Georgy Gamov, a world-renowned physicist, a brilliant popularizer of science, on the pages of his book covers the evolution of scientific ideas from Antiquity to the middle of the twentieth century. The author introduces the reader to the discoveries of Archimedes, Kepler, Galileo and other great scientists of the past, clearly reproduces the experiments of Isaac Newton and Michael Faraday, explains the phenomena of quantum mechanics, the principles of atomic and nuclear physics, and the theory of elementary particles in a lively and accessible language. Covering the scientific discoveries of the twentieth century, Georgy Gamov shares personal memories of Ernest Rutherford, Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr and other brilliant physicists with whom he happened to work and make scientific discoveries. The book is illustrated with drawings and drawings by the author.