A breathtaking visual history of humanity’s quest for knowledge, from the dawn of print to the Space Age

Humans are seekers, forever striving to make sense of the multiple worlds in which they live: the skies above, the depths below, earthbound environments, and the body itself. Worlds Unfolding explores this insatiable drive through The Huntington Library’s extraordinary collections in science, medicine, and technology, which span from the tenth century to today. The book, a five-volume slipcase set with a booklet that includes an introduction by Bill Nye, provokes questions fundamental to this pursuit of knowledge. Through suggestive texts and more than 625 illustrations, Worlds Unfolding presents stories featuring the unexpected twists, turns, and conceptual leaps of science.

Each volume in the boxed set focuses on a specific realm of human curiosity—Above (astronomy, aviation, aerospace); Below (geology, mining, oceanography); Within (anatomy, medicine, electricity); Beyond (exploration, science fiction); and Alive (natural history, ecosystems). This dynamic, multidisciplinary approach addresses the ongoing, imperfect evolution of human inquiry. Across centuries of trial and error, illusion and triumph, the history of science is a continuously unfolding quest.

The e-book of this edition includes all five volumes and the booklet.

Published in association with The Huntington