"This is a remarkable work of scholarship and the fifty-page bibliography is a testament to the author's breadth of knowledge and reading, which forms the scientific basis for his outstanding contribution to the field." -- Dr. Arpan K. Banerjee, Hektoen International "Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates through faculty." -- C. D. Kay, Wofford College, CHOICE "The question the author has set out to answer is, on the face of it, quite simple: How is it that science, utterly marginal in Europe's medieval culture, has become central to our modern culture? It is this very question that, for many a historian but also philosopher or sociologist of science, has stood in the background or even at the forefront of their decision to become one.

Yet no one so far has had the courage, and the stamina, and the scholarly experience, and the vast erudition, and the organizing power, and the familiarity with a number of indispensable languages that Stephen Gaukroger displays and that are needed to engage the question on anything like the scale it deserves. there are many reasons for profoundly admiring Gaukroger's achievement." -- H. Floris Cohen, Isis "This is the much-awaited fourth volume of a series, Science and the Shaping of Modernity, that canvasses the history of science with a keen eye to the broader cultural context. The erudition and dense attention to detail are breathtaking at times. I marvel to think that one scholar could command so much knowledge of the subject, both primary and secondary sources, and bring to bear such sophisticated philosophical judgment." -- Margaret Schabas, University of British Columbia "This is a remarkable work of scholarship and the fifty-page bibliography is a testament to the author's breadth of knowledge and reading, which forms the scientific basis for his outstanding contribution to the field." -- Arpan Banerjee , Hektoen International Journal.