Galileo's Gout

Science in an Age of Endarkenment

By: Gerald Weissmann

Narrated by: Nick Sullivan

Embryonic stem cell research. Evolution versus intelligent design. The transformation of medicine into "healthcare". Climate change. Never before has science been so intertwined with politics; never have we been more dependent on scientific solutions for the preservation of the species.

As at home with Galileo and his daughter in Florence as he is with Diderot in Enlightenment France, William and Alice James in fin-de-siècle Boston, or the latest research on the genome, Gerald Weissmann distills the lessons of history to guide us through our troubled age. His message is clear: "Experimental science is our defense - perhaps our best defense - against humbug and the Endarkenment."

©2007 Bellevue Literary Press (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Oliver Sacks, Richard Selzer, Lewis Thomas . . . Weissmann is in this noble tradition." (Los Angeles Times)
"Weissmann introduces us to a new way of thinking about the connections between art and medicine." (The New York Times Book Review)

too much pointless trivia

The premise of this book was interesting - a history of the development of the biologically related sciences including psychoanalysis, immunology and rheumatology. There are, in fact, some very intersting passages. However, the price to pay to get to these sections is, in my opinion, too high. The author has a way of writing that quickly makes you forget the main point of his story. He provides too much pointless trivia (eg the undergraduate major and school of one of the co-authors of a paper) that the story is very confusing. I had to relisten to many sections to understand his points or remind myself what on earth he was telling me about. He also provides long quotes in latin and french then follows with an equally lengthy verbatim translation - there is no point to this.

His writing style also makes you work in that he will start a new section by writing about 'he' but won't tell you who 'he' is for several lines or paragraphs. A very annoying style for this type of book.

There may be some very interesting facts and stories in this book but after having fought my way through it, I can't seem to remember a single story..