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Cosmology, Atomic Theory, Evolution: Classic Readings in the Literature of Science

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This Dover reprint of a collection of founding documents in the history of science is unusual in that it treats in parallel the three sciences of astronomy, structure of matter, and life. Brief commentaries help put the original writings of men such as Copernicus, Newton, Lavoisider, and Darwin in context. Reading these original papers gives one a sense of the struggles involved in forging modern natural science that is impossible to get from reading modern textbooks, or even histories of science. For example, the article by Lavoisier in which he describes experiments showing that combustion involves combination with oxidation, not release of the supposed substance "phlogiston", is even more revealing than the account in his later textbook of chemistry. The readings are likely to be more rewarding, however, with the aid of later works on the history of science. For example, the readings on chemistry are much easier to appreciate with the aid of Ihde's classic history, also available as a Dover reprint.