The Enlightenment of Joseph Priestley: A Study of His Life and Works from 1733 to 1773 [Hardcover]

Robert E. Schofield (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0271016620 | ISBN-13: 978-0271016627 | Publication Date: January 1998

This volume stands alone as the definitive study of the making of an intellectual giant.-Pennsylvania Heritage "Schofield vivifies the life and thought of an elusive, demanding figure. . . . [His book] combines masterful scholarship with balanced historical judgment."-D. L. LeMahieu, Church History "This is a magnificent book, a real monument in modern scholarly letters. Robert Schofield has brought together the many different strands of Priestley's life and achievement and has related them to the general background in which his thought was forged. The result is a readable, interesting, scholarly, perceptive, and generally splendid book." --I. Bernard Cohen, Harvard University Joseph Priestley (1733-1804) is one of the major figures of the English Enlightenment. A contemporary and friend of Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, he exceeded even these polymaths in the breadth of his curiosity and learning. Yet no one has attempted an all-inclusive biography of Priestley, probably because he was simply too many persons for anyone easily to comprehend in a single study. Robert Schofield has devoted a lifetime of scholarship to this task. The result is a magisterial book, covering the life and works of Priestley during the critical first forty years of his life. Although Priestley is best known as a chemist, this book is considerably more than a study in the history of science. As any good biographer must, Schofield has thoroughly studied the many activities in which Priestley was engaged. Among them are theology, electricity, chemistry, politics, English grammar, rhetoric, and educational philosophy. Schofield situates Priestley, the provincial dissenter, within the social, political, and intellectual contexts of his day and examines all the works Priestley wrote and published during this period. Schofield singles out the first forty years of Priestley's life because these were the years of preparation and trial during which Priestley qualifie

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Robert E. Schofield is Professor of History Emeritus at Iowa State University, where he was also Director of the Program in History of Technology and Science. He is the editor of A Scientific Autobiography of Joseph Priestley (1733-1804) and the author or editor of numerous other books. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Pennsylvania State University Press (January 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0271016620
• ISBN-13: 978-0271016627
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,021,327 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 stars A great book on a great scientist, minister, and leader, October 19, 2011

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This review is from: The Enlightenment of Joseph Priestley: A Study of His Life and Work from 1733 to 1773 (Paperback)

This is the first volume of a wonderful two volume set on Joseph Priestley. The second is called The Enlightened Joseph Priestley and covers the second half of his life. Taken together, they are the definitive biography of a true Renaissance man of the 18th century. As a minister, he was an early leader of the unitarian movement in England and the United States. As a scientist, he is recognized as the discoverer of oxygen. As a supporter of the early United States, he was a good friend of Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. These books present a comprehensive study of his life and are well worth reading by anyone wanting to know more about this very interesting man.