The Ascent of Man

I first watched this on PBS when I was twenty-years old and every week, I settled in to see this amazing and thought-provoking essay. It is, a unique and wonderful journey into the heart and soul of the human plane of existence. Now, 68 I watch the shows as I did back then (*well, "binge watching lite") and still have that same exuberant feeling of unapologetic joy. There will never be another series created with so many moments of introspection on the viewer's part. To call it a masterpiece is justly deserved, but it will forever be a monument of educational television broadcasting.

"The Ascent of Man" is a wonderful and fascinating account of Man's rise from ape to computer-maker through many intermediate steps. Jacob Bronowski does a fantastic job narrating Man's history through the ages. Bronowski was a Jew who found refuge in England after the Nazis invaded his native Poland. Indeed, the most poignant movement in "The Ascent of Man" is when Bronowski visits a former concentration camp where many of relatives were done to death. I had tears in my eyes when I watched that episode. Bronowski's friendship with great nuclear physicists like Leo Szilard enabled him to present a unique perspective on the nuclear age. For example, Bronowski reveals that Szilard conceived the atom bomb when he stopped his car at a stop light and says that is the only part he could not believe - Szilard always ran red lights! Bronowski's account of Darwin and evolution and of Mendel and genetics are the best I have ever seen.

"The Ascent of Man" paints on a huge canvas. What else is suitable for depicting the history of Man? The only criticism I have is that "The Ascent of Man" is rather Eurocentric. It neglects the role of China and India in Man's progress, though it acknowledges the Islamic influence on Europe.

The program was made in 1973, yet it is not outdated. In the last episode, Bronowski prophetically hinted at the coming of the computer age - an age he would not live to see. It is a pity that "The Ascent of Man" is not available on video. Luckily, the book version is still obtainable. Having read it, I strongly recommend it.

Reviewed by Sundar Narayan

It is too simplistic to say that he constructed the series in a linear manner. Bronowski knew what he was doing, and he said that simple questions needed difficullt answers. But not in the space of 12 and a bit hours of televison. This was a (perfect) way in, to encourage complex thoughts, problem analysis and definition. Nothing else like it has appeared on broadcast media, certainly not the populism od Sagan or Burke.

If only he could speak today.

Every few years, some prominent public intellectual is privileged to travel the world making a series about the history of humanity. In 1973, it was mathematician Jacob Boronowski's turn, and 'The Ascent of Man' tells of the rise of civilisation as viewed through the lens of science. The formula has hardly changed in the ensuing 50 years - rather surprisingly, even computer graphics (such as we might see in a more modern programme) had already arrived and are on display here. What's most noticeable is that firstly, Boronowski doesn't dumb down; but also, his series was subtitled 'A Personal View' and that it is, full of individual insights of a sort that now feels quite rare. Sometimes his thoughts are deep, sometimes less so; but they're all his, whereas it's sadly more common for this sort of programme to feel like an official guidebook, offering the consensus view of mankind's greatest hits. Instead, Boronowski was allowed to talk at length, and was thus able to make subtle points that rely on many words. In this respect alone, the series does feel dated; but only in reminding us of something we have lost.

This extraordinary series, thirteen fifty-minute episodes, is one of television's highest achievements; nearly forty years after its completion, it has lost little of its luster.

A mathematician whose professional journey included work on the Manhattan Project, later at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, as well as an editor and scholar of the works of William Blake, Dr. Jacob Bronowski was one of the last true Renaissance men.

Presented here is a veritable smörgåsbord of human history cast against scientific advancements and technological innovations that take the viewer around the world, from the dawn of Man to the then-present of 1972. Along the way, Dr. Bronowski stops to examine some of humanity's greatest accomplishments - and lowest depths. One outstanding quality of this remarkable series is that he speaks to the viewer directly and very personally through the lens of the camera; the book of the same name is a virtual transcript of his remarks.

Not simply lectures (nor read from a script), these extemporaneous essays offer Bronowski's "personal view" on a wide range of human, scientific and technological history, presented in both a dramatic and memorable fashion. For example, the episodes are sprinkled with delightful (and sometimes moving) anecdotes of various people, some of whom Bronowski knew and worked with - such as Leo Szilard (who first conceived the concept of sustained nuclear fission - even coining the term "chain reaction" - and who subsequently wrote the letter which Einstein signed that was sent to FDR, bringing about the Manhattan Project) and John von Neumann (one of the great mathematicians of the twentieth century and the "Father of Electronic Computing").

Anyone with even a passing interest in the history of our species and its place amongst the stars, or of science in general, will be astonished, delighted, deeply moved and profoundly affected by "The Ascent of Man." The production value is of the highest order throughout (and, now in its second DVD incarnation, the sound, which was always somewhat problematic, has been greatly improved, matching the often stunning visuals).

(NOTE: Viewers who enjoy this series will also enjoy both the seven-part BBC miniseries "Oppenheimer" (1980) and their production of Michael Frayen's play "Copenhagen" (2002), both available on DVD.)

Highest possible recommendation.