Overview

Imagine that there was an ancient code of conduct, widely forgotten in modern times, which nonetheless lurked under the surface of our society and shaped our most fundamental habits: from the nature of sexual guilt, to the concept of weekends. Say it had begun with an obscure group of tribes 3,000 years ago, and exploded out to become central in the spread of Judaism, the rise of Christianity and the nature of Islam; that it went far beyond religion, and inspired masterpieces such as King Lear, and social upheavals such as the French Revolution and the modern trade union movement; that it was behind the scientific ambitions of Isaac Newton, and the activism of Martin Luther King Jr; that it continues to influence today's most powerful political issues and social habits. Imagination has little to do with it; this is, in fact, the story of the Ten Commandments that David Bodanis brings thrillingly to life. The Ten Commandments is not about religion, but about how the concepts are the basis of those famous commandments which underpin the history of human civilization - East and West, religious and secular. Among them are the 'divine right of kings', medieval jurists' concept of 'innocent until proven guilty' and Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. In ten chapters, Bodanis explores the roots and enduring forces behind each commandment, showing how they grew and spread and came to eventually influence so much of the modern world.

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9781408825037

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Reviews

Hugely impressive. No one makes complex science more fascinating and accessible - and indeed more pleasurable - than David Bodanis. Bill Bryson (about Electric Universe) A lucid, even thrilling study: the very best kind of science journalism. Fay Weldon, Washington Post (about E=mc2) A little masterpiece: delightful, surprising, and thought-provoking. William H. McNeill, author of The Rise of the West (about E=mc2) 'Bodanis himself seems like an intellectual thermonuclear explosion, a kind of Jonathan Miller on speed... This is an outstanding introduction to relativity by a gifted practitioner of popular science' Independent (about E=mc2)

Author Information

David Bodanis lectured at the University of Oxford, where he designed and taught the university's main survey of social studies, entitled 'An Intellectual Tool-Kit'. As a consultant, he has worked with leading firms in Europe and America. He is author of the bestselling E=mc2 and other history and popular science books. Born in Chicago, he has lived in France and England most of his adult life. A single parent, he has two children and lives in London.

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