It took me a LONG time to finish this, well over a year, yet I am so glad I hung in there. As a math/science phobe in high school (”Chemistry for Poets” anyone?) I always thought science was for that high priesthood of Very Smart People rather than plebes like me. Conner offers a brilliant riposte, pointing out that the bulk of scientific discovery and advancement is due to ordinary working people: sailors, shipwrights, farmers, craftsman, beer brewers, miners, mechanics etc. In addition to demolishing the myth of “elite” science (which he claims often retarded scientific progress) Conner also points out the Eurocentrism in how science history is generally taught, with the emphasis on Western scientists, (“What Greek Miracle?”) obscuring the contributions of African and Asian and Native American science. In the final chapters he turns to the disturbing marriage of science and capitalism, and how the “scientific industrial complex “ dominates and directs research into channels the benefit wealthy elites but are unhealthy for working people, women and ultimately the human species.