I was intrigued by the title of this book which describes Archimedes' discovery of the principle of water displacement while taking a bath to Einstein's Theory of Relativity, from Brunelleschi's development of perspective drawing to the Impressionist revolution, from the taming of fire to the creation of the laser, "breakthrough thinking" that is, a sudden, seemingly unaccountable moment of inspiration has shaped and advanced civilization.
I found it in my favourite op-shop in Ulladulla. We'd driven there for a bit of 'aqua-therapy' on Saturday instead of our usual mid-week session as we'll have guests staying with us until Wednesday.
It was just one of several interesting books competing for my attention: The Pound - A Biography by David Sinclair, which is the story of the currency that ruled the world and lasted a thousand years; The Men Who Killed QANTAS by Matthew Benns, rather topical at a time when the airline is seeking government assistance; and Margaret Mead and Samoa - The Making and Unmaking of an Anthropological Myth, a somewhat heavy and academic re-assessment of Margaret Mead's famous book Coming of Age in Samoa which I first read when I lived and worked there in 1978.
That's enough reading material for next week!
