Rediscover Micrographia!

It was way back in 1665 that Samuel Pepys recalled in his diary that he stayed up till 2 a.m. reading an enthralling page-turner and best-seller. He called this text, "the most ingenious book I read in my life." I know, you're on the edge of your seat. What in the world could have kept Pepys up so late and led him to believe he read the best book he'd ever read in his life? If you're thinking it was a book about history, a play or the arts, you're wrong. It was none other than the world's first popular book about microscopic images!

With the short title Micographia: Or Some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies Made With Magnifying Glasses With Observations and Inquiries Thereupon - catchy, I know - the book was authored by famed scientist Robert Hooke. Want to get your hands on it?! Well, good news. The book is now available on Google Books for you to read for free.

As you flip (or scroll) through the book, you'll find wonderful drawings of everything from fleas through bark to the edges of razors. For all you microscope and science junkies out there, it's exciting to see what constituted cutting-edge scientific understanding in 1665! If you're interested, read Carl Zimmer's review to learn more.