Jurgen Renn is a director at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin, where, together with his group, he researches structural changes in systems of knowledge. His books include The Formative Years of Relativity: The History and Meaning of Einstein's Princeton Lectures and The Road to Relativity: The History and Meaning of Einstein's The Foundation of General Relativity (both Princeton).
[Renn's] new tour de force, The Evolution of Knowledge, addresses all those concerned with science's fate. . . . In the 1930s, at a moment of existential crisis comparable to today's, [Edmund] Husserl likewise sought to reorient science around shared human experiences and common human needs. Yet Husserl, a notoriously opaque writer, had little hope of communicating his message to the scientific community. With this lucid and accessible book, Renn stands a far greater chance of success. ---Deborah R. Coen, Science A global history of knowledge is a breathtakingly ambitious project. . . . Renn faces down the difficulties of crafting such an account with skill and resolve. The result is provocative and challenging. ---Joseph D. Martin, Physics Today This is an important book and one that powerfully advances our understanding of how knowledge operates in society while directly engaging with pressing contemporary issues. ---Geoffrey Cantor, Times Higher Education