2 comments about Robert Burns Woodward : Architect and Artist in the World of.

1. this book is jam-packed with primary sources concerning the life and works of r.b. woodward: journal articles, unpublished speeches, photographs of the man, drafts of his papers bearing hand-written corrections. it also includes some commentary from colleagues and family. an excellent resource for anyone interested in the history and process of organic chemical (and scientific, in general) research.



2. Nobel Prize winner Robert Burns Woodward (called 'R B' by his colleagues and students) was the greatest organic chemist of the twentieth century, a legend in his own lifetime. By the time he entered high school, he had already digested college chemistry, and his professors at MIT realised they had an exceptional person in their classes. Before he was 25, Woodward became an instructor at Harvard, and before he was 35, became a full professor. Woodward won a Nobel Prize, and would have almost certainly won another one if it were not for his untimely death. Without him, organic chemistry may have been quite different today. Even in the exalted world of Harvard faculty, he stood out as being exceptional.
   Woodward was an unparalleled master in the synthesis of complex organic molecules, of the kind that have given rise to many of the necessities of modern life, including plastics and pharmaceuticals. But he looked at them as much more than practically useful entities; he synthesized them the way a Michelangelo would sculpt a David, or the way a Mozart would tie together a symphony. For him organic molecules were great architectures, and he was the greatest architect and artist in the world of molecules, whose achievements probably will never be paralleled. More than anyone else, he elevated their synthesis to the stature of an art.
   This book is a testament to his astonishing skills and achievements. It contains facsimilies of all his important papers, transcripts of interviews and speeches, and rare photos of the man not seen elsewhere. These items are enlivened with rare reproductions of his handwritten notes. The interviews feature many of his colleagues and students who worked with him. They talk about his singular habits, his prodigious energy, unbelievable memory, and an attention to detail that would leave fellow chemists with their mouths wide open. For chemists, it will provide a window into the mind of a genius, who achieved feats that those before him had thought impossible. For non-chemists, the non-chemical parts of the book will give an insight into what kind of a man and scientist he was, the Einstein of his field. It should be on the shelves of every chemist who wants to know about the best that his field can produce. I am glad that a book of this quality and size is available at a reasonable price.

1 comments about "I'll Never Fight Fire with My Bare Hands Again": Recollections of the First Forest Rangers of the Inland Northwest.

1. This is the type of book that should be read by all people lay and professional, because it is largely a first hand account of the Region One's forest rangers and their dedication to duty. Rothman as the editor does an outstanding job weaving the individual accounts together to give a clear view of the early development of the Forest Service in Region One. He does not step on the narratives, but rather provides clarification only when needed. When a reader can actually read about events that occurred by the participants it only enriches the understanding of the subject matter. A must read for all those interested in the early days of forest management.

1 comments about Historic Photos of Thomas Edison (Historic Photos.).

1. While Thomas Edison was a product of the 19th Century and patented his incandescent light bulb in 1879, he lived until 1931 and worked on inventing and industry until very near the end. He befriended icons of 20th Century such as Henry Ford and his reputation glowed in the popular culture of my youth in the 1960s. While his presence in the popular culture has faded somewhat, his reputation and what he contributed to our modern way of life should remain. This fine book presents a couple of hundred pictures taken from the archives of the Edison National Historic Site. The book is in seven sections:
   
   The Early Years (1847-1875)
   Menlo Park Laboratory (1876-1882)
   West Orange Laboratory (1887-1931)
   The Phonograph and Motion Pictures (1886-1930)
   Edison in World War I (1914-1918)
   Family and Friends (1871-1931)
   Fame and Legacy
   
   We see Edison from his youth through his funeral. We see him in his labs with his fellow insomniacs and many of his projects. You know about the light bulb, phonograph, and his work in movies. Did you know about the process he developed to crush rock containing low amounts of iron ore and pulled it out using magnetism? What about his attempts to build low cost, good looking, and sturdy concrete homes?
   
   Not everything Edison attempted was a success. The talking doll he made that used a miniature phonograph was too fragile for practical use and had to be recalled, as did his type E batteries. Nor did he optimize his return from every invention (he was granted more than 1,000 patents). In fact, he lost some battles. For example, he wanted to power the world with direct current, but for many reasons alternating current became the standard we use today.
   
   The book also shows us his family life. His first wife, Mary, died young and they had two sons and a daughter together. He married Mina and they were together the rest of his life. They also had three children.
   
   All of the pictures are fascinating, but I love the cubic foot of copper on page 40. The copper industry wanted to thank the man who had done so much to create demand for electric wires, motors, and so forth. They asked him what gift he would enjoy and he asked for a cubic foot of solid copper. Edison knew how difficult that would be to cast and it took them eleven tries before they got it right and gave it to him on October 13, 1911.
   
   The captions are terrific, as are the helpful section introductions. These were written Leonard DeGraaf who is an archivist at the Edison National Historic Site. This is a very well done book and will help its readers to become more familiar with the very important Thomas Alva Edison. Well done!
   
   Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI

1 comments about James Watt.

1. Andrew Carnegie was one of the major figures in American history, who made his fortune in steel (giving most of it away for libraries) and wrote this biography three years before he died in 1919. Watt invented the improved steam engine that revolutionized the world. I can't think of any other biography written by such a great man, about such a great man, possibly excepting the Gospel of Mark.

   Carnegie's description of Watt's life is reverent almost to the point of unseemly hero-worship, but is laced with some most interesting insights into his own psyche and personal history. Watt, according to this account, was a giant to his contemporaries, not only for his technological accomplishments, but also because of his sweet and loyal disposition. I'm sure that Carnegie saw parallels there too. Although the language that Carnegie uses can seem archaic at times, the book is quite enjoyable: inspiring, even.

   His description of Watt's inventions and the technical insights required to achieve them are lucidly explained in the book, and it is clear that Carnegie was no mere business tycoon. Even his explanation of latent heat is clear and insightful, and a delight to read. When he describes the business relationship between Watt and his partner Boulton, one learns something about the goodness in them both, unqualified and complete.

No comments about American Women in Science 1950 to the Present: A Biographical Dictionary.

5 comments about Enrico Fermi, Physicist.

1. This is an interesting biography for it is written by a friend with same interests and loyalty to each other. No jealosy, no envie but appreciation and loyalty how nice. This is the story of Fermi mostly about his intellectual and social life and not about his private life and that part is in fact covered very nicely by his wife in her beautiful book. Segre without any short cuts describe Fermi, his behaior, his mastery in physics with all important documents reproduced and day by day their successes and few dissappointments. There are certain scientific explanations about the experiments they conducted days in and days out and if you are not into Atomic physics those explanations are just words but even if you do not know what they are doing you still get the pleasure of visualising masters in action. descriptions are very vivid. Hard work is necessary but knowing what you are doing is more important and this book along with the biographies of other master Physisist shows the same. Prof Serge is exteremely good in writing biography, you do not get bored while reading the book. All the surroundings, social and political world conditions are clearly described, showing the conditions these people had to go through and yet was exteremely productive.



2. I thought this book was great and did a great job of pacing the reader through Enrico's life, as well as superbly establishing a connection between the reader and Enrico. Emilio Serge did a great job of making it feel like you actually knew Enrico Fermi in real life which made the book that much more engaging and enjoyable. To be honest I found the beginning of the book the most interesting, more specifically Enrico's childhood experiences, influences and how he became interested in physics altogether. After checking multiple online sources, I found the book itself to be one of the most comprehensive sources for information on Fermi, as it includes the entire scope of his accomplishments, dreams, failures and life changing experiences. Written in a very simple yet elegant manner, Serge writes with an embedded loving friendship that still exists despite Enrico's untimely death at the young age of 53. Every page is filled with a seemingly endless number of intriguing facts about Enrico's life, whether it be his troubles and resistances along the way to success or the outcome that occurred after his development of the atomic bomb. Recommended.



3. I've always been fascinated with Fermi's life and knew very little about him. I'm spending too much time reading on present day problems and people complaining about their rights being violated. Time Magazine rated Fermi one of the Top 20 scientists of the 20th century, including Einstein, Salk, Wright Brothers, Hubble and others. Fermi's wife was Jewish so in the late 1930's they left Italy to come to America (real lucky for us). Imagine adding Fermi to the Nazi research and subtracting him from our research. I think we would all be talking German today if Fermi assisted the Nazi's. I am not a scientific person (like the prior reviewer has so expertly depicted)but a realist. After America declared war on Italy, Germany and Japan, Fermi was declared an enemy alien, like many Italian Americans. Fermi's travel was limited and his mail read by the government. Did Fermi leave America, did he ask the Supreme Court to rule if his rights were violated, did he go to the newspapers, no he continued his work to help defeat the Nazi's and Imperial Japan. Imagine Fermi one of the greatest of the 20th century being restricted in his travel. Today, every two bit con artist complains today their human rights are being violated if their back packs are searched. I did not understand any of the scientific writing but the man was remarkable and history has judged him one of the best. Not many people real know his story, unless you are in the scientific community. I'm not sure why, history would be a lot different if Fermi had not come to America. If you do not understand the scientific part read the War Years and Professor at Chicago. With Salk, Einstein, Hubble, Fermi changed the world. Think where we would be today without him. Think about all the great scientist in the last cenury, only 20 picked, Fermi was one of them.



4. I found this entire work to be well written and very informative on both the more personal life of Enrico Fermi, and on his various accomplishments and work regarding radioactivity and physics. Despite being written from a more personal view, as it was authored by a friend, the book maintains its commtittment to detailing the events in his life, including what influenced him and what he in turn influenced. A fascinating tale of a Nobel Prize Winner who worked on the infamous Manhattan Project, this book lists the many discoveries Fermi came upon and what his work later led to in the discovery of producing the fission needed for reactor and atomic weapons. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in this area of physics, and those interested in the people tied to the Manhattan project. As a scientist, Enrico Fermi was an accomplished individual, and this book is able to bring to light the depth of his character and efforts in his respective field. Written from his friend's perspective, the retelling of his life is very well planned and thought out, and I commend the detail Segre put into its creation. With various interviews and detailed accounts of his life, this book is an invaluable resource for understanding more about the atomic bomb and the people who helped bring it to life. One of the most important things books serves to do is to remind American citizens how lucky they are to have gotten such great physicists and scientists to come support this country and how invaluable they are today, as they gave us a chance for the future.



5. Overall, the book "Enrico Fermi Physicist" was very informative and interesting. The long time friend and first graduate of Fermi, Mr. Emilo Segre, stood by Fermi's side for many years. Mr. Serge also wrote the book, and was able to do so in a very all-inclusive manner. Not only does the book teach us everything that Fermi's has accomplished through his long and illustrious career as a physicist, but it also shows us a very human side of this brilliant mind. There are stories about Enrico's childhood dispersed intermittently throughout the book, so we can look at Fermi as a regular person, rather than as a series of brilliant mathematical laws and experiments. Due to the chronological design of the book, we see Enrico grow from a young and furtive mind, with an unrestrained sense of enthusiasm for math and science, into an old and wise master of physics.
   I think that Emilio Segre was compelled to write his book on Fermi for several reasons. By reading the book it is very clear that Segre has the utmost respect and appreciation for Fermi because when he describes the man it is in a tone of awe. He spends almost a page later on in the book talking about how impressed everyone was by Fermi, and how the man's brilliant mind warranted respect form all who could see him work. I also think that Segre felt some type of duty, almost a responsibility, to share Fermi's story with the rest of the world because he knew he was better qualified for the task than anyone, thanks to his close relationship with Fermi.
   By reading this book one learns of Fermi's classical experiments, which would eventually come to yield the atomic pile, and later help foster the construction of the atom bomb to be dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II. There is also a myriad of additional scientific details in the book, depicted in confusing and esoteric jargon. Personally, I think the book could have been more simplistic in the explanations of Fermi's work, instead of spending so much time with detailed information of little significance to the average reader. Overall, the book was engrossing, but excess scientific information gets a bit cumbersome later on in the book.
   Science buffs who also like a bit of history and want to learn about a scientist's life should read this story. As far as scientists go, I found Enrico Fermi to be one of the more fascinating scientists to ever live. Through reading the book, Fermi is revealed not only as a scientific and mathematical genius, but also a fun loving kid, who was almost expelled from school for a prank he pulled.

No comments about Paul Broca: Founder of French Anthropology, Explorer of the Brain.

No comments about Peter Mark Roget: The Man Who Became a Book.

3 comments about "Most of the Good Stuff:" Memories of Richard Feynman.

1. Fascinating and insiteful lectures from many of the great people in the world of physics. Amusing anecdotes, touching tributes, and glimpses into the private life of a genius who was also extremely human and persevered through very painful personal problems to help create the atomic bomb while his wife was seriously ill, yet keeping his spirits up and his sense of humor. Never a person to rest on his laurels Feynman is shown in this book as a person who listened intently to other people's theories, no matter how odd they sounded and never assumed anything was right or wrong until he worked it out for himself from first principles. It's all here, his life, his work, his friends, family and colleagues - but most of all his spirit.



2. Divided into seven sections (The Early Years, At Los Alamos, The Cornell Years, The Research Physicist at Caltech, The Teacher at Caltech, The Public Physicist and Consultant, and Feynman--The Man), this fine book presents Richard Feynman as he was seen by those closest to him--his friends and colleagues. To their credit, they present him as they knew him, the qualities with the flaws.
   
   The book is especially successful in communicating Feynman's way of thinking, the processes he used in attacking problems. The essay entitled "Richard Feynman and the Connection Machine" by W. Daniel Hills is notably successful in this regard, and by itself justifies the purchase of the book. I found it especially interesting that Feynman was fascinated, as I am, by the potential of cellular automata for modeling fluids. Readers with the same interest should also consider purchasing Seek! by Rudy Rucker.
   
   Five or so essays by other physicists who knew Feynman contain mathematics that is proably beyond the ability of the average reader (certainly mine), but even these contain gems of insight that reward readers who wade through them.
   
   All in all, a most satisfying experience.
   
   Also recommended: Feynman's Rainbow: A Search for Beauty in Physics and in Life



3. This is probably not the first book to read about Feynman. I think the best introductory read is Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman. However, this one is unique in that it gives a first hand objective account of his life, personality and achievements (particularly in Physics). It's unfortunate that I have had to skip parts of certain essays (written originally for Physics Today) because they required the kind of Physics knowledge that I do not have, in order to understand and appreciate what Feynman's contribution was to the problem. Nonetheless, the book is a pleasure to read, and some essays are gems in that respect. I especially liked Richard Feynman and the Connection Machine by W. Daniel Hillis. Just when I'm thinking I've learned all of the interesting Feynman stories that I will ever get to know, I come across yet another one that makes me smile and shake my head. I wonder if there are any left after reading this book :)

No comments about Raymond U. Lemieux: Explorations with Sugar: How Sweet It Was (Profiles, Pathways, and Dreams).