James Burke (1) (1936–)

A good sampler of human ingenuity and invention through random social connections. Entertaining and informative, and perhaps an incentive for many to read more deeply and widely. On the other hand, this random-evolution thesis seems to underplay the increasingly narrowed deep pursuits of 20th century science (and science funding by governments). It's intentionally intriguing and provocative, but not ideal for teaching history of science and technology, or how societies can acquire and apply knowledge to seek collective goals.… (mer)

The content and format are duplicated from the TV series, but I don't know if the text is a direct transcript. Illustrations are probably from the show.
For each of ten pivotal changes in scientific or social thought, Burke gives the background laeding up to the change, and explains how it happened and why it was important.

New discoveries and interpretations have made some of his commentary obsolete or in need of revision, but most of the history and science is still correct (AFAIK anyway).

Very accessible to advanced middle-school or high-school readers.… (mer)