Isaac Asimov here describes the astonishing achievements of that small group of scientists who have broken through to new worlds for mankind. Working for the most part alone in their laboratories, they were the first to venture into uncharted and awe-inspiring areas of thought. But the results of their leaps into the unknown affect our lives everyday.

As with anything Professor Asimov writes, the book is unfailingly entertaining as well as informative. This material was first serialized in Scholastic Magazine and the origianl half-tone illustrations have been retained and provide a lively visual conunterpart to the text. (dust jacket)

CONTENTS: Archimedes / Johann Gutenberg / Nicolaus Copernicus / William Harvey / Galileo Galilei / Anton Van Leeuwenhoek / Isaac Newton / James Watt / Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier / Michael Faraday / Joseph Henry / Henry Bessemer / Edward Jenner / Louis Pasteur / Gregor Johann Mendel / William Henry Perkin / Roentgen and Becquerel / Thomas Alva Edison / Paul Ehrlich / Darwin and Wallace / Marie and Pierre Curie / Albert Einstein / George Washington Carver / Irving Langmuir / Rutherford and Lawrence / Robert Hutchings Goddard.