SIMON DUFF relishes the cross contamination of Damien Hirst’s greatest hits by street artists from France and the US
A man for all seasons
WILL PODMORE recommends an excellent and useful introduction to a lesser-known giant of the scientific revolution in Britain
A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS: (L to R) Church of St Mary Magdalene at Willen, Milton Keynes, designed by Hooke; An illustration of a flea “made by magnifying glasses with observations and inquiries thereupon, 1665”; a drawing of Saturn by Robert Hooke, 1666
[Chris Nyborg/CC; Public Domain]
In view of the grooming gangs inquiry, SIMON PARSONS feels the relevance of this powerful examination of trauma suffered at Medomsley Youth Detention Centre
JOHN GREEN doubts the motivations of a US war photographer who never questions why, or for whom, she is producing images of imperialist conflict
MARIA DUARTE reviews Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, Hedda, The Mastermind, and Regretting You
TONY CONWAY welcomes a thrilling and concise history of Hope not Hate, that is also a manual full of tactical advice
PAUL DONOVAN welcomes an inspiring account of living with deafness that has important lessons for the treatment of deaf people in today’s UK
Robert Hooke’s experimental philosophy
Felicity Henderson, Reaktion Books, £17.95
ROBERT HOOKE (1635-1703) was one of the key figures in the development of science in Britain. This excellent study, illustrated with Hooke’s own drawings and diagrams, and with pictures of instruments he designed, expounds Hooke’s approach to science.
He was one of the first to see that the new experimental philosophy – what we today call science – had the potential to improve human life beyond recognition.
Similar stories
JOHN GREEN wades through a pessimistic prophesy that does not consider the need for radical change in political and social structures
WILL PODMORE is enlightened by the achievements of a 17th century scientist whose work anticipates computer programming as well as Marx’s materialism
GORDON PARSONS recommends the biography of the German polymath whose life provides an interesting take on a revolutionary age
RICHARD MURGATROYD is disappointed by an ambitious survey that fails to get to grips with the relationship between human consciousness and nature