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The Glass Bathyscaphe by Alan Macfarlane and Gerry Martin, Profile Books, £15, ISBN 1861974000 Reviewed by Julian Henderson

FROM stained-glass windows and light bulbs to test tubes and telescopic lenses, glass is extraordinary stuff. This book does it justice. The Glass Bathyscaphe covers the roles glass has played in the past, and so draws on a huge range of fields: archaeology, the history of technology, science and art, the psychology of perception and philosophy. Then Alan Macfarlane and Gerry Martin go one better in revealing how all these disciplines interconnect, to intriguing effect. Its transparency and chemical inertness set glass apart from other materials, and the authors show how these characteristics contributed to the invention of the microscope, telescope and a range of other vital scientific instruments. Colourless glass has been used in so many ways, from drinking glasses to camera lenses, that it serves as a springboard for all kinds of connections – for instance, between the use of lenses, the question of accuracy in perception, and the development of European art.

There is even a correlation between the centres of glass production in northern Italy and the Netherlands, and some of the great advances in Renaissance and later art. The role of metal in civilisation is obvious, but the authors’ argument that glass lenses were instrumental to critical advances in science in the 17th century onwards is compelling and persuasive. There is a fascinating discussion of the eras of great scientific and technological experimentation and innovation, and of which cultures lost and which developed the resulting knowledge. In parallel, archaeological science research has shown that tradition can dictate the ongoing use of certain raw materials for glass and pottery production even when one that provides better properties is available.

I had a few quibbles with some claims, such as the assertion that the Romans invented colourless glass. But in a book like this, which brings such a range of fundamental principles together, it would be churlish to dwell on them. All in all, The Glass Bathyscaphe is a stimulating read that will make you think about the material world in a new way.