When people knew the earth was flat and it was the center of the universe, all life revolved around that truth. Galileo's telescope changed the truth. And with that one change, all architecture, music, literature, science, politics -- everything changed, mirroring the new view of truth. This tape is James Burke's examination of the moments in history when a change in knowledge radically altered man's understanding of himself and the world around him.

Few people are able to look at human history and see it not as a jumble of half-remembered names and dates, but as an intricate mosaic of neatly interlocking pieces. Fewer still can describe the patterns and explain the parts of the puzzle so that it not only makes sense, but so that it also fascinates and intrigues, excited and entertains. James Burke tells history like it's the plot of the most interesting mystery ever written.