The History of Science is ScienceReadings in Biological Science by Irving W. Knobloch; The Shipwright's Trade by WestcottAbell; The Life of Science by George Sarton; Exploring Electricity by Hugh Hildreth SkillingReview by: Morris C. Leikind, Julius A. Furer, George F. J. Lehner and Earle S. HannafordThe Scientific Monthly, Vol. 68, No. 4 (Apr., 1949), pp. 288-289Published by: American Association for the Advancement of ScienceStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/19792 .

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BOOK REVIEWS THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE IS SCIENCE

Readings in Biological Science. Irving W. Knobloch, Ed. 449 pp. $3.00. Appleton-Century-Crofts. New York.

THIS anthology is designed to provide supple- mentary reading material for liberal arts students

taking an introductory course in biology. With the exception of the first chapter, which includes selec- tions from the works of Hippocrates, Aristotle, Pliny, Leeuwenhoek, Darwin, and Huxley, the bulk of the book is made up of extracts from the writings of modern authors, fifty-eight in all. Many of the authors are professional biologists and teachers, some are physicians, and a few are professional science writers.

The subject matter is classified under fifteen chapter headings as follows: Biological Background; Life and the Cell; The Structure and Function of Higher Plants; Nutrition; Circulation; Nervous and Endo- crine Control of the Body; Reproduction; Embry- ology; Heredity; Eugenics; Evolution; Ecology; Health and Disease; Economic Biology; and Bio- logical Philosophy.

Among the authors whose writings appear may be mentioned Donald C. Peattie, S. J. Holmes, Henshaw Ward, Russell M. Wilder, A. J. Carlson, Emanuel Radl, T. H. Morgan, A. Scheinfeld, W. M. Krogman, W. Overholser, B. Jaffe, J. S. Huxley, and many others.

Brief biographical notes and a reading list appear in an appendix. There is no index.

In his aim of selecting materials characterized by readability and popular appeal, the editor has been eminently successful. One may be permitted to question, however, the success of Dr. Knobloch in selecting a group of readings which will actually contribute to the student's ability to understand and think about the problems of science in our present society. In his introduction, the compiler points out that "World War II has shown us the important fact that the human mind is capable of performing astonishing feats when put under pressure." If this view is correct, then it would seem that the readers for whom this book is intended should be able to handle even more difficult material than is here pre- sented. The jaw muscles are hardened not by custard but by chewing on tough meat. The development of a "tough-minded" society capable of wrestling with the problems of today is accomplished by hard, not easy, reading.

If a second edition of this book is called for, it is hoped that the compiler will consider the inclusion of some less popular but possibly weightier discussions than are contained in the present book. Selection from the vast arnount of material available will not

be easy, but the results would justify the extra effort. There is no educational task today as important as that of imparting something of the spirit of science and of scientific inquiry to those who will, as adults, not follow the profession of science or aspire to the title of scientist.

MORRIS C. LEIKIND Library of Congress Washington, D. C.

The Shipwright's Trade. Sir Westcott Abell. xii + 219 pp. Illus. $4.50. Cambridge Univ. Press. New York.

T HE title of this excellent book may be misleading to many Americans, as the word "shipwright" has

a much narrower meaning in the United States than it has in Great Britain. The book deals with the evolution of ships and the development of the art of ship design and shipbuilding as a whole rather than with the shipwright's part as we use the term.

The book is written down to the ready compre- hension of the layman, as the author explains much of the terminology that is peculiar to shipbuilding. It is regrettable that a little space was not also devoted to an explanation of those baffling terms "ton" and "tonnage" as applied to ships.

In Part I the author briefly covers shipbuilding in ancient times and as practiced by primitive people in modern times. In Part II he deals with the wood shipbuilding era and weaves the biographies of some of the distinguished English master-builders into the story. The pages devoted to the Bakers, father and son, the three Petts, Sir Anthony Deane, and William Sutherland are particularly interesting. He describes the steps in the transition of the shipwright's trade from a secret and mysterious craft, handed down from father to son, to an art with its roots well im- planted in science. The era of wood and sail in marine transportation reached its climax early in the nine- teenth century. The author writes the obituary of this era in the following lyric paragraph: "The wooden structure had reached about its limit, and was not to appear again in marked fashion until much later in the century. Then for a brief spell came the clipper ships, vessels with iron frames and with wooden skins and decks to amaze the world in the Swan Song of the Sailing Ship." .

The last half of the book, Part III, treats of iron, steel, steam, and oil in the designing, building, and operation of ships. Biographical sketches of those titans of science and engineering, I. K. Brunel, Scott Russell, William Froude, his son, and of Charles Parsons, enliven the pages. The author mentions only

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April 1949, Volume LXVIII 289

briefly those in other countries who improved the ship. His principal interest would naturally lie with the British contributiorns, but it is surprising to find only a paragraph devoted to the Swedish naval officer Fredrik Chapman, who in the United States is re- garded as the greatest and most scientific naval architect of the eighteenth century.

Profuse illustrations add greatly to the charm and value of the book. Sir Westcott merits the thanks of all who are interested in the sea and in ships for the enormous labor he must have put into the writing of the book. He is tc) be congratulated on the result achieved.

JULIUS A. FURER, Rear Admiral, USN (Retired) Washington, D. C.

The Life of Science. George Sarton. vii + 197 pp. $3.00. Henry Schuman. New York.

THIS collection of essays by Dr. George Sarton, professor of the history of science at Harvard

University, is designed to provide the general reader with a better understanding of science-its history, scope, purpose, and methods.

Beginning with essays devoted to the story of the spread of understancling, the book covers such matters as the story of early discoveries, the role and importance of special methods and instruments in science, and the relation of these searching activities to other activities of mnan-in medicine, in religion, in art, and in politics. In this sense the history of science becomes in part the history of civilization, as emphasized in the subtitle of the book.

Following this overview of scientific development, the author documents scientific progress with several biographies of men of science, pointing out that the history of mankind may be divided into (1) political history, or a history- of the masses, and (2) intellectual (scientific) history, or the history of a few individ- uals. Political history, unforturnately, has claimed the main attention of historians, he says. Intellectual history, therefore, needs to come into its own, for it is in intellectual history that one finds the essential aspects and story of human progress.

Political vicissitudes, wars, revolutions, natural catastrophes, are for most men events of primary significance, Dr. Sarton continues, for the reason that man feels directly affected by such occurrences. Yet it is the discoveries of a Galileo or a Newton which, by transforming man's outlook, constitute the cardinal events of the world's history. This is the essential history of mankind--and it deserves to be better known.

This small, erudite, highly readable book deserves a place on the required reading lists of all students of science, whether in college or beyond it, as an aid in the extrication of self from time-narrowness. For the history of science, as Dr. Sarton puts it, even more than ordinar y history . . . familiarizes us with the ideas of evolution and continuous transformation of human beings; it makes us understand the relative and

precarious nature of all our knowledge; it sharpens our judgment; it shows us that, if the accomplishments of mankind as a whole are really grand, the contribution of each of us is, in the main, small, and that even the greatest amongst us ought to be modest. It helps to make scientists who are not mere scientists, but also men and citizens.

GEORGE F. J. LEHNER Department of Psychology University of California Los Angeles

Exploring Electricity. Hugh Hildreth Skilling. vi + 277 pp. Illus. $3.50. Ronald Press. New York. A PLEASANT surprise awaits the readers of

Exploring Electricity, by Dr. H. H. Skilling. The author has a real literary style that is seldom found among textbook authors. Even if the story were not one of exceptional interest, the author's way of telling it would hold the reader. Exploring Electricity thus takes on a live, vital quality in telling the stories of the men who make up electricity's family tree. It has none of the forced, labored, and obvious effort of a scientist trying to step out of character and temporarily replace the studied, metic- ulous, and cold accuracy which is inherent in science with the feel of the pulse of life and the vagaries of individual humans.-

The story-and it is a real story-takes the develop- ment of the key discoveries and advances in electricity from their earliest beginnings in ancient times through the release of atomic energy in the bomb. Not only do you get the "feel" of such great names as Franklin, Galvani, Volta, Ampere, Faraday, Henry, Maxwell, Hertz, Bohr, Fermi, and Meitner as living people hemmed in by human weaknesses and nobilities, you see how their contributions complement each other to achieve real progress. Not once does the author forget and drop back into those purely technical pas- sages which would leave the nontechnical reader high and dry-particularly dry. Nevertheless, technical readers will find pleasure in the way the author's own technical proficiency has enabled him to give the story the cross checks and tie-ins necessary to those who know the field.

Checking over electrical textbooks written by the author, your reviewer found an interesting and un- usual thing. Here and there in the mathematical and scientific material composing the text are inserted paragraphs of a vital type which bring in the lives and accomplishments of the men who have made electricity live. In fact, almost a whole page can be found in one text covering Faraday, Ampere, and their relationship to Maxwell and his hypothesis.

Not only is this a book which anyone who has any interest whatever in electricity should read, it is a book that should be collateral reading for all whose studies take them into that field.

EARLE S. HANNAFORD Long Lines Plant Department American Telephone and Telegraph Company New York

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