…The Ascent of Man? Jacob Bronowski died not long after he created this groundbreaking BBC documentary series about science and culture, and I remember watching it years ago (while I was in high school or college). Anyway, I was very excited to learn that it’s now out on DVD (a little pricey at $149.99 for 13 one-hour episodes, but it’s also available much more reasonably through Netflix), and so Allison and I are enjoying watching it together.
Bronowski is a sort of British pre-Sagan popularizer of science (Ascent was released in 1972); passionate, intense, and confident in his material. He’s also endearingly nerdy, with a slight rhotacism (i.e. a difficulty pronouncing r’s) and disconcerting but eloquent hand gestures. And only Bronowski could pull off a pocket square in a leather jacket.
Anyway, if you’re a science buff, I highly recommend The Ascent of Man. If you’ve watched it, I hope you’ll post your thoughts here.
I just started watching it on youtube. search for “Ascent of Man – 01 – Part 1 of 6″ for the very first episode. thanks