Promotions - Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles 2022 -

Seaming together the story of the development and evolution of the life sciences from ancient times to the current interest in astrobiology, Morange (emer., Univ. of Paris) presents a comprehensive review of the transformations in outlook that have molded the biological sciences through the ages. In this work, brilliantly translated from the original French, the words flow easily. The first four chapters examine, respectively, ancient Greek and Roman views, the Arab-Muslim influence during the middle ages, the practice of alchemy and fascination with dissections characterizing the Renaissance period, and the mechanistic model of life prevailing in the 17th century. The narrative proceeds to succeeding centuries, when the understanding of embryology, cell biology, microbiology, and physiology came to dominate the field. The 19th century (part 2) erupts with the theory of evolution, the mystery of heredity, and the recognition of ecological relationships. Fast forwarding to the current era, molecular biology takes center stage. Each succeeding phase of scientific understanding is inspected and dissected, exposing the reader to the intellectual patterns of thought, diversity of investigators, and various outside influences that shaped the path of (Western) science. Notably, each chapter begins with a section outlining "The Facts," followed by a "Historical Overview," and ends, crucially, with the author's analysis of "Contemporary Relevance."Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers.

This book is less than a formal history but more than a scrapbook of a unique organization that is "part university, part museum, part research center, part classroom, part library, part London club, and part exhibition and broadcasting center" (p. 11). The Royal Institution (TRI), founded in 1799, has hosted some of Britain's greatest scientists, including Humphry Davy, Michael Faraday, James Dewar, Lord Rayleigh (John William Strutt), and the two Braggs (William Henry and William Lawrence) of X-ray diffraction fame. Thomas, a scientist and historian who directed TRI from 1986 to 1990, authored this grab bag of minibiographies, behind-the-scenes anecdotes, and fond reminiscences of TRI, covering its entire history down to the present. The publisher spared no expense in obtaining high-quality color reproductions of portraits and photos relating to TRI. Thomas intended the book as a popular treatment rather than a scholarly history. Although the text is annotated by footnotes, most of the material is drawn from secondary sources such as obituaries, and historians will find it more entertaining than illuminating. That said, for conveying what TRI is all about and documenting the scope and variety of famous people who passed through its doors over the years, this book has no peer.Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers.

This concise biography of Charles Darwin narrates the major events in the great naturalist's life. The volume is part of the publisher's "Critical Lives" series, which documents in brief format the lives and contributions of persons considered to be important cultural figures of the modern world. Archibald (emer., San Diego State Univ.) focuses on Darwin's strenuous effort as he worked on his evolution book and the influential role Alfred Russel Wallace played in prompting Darwin to publish his ideas on the subject. Archibald also discusses Darwin's health problems, such as heart palpitations, nervous exhaustion, and digestive difficulties without indulging in speculation about possible psychological causes of these afflictions as some authors have done. Rather, he attributes some of Darwin's maladies to the Chagas disease that Darwin probably contracted while he was on his eventful five-year journey aboard HMS Beagle. Archibald cites Darwin's severe facial eczema, which induced his wife, Emma, to recommend that he grow his iconic beard. The loss of their beloved daughter, Annie, which shook Darwin's religious faith, is briefly recounted. The text is well documented and includes excellent illustrations, but curiously there is no index. Undergraduates majoring in various academic disciplines as well as scholars of the history of ideas will particularly enjoy this work.Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates. Graduate students and faculty. General readers.

Few educated people in today's world have not heard of Stephen Hawking, the physically handicapped scientific genius whose writings ranged from the most esoteric themes (cosmology and black holes) to popularizations such as A Brief History of Time (1988) and his own mini-autobiography, My Brief History (CH, Aug'14, 51-6807). But few know about the obsession of this renowned physicist with scientific glory and immortality. He wanted to be another Isaac Newton, an ambition perhaps not as uncommon as was his striving to achieve it in awkward ways. In this fascinating book, Seife (NYU) narrates Hawking's life and doings, including his marriage, complaints about fellow scientists, and wrecking the reputations of other physicists. In so doing, Seife exposes the "dirty linen" behind Hawking's well-deserved fame as an unusually brilliant mind. Readers get to know about Hawking's petty rivalries, paltry complaints, and pampering of the rich and the mighty to "hawk" his own reputation. Aside from covering Hawking's interactions with the press and his publishers, the text also presents a few scattered but intelligible expositions of technical physics. This is a fascinating biography of a truly great (intellectually speaking) human being. Sadly, it is perhaps the only biography in this reader's experience that brings down a hero from the pedestal he occupied until now.Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers.

Offering a fascinating niche history of nascent long-distance telegraphy and exploring how personalities and culture affect advances in science, Hunt (Univ. of Texas at Austin) makes the names from science classes come to life: Maxwell, Faraday, Lord Kelvin. This story plays out in the latter days of the expanding British Empire. The political and commercial incentives to developing telegraphy were in knowing current conditions thousands of miles away--it took six weeks for word of the 1857 Indian Rebellion to reach London. The potential cost of failure was a critical motivator to mastering the science this new technology required. Rigorous theories were confounded by crippling evidence of signal degradation, as observed in early underwater telegraph cables. Maxwell's field theory explained and resolved this costly problem, enabling intercontinental communications. Hunt's core story is supported by a wealth of collateral learning about Victorian life: people--how Lord Kelvin got his name, the Royal Society, economics, emerging technologies, and the British empire itself. Notable events include identification of the now-common metrics and ratios used in measuring electricity and the challenging task of laying underwater cable in the steamship era. Illustrated with period images and impeccably referenced, Hunt's remarkable, scholarly text will encourage nonspecialist readers to engage.Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers.