Synopsis
The histories of science, technology and mathematics merge with the study of humanities and social science in this interdisciplinary reference work. Combining essays on people, theories, discoveries and concepts with overviews, primary documents and chronological elements, Science and Its Times offers students a fascinating way to understand the impact of science on the course of human history and how science affects everyday life.
With coverage from about 2000 B.C. through the end of the 20th century, Science and Its Times features approximately 2, 000 entries representing people and developments throughout the world. Examples include:
- The role of the Silk Road on the transfer of technology from Asia to Europe
- The impact of the Gutenberg press on the development of literacy in Europe
- Influence of Darwins theory of natural selection on 19th-century views on society
- Efforts of Albert Einstein and other nuclear physicists in limiting the spread of nuclear weapons
- And many others
The sets eight volumes are divided by time period and each includes the same broad subject chapters and features. Central to each chapter are topical subchapters on physical sciences, life sciences, technology, mathematics, medicine and health. Each of these features 25-30 essays of 1, 500 to 3, 000 words, 30 biographical entries of 500 to 1, 000 words and about 100 brief biographical profiles.
Volumes al
Reviews
This new series will be very useful to students of science history and the impact of developing technologies. Volume five, the first of seven volumes, focuses on the nineteenth century. The introduction states that the audience is the high-school student, but this reference also provides an excellent background for college students and adult library patrons researching topics such as germ theory, Boolean algebra, or the invention of the typewriter. The categories featured are "Exploration and Discovery," "Life Sciences," "Mathematics," "Medicine," "Physical Sciences," and "Technology and Invention." The chapter devoted to each category has a chronology, signed topical essays ranging between 1,500 and 2,000 words in length, signed biographical profiles of 500 to 1,000 words, and additional brief "biographical mentions." The chapter on medicine, for example, includes essays on cholera epidemics, the development of anesthesia, and the origins of the nursing profession, among other topics; profiles of more than 30 individuals; and "biographical mentions" of another 90 or so. In some cases, a scientist treated in a mention in one chapter will have fuller treatment in another. A further reading list concludes each topical essay, and each chapter ends with an annotated bibliography of primary sources, both books and periodical articles. Black-and-white illustrations and the occasional sidebar enhance the text. The index is more important than usual because of the topical arrangement and the lack of cross-references. A reader may have to look at both the biographical sketches and the essays to get the full picture of the importance of a discovery. An instance of this is the treatment of the famous Michelson-Morley experiment (1887) disproving the existence of the medium known as ether. Only through the index will the reader be led to the essay on the experiment, the profile of Albert Michelson, and the mention of Edward Morley. Similarly, the index is needed to link together all the strands related to the work of early computer-science pioneers Charles Babbage and Augusta Ada Byron. Good coverage is provided for important historical figures. The explanations of the technologies involved are clear and give a sense of the groundbreaking work the scientists were involved in. The legacies of these men and women live on. For example, Robert Koch's failed TB cure is still used today as a test for TB, and Janos Bolyai's short but influential treatise on non-Euclidian geometry laid some of the mathematical groundwork for modern physics.Science and Its Times presents broader coverage than other Gale titles such as World of Scientific Discovery (1994). It is similar in some respects to The Facts On File Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and Soci ety [RBB Ap 15 99]. However, the Facts On File encyclopedia is more centered on technology, while the Gale title has fuller treatment of the sciences, as well as a more biographical focus. This series will be a welcome addition to reference collections of high-school, public, and academic libraries. REVWR
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