An unprecedented explosion of creativity, insight, and breakthrough occurred in every field of science in the last century. From the theory of relativity to the first quantum model of the atom to the mapping of the structure of DNA, these discoveries profoundly changed the way we understand the world and our place in it. Now the physicist and novelist Alan Lightman tells the stories of two dozen of the most seminal discoveries.In lucid and literary prose, Lightman paints the intellectual and emotional landscape of each discovery, portrays the personalities and human drama of the scientists involved, and explains the significance and impact of the work. He explores such questions as whether there were common patterns of research, whether the discoveries were accidental or intentional, and whether the scientists were aware of or oblivious to the significance of what they had found. Finally, Lightman gives an unprecedented and exhilarating guided tour through each of the original papers, which are included in the book. Here are Einstein and Bohr, McClintock and Pauling, Planck and Heisenberg, and many others in their own words, grappling with the nature of the world. Original in its scope and depth, The Discoveries offers an extraordinary exploration into the nature of scientific discoveries and the minds of the men and women who made them.From Booklist*Starred Review* No one serious about literature would neglect Shakespeare and rely solely on his interpreters. But scientists rarely read what physicist and writer Lightman calls "original discovery papers." Believing that "the first reports of the great discoveries of science are works of art," Lightman has selected 25 twentieth-century "breakthrough" papers in fields ranging from quantum physics to molecular biology, medicine, and cosmology that essentially define the world as we know it. Writing with his signature clarity, warmth, and sense of wonder, Lightman introduces each landmark work with a crystalline essay elucidating the personality and life of each scientist and the significance of that scientist's paradigm-altering discovery. Lightman is especially sensitive to the suffering of Jewish German scientists under the Nazis and of women scientists in the days of institutionalized misogyny, and he writes with remarkable insight about the psychological effect of such counterintuitive findings as Werner Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle. Fluent in every field he explicates, Lightman offers unprecedented commentary on each paper's style of reasoning. And how extraordinary to hold a single volume containing papers by Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Henrietta Leavitt, Linus Pauling, Edwin Hubble, and Barbara McClintock. This brilliantly conceived and assembled treasury belongs in every library.Donna SeamanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reservedReviewPraise for Alan Lightman and A Sense of the Mysterious:"[Lightman?s] love and respect for both science and art permeate these luminous essays."-The Globe and Mail"There is no better gift for a young, aspiring scientist than this little book of 11 essays, or for that matter for any nonscientist who wants to know what it feels like to be a scientist . . . [Lightman] is a scientist who is a humanist in the noblest sense of the word."-The Los Angeles Times Book ReviewAbout the AuthorAlan Lightman was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and educated at Princeton and at the California Institute of Technology, where he received a Ph.D. in theoretical physics. An active research scientist in astronomy and physics for two decades, he has also taught both subjects on the faculties of Harvard and MIT. Lightman?s novels include Einstein?s Dreams, which was an international best seller; Good Benito; The Diagnosis, which was a finalist for the National Book Award; and Reunion. His essays have appeared in The New York Review of Books, The New York Times, Nature, The Atlantic Monthly, a