To my never ending delight, 25 years ago, a highly articulate man - James Burke, an acknowledged Historian and science Professor in his own right, directed and produced for the BBC two masterpieces, which to this day, are acknowledged as being responsible for energising generations of people who would otherwise have been sent packing the opposite direction by traditional Historians and Scientific communities presentation culture.
What is indisputable, is you will come out fom his 40+ hr masterpiece with a broad overview of History and Science, equipping you with the outline knowledge to go seek more detail, even if you find the coverage too broadbrush or not in enough detail. It does invariably leave the viewer wanting more.
There were two Series.
1. The Day the Universe Changed. Here JB takes History as the time line, and weaves into it the Scientific and religious drivers that shaped events and made us what we are today. Its my favourite of the two. I very strongly recommend you watch this series first - all of it - before the one below.
2. Connections. This dealt with various "modern" inventions and concepts as the start point, then traced back their beginning. At that point JB takes us forward noting each "connection" or event that influenced the whole flow of events leading to the items eventual development and/or invention. Its a journey through time, but this time, orientated by Science as the driver, and History as the secondary learning center.
http://www.youtube.com/user/JamesBurkeWeb
A taster for the sceptical ....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHUHodzG ... re=related (my favourite of the series - El Cid as you've never seen him)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCml0U3L ... 69C62FD30F
Having realised this is no stuffy, boring Scientist/Historian .... Now go back and click the overview link
I hope you enjoy it as much as I have over 25 years.
Regards
Zy