Chaos

Making a New Science

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Chaos

By: James Gleick

Narrated by: Rob Shapiro

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About this listen

James Gleick's groundbreaking bestseller introduces to a whole new audience the story of one of the most significant waves of scientific knowledge in our time. By focusing on the key figures whose genius converged to chart an innovative direction for science, Gleick makes the story of chaos theory not only fascinating but also accessible, and opens our eyes to a surprising new view of the universe.

James GleickRob ShapiroRandom House Audio

History

History & Philosophy

Physics

Science

History History & Philosophy Physics Science

Critic reviews

Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize

“Fascinating . . . almost every paragraph contains a jolt.” —The New York Times

“Taut and exciting . . . a fascinating illustration of how the pattern of science changes.” —The New York Times Book Review

“Highly entertaining . . . a startling look at newly discovered universal laws.”—Chicago Tribune

“An awe-inspiring book. Reading it gave me that sensation that someone had just found the light switch.” —Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

“Chaos is a feast.” —The Washington Post Book World

Most relevant

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of how Chaos developed as a science. Gleick writes lucidly about the set of characters who contributed to making Chaos Theory what it is today; from man trying to control the weather to dynamic biological systems... I have an interest in discarded sciences and the power structure of knowledge development, which was the reason I bought 'Chaos: Making a New Science'.

This book is an interesting and easy to follow account of how science as a field works - how hard it can be to have new radical ideas accepted and how bad communication can be between the sciences. A problem which is still very present today.

There a very romantic element to this chronological walkthrough of chaos, Gleick presents to us. We hear how Chaos was received with hostility, how certain eccentrics were working with it alienated from society and how it took around half a century before it found its way into the mainstream of science. It made me wonder how many unacknowledged 'chaos theories' we have floating around at the moment.

If you're looking to get to know the actual science of Chaos and already have some knowledge about mathematics, physics and biology, you're probably better off finding some hard literature - that is not the aim of this book. This book is about the history of a science.

What about Rob Shapiro’s performance did you like?

Shapiro narrates really well. He has a pleasant voice and makes just the right amount and length of pauses when needed. He manages to maintain my attention. I didn't drift off as I sometimes do with other audiobooks.

Any additional comments?

I mostly walk and listen to books. Some books are too heavy on facts for this way of experiencing, since they require you to take notes in order to keep up with what is being said. This book had a clear story line which made it easy to follow even though some theory is mentioned every once in a while.