Two works lauded by many that lived up to the hype for me by changing my understanding of science and the modern world are David Wootton's biography of Galileo

Two works lauded by many that lived up to the hype for me by changing my understanding of science and the modern world are David Wootton's biography of Galileo: http://www.watcheroftheskies.org/ http://www.watcheroftheskies.org/ Janet Browne's biography of Darwin: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2002/nov/10/biography.highereducation https://www.theguardian.com/books/2002/nov/10/biography.high...