| Acknowledgments | viii |
| PROLOGUE | ix |
| INTRODUCTION The Great Age Of Synthesis: The Nineteenth Century | xi |
| PART ONE The Physical Sciences | 1 |
| 1. Atoms and Elements | 3 |
| 2. Chemistry's-Rollercoaster of Complexity and Order | 21 |
| 3. Indestructible Energy | 35 |
| 4. Magnetism, Electricity and Light | 45 |
| 5. Sky and Earth | 59 |
| PART TWO The Life Sciences | 73 |
| 6. Darwin and the Beagle's Bounty | 75 |
| 7. From Macro to Micro: Organs, Germs and Cells | 91 |
| Epilogue | 105 |
| Appendix 1: The Scientific Method | 107 |
| Appendix 2: Elements and Their Symbols | 111 |
| Chronology | 113 |
| Glossary | 120 |
| Further Reading | 123 |
| Index | 131 |