The Ascent of Man

Nowadays many different books have been written to explain the unfolding of humans and civilization. This program covers many great products and inventors instead of all the great wars. In the 1970s this was unique to the public. And this program is the template for those to follow.

The contents include: Lower than the Angles (evolution of the head) The Harvest of the Seasons (the pace of cultural evolution) The Grain in the Stone (blood group evidence of migration) The Hidden Structure (fire) The Music of the Spheres (the language of numbers) The Starry Messenger (the cycle of seasons) The majestic Clockwork (Kepler's laws) The Drive for Power (Everyday technology) The ladder of Creation (are other formulas of life possible?) World Within World (the periodic table) Knowledge of Certainty (There is no absolute knowledge) Generation upon generation (cloning of identical forms) The Long Childhood (The commitment of man)

I have the original hardback book, reference book, and study guide. I bought my DVD set from Great Brittan as they were less expensive at the time. The U. S. version has since come down in price.

This is a humanities course at the local college. Another advantage was getting to go through the Watts Towers as a kid. This work does rings around "Connections" by James Burke because it is the story of the people behind the connections.

I am not saying that this presentation replaces others, but that it has more to say without resorting to today's sound bite system of presenting. You will have to stop and look up references then rewatch.

A bit wordy and dry, even dull at times at times (especially early on), but also full of ever more interesting insight and theories by writer/host Jacob Bronowski. It reminded me of nothing as much as a really interesting illustrated college lecture series.

The series is in 13 parts, each covering a different key step in the development of civilization. A few of Brononski's theories seem a bit stretched, or even wrong headed, the visual style is dated and the effects less than impressive, but that doesn't mean the show isn't interesting, thought provoking and occasionally quite moving -- especially as the series goes on.

I don't feel I need to ever re-see the earliest 4 or 5 episodes again. They feel pretty pedantic and straightforward, and there wasn't much I didn't find familiar.

But the the last 4 or 5 episodes are incredibly clear explanations of the often complex and confusing world of 19th and 20th century science, mixed with quite touching observations about the role of science in a bigger society, its poetry, and the way it feeds humanity' soul.

A strange series - it starts out as fine but nothing special, and ends up somewhere quite powerful.

Before Sagan's "Cosmos" and before James Burke's "Connections", Jacob Bronowski brought us a thoughtful examination of the history of mankind and his achievements. The angle here was to look at how those achievements effected events and shaped society as a whole.

I saw the series when it first aired, and was fascinated by it, but the series seemed non-linear, and I supposed to a young mind would seem disjointed. I still get some of that feeling when I rewatch episodes of this very good TV documentary.

I'll also add that a lot of factual history is correct, but I think Bronowski, as a social scientist, perhaps social psychologist, draws some of the wrong conclusions. Then again social science, like all sciences, is a field of research branching from the major hard sciences, so in this regard everyone is entitled to an opinion. The only way to nod or shake your head at Bronowski is to double check your own facts to see if he's right or not.

Bronowski takes us from man's humble beginnings in Africa, and shows us our primate ancestor's migratory pattern and how we populated the world today. But the real genius of the program is him showing us how our advances in understanding formed our civilization.

I applaud the program, but disagree with some of Bronowski's conclusions, though for the supermajority of the series, he does have things aright.

If you've seen Sagan or Burke do their thing with their TV series, then have a look at Bronowski's version from the early 70s. Definitely one to see for the scientist history buff in all of us.

Enjoy.

I first watched this on PBS when I was twenty-years old and every week, I settled in to see this amazing and thought-provoking essay. It is, a unique and wonderful journey into the heart and soul of the human plane of existence. Now, 68 I watch the shows as I did back then (*well, "binge watching lite") and still have that same exuberant feeling of unapologetic joy. There will never be another series created with so many moments of introspection on the viewer's part. To call it a masterpiece is justly deserved, but it will forever be a monument of educational television broadcasting.

This extraordinary series, thirteen fifty-minute episodes, is one of television's highest achievements; nearly forty years after its completion, it has lost little of its luster.

A mathematician whose professional journey included work on the Manhattan Project, later at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, as well as an editor and scholar of the works of William Blake, Dr. Jacob Bronowski was one of the last true Renaissance men.

Presented here is a veritable smörgåsbord of human history cast against scientific advancements and technological innovations that take the viewer around the world, from the dawn of Man to the then-present of 1972. Along the way, Dr. Bronowski stops to examine some of humanity's greatest accomplishments - and lowest depths. One outstanding quality of this remarkable series is that he speaks to the viewer directly and very personally through the lens of the camera; the book of the same name is a virtual transcript of his remarks.

Not simply lectures (nor read from a script), these extemporaneous essays offer Bronowski's "personal view" on a wide range of human, scientific and technological history, presented in both a dramatic and memorable fashion. For example, the episodes are sprinkled with delightful (and sometimes moving) anecdotes of various people, some of whom Bronowski knew and worked with - such as Leo Szilard (who first conceived the concept of sustained nuclear fission - even coining the term "chain reaction" - and who subsequently wrote the letter which Einstein signed that was sent to FDR, bringing about the Manhattan Project) and John von Neumann (one of the great mathematicians of the twentieth century and the "Father of Electronic Computing").

Anyone with even a passing interest in the history of our species and its place amongst the stars, or of science in general, will be astonished, delighted, deeply moved and profoundly affected by "The Ascent of Man." The production value is of the highest order throughout (and, now in its second DVD incarnation, the sound, which was always somewhat problematic, has been greatly improved, matching the often stunning visuals).

(NOTE: Viewers who enjoy this series will also enjoy both the seven-part BBC miniseries "Oppenheimer" (1980) and their production of Michael Frayen's play "Copenhagen" (2002), both available on DVD.)

Highest possible recommendation.