“Snyder smoothly and meticulously tells this story of intellectual revolution and triumph” — Providence Journal

I am so happy to see such a great review coming out in this Sunday’s Providence Journal. I especially like how the reviewer highlights one of the main messages of the book:

“All four led the evolution of natural philosophy (then practiced as an avocation by gentlemen of means and sometimes genius) to modern science as practiced by professional scientists.”

The reviewer also had this to say:

“Laura J. Snyder in The Philosophical Breakfast Club smoothly and meticulously tells this complicated story of intellectual revolution and triumph in Victorian England: The ancient Royal Society, the gem of the Enlightenment turned into an aristocratic ‘rotten borough,’ is pushed aside by the new British Association for the Advancement of Science. Whewell’s writings on inductive reasoning open the way for the success of Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. Jones’ inductive economics aces the forecasts of doom from Malthus and Ricardo. And Babbage invents the Analytical Engine, a programmed mechanical prototype of today’s electronic computer.

“Along the way, Snyder provides much interesting social and historic detail. . . . Great scientists have walk-on parts in every chapter.”

Read the full review here.