Thomas Henry Huxley (1825-1895) was one of the intellectual giants of Victorian England. A surgeon by training, he became the principal exponent of Darwinism and popularizer of "scientific naturalism." Huxley was a prolific essayist, and his writings put him at the center of intellectual debate in England during the later half of the nineteenth century. The Major Prose of Thomas Henry Huxley fills a very real and pressing chasm in history of science books, bringing together almost all of Huxley's major nontechnical prose, including Man's Place in Nature and both "Evolution in Ethics" and its "Prolegomena."

This is a fascinating book for those who like to understand everyday things in a deeper context. Huxley was an eminent scientist, scholar and linguist and these skills are used to the full in this book. He looks at yeast not just as a tool for breadmaking, but also as a cultural heritage. He explains the etymology of its name and the words associated with the process of rising that have their roots in other languages from which modern English is formed.