The Evolution of Forces [First English Edition]

Le Bon, Gustave; Ledge, F. (Editor, Preface)

Published by Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co. Ltd., Dryden House, Gerard Street, London, 1908

About this Item

1908 at title page. Ornately tooled red cloth boards, gilt spine titles, moderate shelf, corner, edge wear, rub, discoloration. Antiquarian label at spine. Pages good. Several plates, stamps. Some leaves with brief, neat and intelligent pencilled notation. Matte black endpapers. Grey pictorial plate inside cover with unique vignette of griffin holding Latin motto for the Leicester University: "Ut Vitam Habeant" or "So that they may have life." Bind good, square. Rare near good, intact first edition. Gustave Le Bon was a member of the Royal Academy of Belgium. In this volume, he explores the nature of energy and matter, proposing that all matter is in a constant state of dissociation and decay. He emphasizes the idea that atoms are great reservoirs of energy, which revolutionized our understanding of the universe if harnessed effectively and was further developed and popularized by Albert Einstein. In L'Évolution de la Matière (1905) ("The Evolution of Matter"), Le Bon anticipated the mass energy equivalence, and in a 1922 letter to Albert Einstein complained about his lack of recognition. Einstein conceded that a mass energy equivalence had been proposed before himself, but only the theory of relativity had cogently proved it. Gaston Moch gave Le Bon credit for anticipating Einstein's theory of relativity. In this book, L'Évolution des Forces (1907), Le Bon prophesied the Atomic Age. He wrote about "the manifestation of a new force namely intra-atomic energy which surpasses all others by its colossal magnitude," and stated that a scientist who discovered a way to dissociate rapidly one gram of any metal would "not witness the results of his experiments ." Printed by Ballantyne, Hanson & Co. London & Edinburgh. 388 pages. Insured post. Size: 12mo - over 6¾" - 7¾" tall.

Seller Inventory # 022826

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Evolution of Forces [First English Edition]
• Publisher: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co. Ltd., Dryden House, Gerard Street, London
• Publication Date: 1908
• Binding: Hard Cover
• Edition: First Edition.
• Condition: Good