Professors will fmd the figures and problems to be particularly useful.
Jaan
Laane Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843 W o m e n in C h e m i s t r y and P h y s i c s : A Biobibliographic S o u r c e b o o k Louise S. Grinstein, Rose K. Rose, and Miriam Rafailovich. Editors. Greenwood Press: Westport, CT and London, 1993. xix+ 721 pp. 15.1 x 23.2 cm. $99.50. With few exceptions, women scientists have found few chroniclers. According to Lilli S. Homig, Senior Consultant to Higher Education Resource Services, in her foreword to this "definitive archival collection of original essays," "the idea that there are hardly any women scientists remains firmly entrenched in the minds of the public and of practicing scientists alike". This book should go a long way toward dispelling this myth of women's scarcity among scientists and the still prevalent belief that women and science are somehow incompatible. I n order to participate in science, women have historically faced a n unrelenting struggle, first merely to be allowed to study and then, as full-fledged researchers, to obtain suitable positions, to overcome nepotism rules, to have publications accepted and grant proposals funded, to be admitted to professional societies, and to be kwarded with recognition, honors, and awards. Many experienced difficulties in juggling their roles as scientist, wife, mother, and homemaker. All these difficulties are exemdified bv the dedicated women portrayed in this book. While many of the-historical biographees were single, many, especially the contemporary ones, were or are married. Some ofthe latter worked alone, while some worked with their husbands, e.g., Gerty Radnitz Cori, Marie Curie, and Marie Anne Pierrette Paulze Lavaisier. Same, whose hushands wanted more traditional wives, were divorced. A number of the subjects were also Jewish, making anti-Semitism a n additional obstacle for them to overcome. The cross-referenced biographies, nontechnical accounts of their work, and bibliographies of 75 historical and contemporary women scientists are arranged alphabetically from physicist Fay Ajzenberg-Selave to biochemist Rasalyn Sussman Yalow. They range in t i m e of b i r t h from 370 (physicist and astronomer Hypatia) to 1941(astrophysicist Beatrice Muriel Hill Tinsky) and i n length from 2 pp (Marie Meurdrac, probably the first woman to write a treatise on chemistry, 1600's) to 15 pp (chemist Joyce Jacobson Raufman, 1929- ). Three American Chemical Society presidents (Helen Murray Free, Mary Lowe Good, and Anna J a n e Harrison), and 29 of the 5 1 Garvan medalists from 1937 to 1993 are included, along with five Nobel laureates (Marie Skladowska Curie, Irene Joliot-Curie, Dorothy Mary Crowfoot Hodgkin, Maria Gertrude Goeppert Mayer, and Rosalyn S. Yalow) and two wives ofNobel laureates (Isahella Helen Lueoski Karle and Leona Woods Marshall Lihhv). 'The 66 contrihutok of these entries in-
T h e Hundredth Monkey and O t h e r of t h e Paranormal
Paradigms
Kendrick Frazier, Editor. Prometheus Books: Buffalo, NY, 1991. Figs. & tables. xiv + 400 p p 15.2 x 22.7 cm. $17.95 PB.
The Skeptical I ~ u i r e r edited , by Kendrick Frazier, a science writer and former editor of Science News, is a quarterly journal published by the Committee for t h e Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal. CSICOP was founded in 1976 to "provide the public, educators, and the media with accurate, scientifically evaluated information about the wide variety of paranormal and fringe-science claims that everywhere bombard us." As every chemistry and science instructor can attest, such claims possess wide appeal among students and the public, who often fmd it difficult to distinrmish between science and oseudoscience. esoeciallv a1 the ~ometimesfurry buundarita between the two. The book revirwrd hrre should go a long way toward helping us mnkc the distinction clear u, our studenh and to the public This newest collection of 43 essays and articles selected from issues of The Skeptical Inquirer between Spring 1985 and Winter 1990 examines engrossing and important issues a t the intersection of science and popular belief. This is the third such collection edited by Frazier, the earlier two being Paranormal Borderlands of Science (1981) . . and Science Confronts the Paranormal (19861 . . ( k u f f m a n . G. B. Sei. Teach. 1986. k4.174). The 39 authors reore-
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psychologists, philosophers, writen, scholars, and investigators, who not only explore virtually every aspect of paranormal and fringe-science beliefs and claims but also include brief postscripts and references that update the original articles and summarize and resoond to criticisms. 'l'hmughout t h r volume, which contains n useful, detailed nome mdex ,14 pp., 2 culumns per page1 but no subject index, the a u thors prowdc constructive ad\.icr about critical thinking, asac.ising evidence, and encouraging the use of common sense and intelligence to find rational solutions to mysteries sensationalized by themass media and embraced by the New Age movement and other cults. I highly recommend this sourcebook to instructors, students, and anyone seeking scientificallv emlana. responsible . tions for controversies, boa&, bizarre mysteries, and popular cultural myths. G e o r g e 6. Kauffman California State University, Fresno Fresno. CA 93740
Unfortunately, portraits of the subjects are lacking, Today, when society confronts unprecedented challenges i n the maximum utilization of human resources, t h e need for more women in science is especially urgent. The inspiring success stories in this volume feature role models who should helv encouraw young women to scck carwrs in chemistry and physm. We hope rhnt rhr hook also w ~ l lpromote funher research on countless orher unsunjg female scientists and on the neglected topic of the past, present, and future role of women in science. G e o r g e B. Kauffman and Laurie M. Kauffman California State Univemity, Fresno Fresno, CA 93740 Volume 71
Number 4
April 1994
A109
