Penguin Classics: The Sleepwalkers: A History of Man's Changing Vision of the Universe

We can add to our knowledge, but we cannot subtract from it.'

What if our greatest scientific discoveries had been stumbled upon by chance? In The Sleepwalkers Arthur Koestler recounts the history of cosmology - from the Babylonians through to Newton - exploring how genius and progress flourished unexpectedly in the space between science and humanity, faith and reason. Koestler vividly describes a cast of leading characters, including the visionary Johannes Kepler who emerges as hero beside an egotistical Galileo and a shy, secretive Copernicus. Passionate, provocative and lyrically told, The Sleepwalkers is the remarkable story of how man grew to understand the universe around him.

With an introduction by John Gray