An anthology of really *good* science writing. 22 essays by different authors discuss the history of science, from the founding of the Royal Society in 1660 to present day--but each essay explores a different, very specific topic in depth.

Among those that piqued my interest the most: the history of flight a la hot-air ballooning, biodiversity, the "mad scientist" in literature and film, the development of publicly accessible scientific specimen collections (fossils! museums!), and an introduction to string theory.