Pathfinders The Golden Age of Arabic Science
'Jim Al-Khalili has a passion for bringing to a wider audience not just the facts of science but its history . . . Just as the legacy of Copernicus and Darwin belongs to all of us, so does that of Ibn Sina and Ibn al-Haytham.' Independent For over 700 years the international language of science was Arabic. In Pathfinders, Jim al-Khalili celebrates the forgotten, inspiring pioneers who helped shape our understanding of the world during the golden age of Arabic science, including Iraqi physicist Ibn al-Haytham, who practised the modern scientific method over half a century before Bacon; al-Khwarizmi, the greatest mathematician of the medieval world; and Abu Rayhan al-Biruni, a Persian polymath to rival Leonardo da Vinci. 'He has brought a great story out of the shadows.' Literary Review 'His command of Arabic and mathematical physics invests his story with sympathy as well as authority.' Guardian 'A fascinating and user-friendly guide.' Sunday Telegraph 'This captivating book is a timely reminder of the debt owed by the West to the intellectual achievements of Arab, Persian and Muslim scholars.' The Times