Chemical Education Today
Book & Media Reviews The Life and Scientific Legacy of George Porter edited by David Phillips and James Barber Imperial College Press: London, 2006. 652 pp. ISBN 1860946607 (cloth), $108; ISBN 186094695X (paper), $59 reviewed by Richard Pagni
Every discipline, including science, has a history. Because each course we teach is bursting with chemistry, the history of the subject is rarely discussed, if at all. I personally find this troubling, but my opinion is in the minority. For those teachers and students with an historical bent, there is hope. In the last few decades a number of biographies of and tributes to 20th century luminaries in chemistry have been published, including The Life and Scientific Legacy of George Porter. Porter shared the 1967 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with his mentor, R. G. W. Norrish, and Manfred Eigen. Porter received the prize for having invented flash photolysis, a technique for studying the spectroscopy and kinetic behavior of short-lived species. This was a revolutionary achievement and the forerunner of the extraordinarily important contemporary field of transient spectroscopy and kinetics. The book begins with a succinct description of Porter’s scientific career, some discussion of his personal life and personality, and a goodly number of photographs. Not only did Porter carry out first-rate science but he was also an excellent proselytizer of science and a powerful voice in Britain for the funding of fundamental research. This book is a lovely tribute to an important person, but it never becomes hagiography, which detracts, in my opinion, from other such books. All of Porter’s publications have been republished in this volume. There are also reminiscences of Porter the man and assessments of his scientific contributions by more than a dozen well-known scientists in the field of transient spectroscopy and kinetics. Each contributor has also included one of his own published papers in the field. Because of its large size and narrow focus, the book is not one you are likely to read, although you may profit from reading a section here and there that catches your eye. The book will be of most interest to photochemists, spectroscopists, and especially historians of science. Richard Pagni is a member of the Department of Chemistry, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996-1600;
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Journal of Chemical Education
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Vol. 84 No. 3 March 2007
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www.JCE.DivCHED.org
