The House of Wisdom

How Arabic Science Saved Ancient Knowledge and Gave Us the Renaissance

By: Jim Al-Khalili

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

The Arabic legacy of science and philosophy has long been hidden from the West. British-Iraqi physicist Jim Al-Khalili unveils that legacy to fascinating effect by returning to its roots in the hubs of Arab innovation that would advance science and jump-start the European Renaissance.

Many of the innovations that we think of as hallmarks of Western science were actually the result of Arab ingenuity: Astronomers laid the foundations for the heliocentric model of the solar system long before Copernicus; physicians accurately described blood circulation and the inner workings of the eye ages before Europeans solved those mysteries; physicists made discoveries that laid the foundation for Newton's theories of optics. But the most significant legacy of Middle Eastern science was its evidence-based approach - the lack of which kept Europeans in the dark throughout the Dark Ages.

With transporting detail, Al-Khalili places the listener in the intellectual and cultural hothouses of the Arab Enlightenment and tackles two tantalizing questions: Why did the Arab world enter its own Dark Age after such a dazzling enlightenment? And how much did Arabic learning contribute to making the Western world as we know it? Given his singular combination of expertise in both the Western and Middle Eastern scientific traditions, Al-Khalili is uniquely qualified to solve those riddles.

©2019 Jim Al-Khalili (P)2019 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

I absolutely loved this book.

The authors did a stellar job from a scientific stand point. There are some concepts and events that I have a predisposed view on but I appreciate the intellectual scientific account.

Great teaching resource

This is a great resource for teaching Islamic Civilization at the first year undergraduate level. Students appreciate having an audio version of the book.

A mostly needed cold shower

A very neat compilation, that must be taught in schools and political chambers.. I don’t believe science progress should be linked to a specific religious, racial or political entity, nor let the peculiarity of any of them force or justify its stagnation.
Well done Jim !

Extraordinary tale of scientific achievement in medieval islam

And continuity of knowledge throughout history - this books also highlights how scientific progress are mot only dependent on geniuses but also on enabling political means and vision - a must read in the islam world but also in the west !

on the shoulders of giants

This is the fascinating tale of the Islamic philosophers and scientist that paved the way for many of the westerners of the Renaissance and Enlightenment. We owe a great deal of gratitude and appreciation to our Muslim forefathers. Whitout them we would no have our current scientific, philosophical, and theological knowledge.

Fascinating

A perspective on science that is illuminating and fascinating! The narrator has a lilting British accent that makes the material flow nicely.

So many amazing facts!

I look for books that cover topics I wasn’t exposed to in school or university. This book brought forth knowledge about people and times I wasn’t aware of. I wish my math and science teachers could have known the stories of these people and shared them with me. The clarity and excellent story telling makes this book one I wish every student in the English speaking world could read and embrace. My perspective will be forever enhanced by the information shared here. I absolutely love this book.

Insightful

This book illustrates how many of the ideas and thoughts in science have been around much longer than one would have believed. Found it very insightful on many subjects in the science and philosophical worlds. Highly recommend.

Very interesting book, well-narrated for sure

It was an eye-opening book into the pursuit and rescue of science that is often overlooked in American history class. Simon Vance is one of the best nonfiction narrators out there. I’ve listened to many books read by him, and he is also one of the few narrators I would go out of my way to listen to. I would definitely recommend this book.

Science owes a debt to the Arabic world.

When I started in science, I learned about William of Ockham, and Roger Bacon, but not about the Arabian and Persian philosophers whose ideas did not just inspire them but who actually predated them with concepts such as parsimony and the scientific method. Jim Al-Khalili opens a window on the history and philosophy of science that begins its journey in Medieval Iran and Arabia and makes its way through Europe and helps spark its renaissance through its cross-fertilization. It tackles a huge body of knowledge in a short book that provides a non-Western perspective that is refreshing.