significant moments - some I knew about and some I didn't - and......more

Goodreads review by John on March 17, 2009

I believe this was the companion book to the wonderful PBS Series of the same title hosted by James Burke (in the 1980's). In it, he pinpoints pinnacle points in scientific history that changed the world as we know it (hopefully you weren't reading that last sentence aloud). What I love most about th......more

Goodreads review by Jim on September 18, 2011

The book is a companion to the 1980s BBC series by James Burke, The Day The Universe Changed. Burke episodically walks us through some of the turning points in the development and educational evolution of man. The BBC series (shown on PBS in the 80's) is enlightening, provocative, and very entertain......more

Goodreads review by Justyna on January 31, 2018

I cannot really tell what is the purpose of this book. If you are ignorant, you won't get any better understanding, besides few anecdotes served on some surreal plate, that will try convince you, that every discovery was just blind luck without any reason (in one place of the book it is even directl......more

Goodreads review by Allen on July 01, 2019

Even better than the video version I purchased this volume because the BBC video portrayal hosted by the author was very influential on myself as an amateur historian. This volume takes great pains to show how over the course of history the way we view the structure of the Universal Reality has chang......more

Quotes

“James Burke surely has one of the most intriguing minds in the western world.” —The Washington Post

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