BOOK
REVIEWS
John Dalton and the Atom
Frank Greenaway, Science Museum, South Kensington, London. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York, 244 pp. Plates. 14 X 21 1966. x cm. $6.95.
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The commemarstion of a great chemist's birth by the publication of a detailed analysis of his life's work is both a tribute to the man and s timely occasion to review his contribution to the development of chemistry. The year 1966 marked the bicentenary of the birth of John Dalton, the great English chemist who first developed a workable chemical atomic theory and enunciated the famous laws of combination which bear his name. Although there have been many articles published in recent years on various aspects of Dalton's life and work, there bas been no full-length study of Dalton in this century. Dalton and Lavoisier were to chemistry what Newton was to mathematics and celestial mechanics. Jointly, their contributions were of inestimable value in bringing about the birth of modern ehemistry. Frmk Greensway's excellent book goes a very long way toward filling the need for an up-todete survey and evaluation of Dalton's signal contributions to chemistry at the turn of the nineteenth century. It complements the recently ~ublished "Biblioersobv of Works bv ind about John b8'lto"n2' (~anchestei, 1966), by A. L. Smyth. (See m r s JOURNAL, 45,A1098 [December, 19661.)
I n 11 carefully documented chapters' Greensway (one of the Leading modern authorities on Dalton) has presented a. chronological account of Dalton's life and work from his boyhood in Eagle~fieldand Kendal, through his adult life in Manchester and other British cities. I n addition to the 11 chapters there is s section on Notes and References and an index. The introductory first chapter (pp. 1-7) places Dalton's early research in perspective with regard to the general background of chemistry m it existed at the end of the eighteenth century. The second chapter (pp. 8-31), The Importance of the Atomic Theory, traces the development of the physical and chemical theories from the early Greeks to preDaltonian times. The third chapter (pp. 37-2-56), The Soientific Scene in Dalton's Early Years, describes the scientific and particularly the chemical climate as it existed when Dalton began his meteorological and chemical investigations. In chapter four (pp. 57-87), Dalton's Early Life and Work, Greenaway traces in a most fascinating way the "selfdiscovery" of Dalton in Kendal while he worked as a Quaker school teacher, and his wrestling with himself in the choice of a career. Chapter five (pp. 8&104), Dalton in Manchester, deals with his color-blindness, and the genesis of the chemical atomic theory for which he is immortalized. Chapters six, seven, and eight (pp. 10&180) discuss his work in physics, the origins of the chemical atomic theory, and its reception. These chapters constitute the very essence of the book for
Frank Creenauray, John Dalton and the Atom L h Velluz, Vie de Lavoisier Bessie Zahan Jmes, editor, The Golden Age of Science: Thirty Portraits of the Giants of 19th Century Science by their Scientific Contemporaries Michael P . Olmsted, Enrichment Experimen& in Basic Chemistry J. H. While, A Reference Book of Chemistry Alsoph H. Cowin and Maurice M . Bursey, Elements of Organic Chemistry: As Revealed by the Scientific Method Cordon M . Hawis, Chemical Kinetim Eugae G. Rochow, The Metalloids H a r d H. Clamsen, The Noble Gases Himshi Walanabe, Operetor Methods in Ligsnd Field Theory Hermann Rbmpp, Chemie Lexikon. Four Volumes E. H. E. Pielsch and the Gmelin Institute, editon, Gmelias Hmdbucb der Anorgsnischen Chemie. 8 Adage, System Nummer 57, Nickel. Teil Al, Geschiehtliches, Vorkommen, Darstellung Roger W. Moss,JI., csmpiled by, The J. W. Morgan Collection in the History of Chemistry: A Checklist
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the modern chemical reader and are excellently written. Dalton's great book, the "New System of Chemical Philosophy" (1808, 1810, 18271, is discussed in detail, as are the other papers on the development of his chemical atomic theory. Chapter nine (pp. 181-ZOO), Dalton's Later L i e describes his work on sulfuric ether, animal beat, microcasrnio salt, sugar analysis, etc., and also the tardy award of his many academic honors. Chapters ten (pp. 201-23) and eleven (pp. 224-7), Dalton's Legacy, and A Salutstion, respectively, sketch the iduence of Dalton's work on the development of chemical theory in the years immediately following his death in 1844 and on to the beginning of the twentieth century. This is an enjoyable, scholarly, and inspiring book, written about the tribule tions, struggling, and ultimate success of a truly great man. The story of Dalton's life should serve as an inspiration to the countless research chemists of today who are striving to make chemistry, and hence the world, far better by their discoveries. The book is warmly recommended to all students and practicing chemists who are interested in the history of their subject. ROYG. NEVILLE Boeing SeiatifLc Research Labmatortes Seattle, Washinglon
Vie de Lavoisier
Lbm Vdluz. Librairie Plon, Paris, France, 1966. 237 pp. Photagrqhs. 14 X 20 cm. Paperbound. 15 F (about $3). So much has been published regarding the life and activities of Lavoisier that only specialists end polemicists can reasonably hope to dredge up really new facts about the great early Frenoh chemist or to present novel ideas about him. However, he occupied such an outstanding place in the beginnings of modern cbemistry and was such a competent administre tor in a variety of directions and his life had such a dramatic ending, that books dealing with him will always have s. wide appeal to the general reading public. This book is designed for such readers. Those seeking information about Lavoisier and his rtccomplishments should look elsewhere. However, the author has included a lengthy detailed Chronologie that gives explicit dates of important happenings that pertain to Lavoisier or that infinenced his activities. I t spans the period from 1680 to 1794, i.e., from the founding of the Ferme g6nbra.k to the date of Lavoisier's execution. I t is assunled the reader knows, at least in a general way, what Lavoisier accomplished, or the author takes for granted that his readen do not care to be particularly instructed in detail about such matters. The author treats hi subject objectively; he is neither a blind Lavoisier enthusiast nor a fanatic iconoclast. He presents his facts and ideas in clesr fashion and allows
Volume 44, Number 8, August 1967
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