James Hannam: Historian of Science and Religion

The web site of the author of the books The Globe: How the Earth Became Round and God's Philosophers: How the Medieval World Laid the Foundations of Modern Science

Some Reviews of God's Philosophers in the Press and on the Internet

Press reviews

• David J. Davis in Aestimatio 10 (2013)

• René Fransen in Journal of Reformed Theology 7:1 (2013)

• R. J. Deltete in Philosophy Review 31:6 (2011)

• Jason Wardley in the Expository Times (July 2011)

• Tim Bethell in the Washington Times (26 April 2011)

• Mark Lardas in the Galveston County Daily News (24 April 2011)

• Joseph Wolyniak (not online) in Reviews in Science and Religion (November 2010)

("All in all, Hannam offers an equally informed and intriguing read of an era usually maligned or ignored by the general populace. This noble effort will undoubtedly help stem misconceptions.")

• Steve Connor on the Royal Society Short List in the Independent (20 October 2010)

• Robert Matthews on the Royal Society Short List in the Daily Telegraph (19 October 2010)

• Tim Radford in the Guardian (15 October 2010)

• Kevin Mark in Kairos Catholic Journal (3 October 2010)

• Professor Edward Grant (subscribers only) in Metascience (September 2010)

("Hannam has written a splendid book and fully supported his claim that the Middle Ages laid the foundations of modern science. He has admirably met another of his goals, namely that of acquainting a large non-academic audience about the way science and various aspects of natural philosophy functioned in medieval society and laid the foundation for modern science. Readers will also learn much about medicine, magic, alchemy, astrology, and especially technology. And they will learn about these important matters in the history of science against the broad background of the life and times of medieval and early modern societies.")

• Dr Patricia Fara in BBC History Magazine (August 2010)

• Dominic Statham in Journal of Creation (August 2010)

• Dr Allan Chapman (subscribers only) in Science and Christian Belief (April 2010)

("God's Philosophers supplies a powerful, accessible and very much needed corrective to the myth that the medieval Church suppressed science. Indeed, it shows quite the opposite to have been the truth. The book is beautifully written [and] wholly free from jargon.")

• Dr Shana Worthen (not online) in Viewpoint: The Newsletter of the British Society for the History of Science (February 2010)

• Ros Sitwell in The Morning Star (12 February 2010)

• Boris Johnson (not online) in the Mail on Sunday (21 December 2009)

("...this wonderful book. With an engaging fervour, James Hannam has set about rescuing the reputation of a bunch of half-forgotten thinkers, and he shows how they paved the way for modern science.")

• Ryan Day in Faith Magazine (November/December 2009)

• William Brock (not online) in Chemistry World (December 2009):

("Hannam's extremely well-written account of mediaeval theologians and writers in Oxford, Paris, and Bologna, as well as in the Islamic empire, is therefore to be welcomed... The book can be highly recommended as the very best kind of popular history.")

• Jonathan M. Paquette in Quarterly Review (Autumn, 2009);

• Tom Kennedy in Science Spin (18 Nov 2009);

• Jonathan Birch in Reformation and Renaissance Review (11:2 2009);

• Jonathan Wright in the Catholic Herald (9 Oct 2009);

• Noel Malcolm (not online) in the Sunday Telegraph (30 Aug 2009):

"This book contains much valuable material summarised with commendable no-nonsense clarity... James Hannam has done a fine job of knocking down an old caricature.")

• James McConnachie in the Sunday Times (16 Aug 2009);

• Dan Jones in the Spectator (12 Aug 2009);

• Nina Power in the New Humanist (Jul/Aug 2009).

Internet reviews

• Rhys Taylor at Physicists of the Caribbean (15 July 2014);

• Anthony Dekker at Scientific Gems (24 May 2014);

• Michael Flannery at Evolution News and Views (31 May 2011);

• Kate Sherrod at Guerrilla Geek (4 April 2011);

• Joe Hinman at CADRE Comments (21 March 2011);

• Keith Ruffles at The Daily Rant (29 December 2010);

• Charles Freeman at the New Humanist (22 October 2010);

• Ruth Francis of Nature's The Great Beyond Blog (15 October 2010);

• Ian Hopkinson of Some Beans (14 October 2010);

• Gordon Batho of the Historical Association (1 September 2010);

• Amanda Gefter of the New Scientist's Culture Lab blog (30 August 2010);

• Anon at the Mind Game (26 August 2010);

• Gregory Smith in the Australian eJournal of Theology (August 2010);

• Liz of Liz Loves Books (23 August 2010);

• Anne-Laurence Caudano in the Medieval Review (June 2010);

• Stephen Lee at Chronon Critical Points (24 April 2010);

• Anthony Smith of Sussex University (29 March 2010);

• Tim O'Neill of Armarium Magnum (17 Nov 2009);

• Catholic Lab (podcast) (21 Oct 2009);

• Joe Egerton at Thinking Faith (15 Oct 2009);

• Catholic and Loving It (12 Oct 2009);

• The Book Bag (30 Sep 2009);

• Tom Gilson of Thinking Christian (25 Sep 2009);

• Humphrey Clarke of Quodlibeta (16 Sep 2009);

• Brian Clegg of popularscience.co.uk (15 Sep 2009);

• Dan Hannan in the Telegraph (19 Aug 2009);

• Roger Pearce of Tertullian.org (18 Aug 2009);

• Exiled from GROGGS (15 Aug 2009);

• Scientific Blogging: Science 2.0 (6 Aug 2009);

• Amazon.co.uk (various reviews);

• Amazon.com (various reviews);

© James Hannam 2009