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Science: 100 Scientists Who Changed the World
 
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Science: 100 Scientists Who Changed the World [Hardcover]

Jon Balchin (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)


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Book Description

October 1, 2003
To be alive today is to be confronted by the products of science--from aspirin, refrigeration, electric light and the telephone, to the airplane and the computer--to name just a few. In addition to beneficial medicines and life enhancing discoveries, however, scientific research also has led to many dangerous developments, such as the machine gun and the atom bomb. Science explores all of these, telling the story of how observation and testing have changed daily life over the past 2500 years, along with how we understand the world, the cosmos, the body, and the mind. What is most fascinating for students first learning about scientific discovery, and what this book highlights so beautifully through presenting individual scientists, is the way in which simple observation--such as watching the weather, or an object fall--leads to a discovery that radically alters life in the world and our comprehension of how the natural world works.

An engaging and clearly explained book, full of pertinent quotations and anecdotes, Science tells a compelling story, inviting its readers to pursue its subject further.


Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6 Up-The chronological arrangement makes this book easy for students to use as they work their way through the time lines of history. The scientists are grouped by century, making it easy to chart progress, as men and women built on the theories of those who came before. In the first entry, Anaximander ponders the shape of the earth, thinking it may not be flat. The last entry, on Tim Berners-Lee, shows how every corner of our world is accessible via the World Wide Web. Each two-page entry offers a chronology, biographical material, scientific contributions, and a portrait of the individual. While the information is brief, it is more interesting reading than similar entries in an encyclopedia, and includes a discussion of the scientific theory or the discovery's impact on society. While there is no question about the contributions of the scientists included, the book is light on women and minorities. Nonetheless, this is a solid collective biography that will assist students with their understanding of the evolution of scientific discovery.
Julie Webb, Shelby County High School, Shelbyville, KY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

Balchin has produced a compact, highly readable panorama of two and a half millennia of science -- Science Books & Film

Product Details

  • Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  • Hardcover: 224 pages
  • Publisher: Enchanted Lion Books (October 1, 2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1592700179
  • ISBN-13: 978-1592700172
  • Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.8 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,746,770 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, but with some strange choices, November 7, 2009
As the title states, this a book containing 100 biographies. They are arranged chronologically, from Anaxinander (611-574BC) to Tim Berners-Lee (1955- ). Each biography is short (only two page long) and contains a picture or photograph of the individual (or a thermometer in the case of Daniel Fahrenheit), a brief chronology of important events, one page of text relating their contribution and a small insert containing an important or interesting aspect of their life or scientific contribution. The book was informative, but I found some of the choices very strange. In my opinion, about 10-20% of the individuals covered were not essential scientists. For instance, I wonder why Alfred Nobel, Thomas Alva Edison, Alexander Graham Bell and the Wright Brothers were included. They were very important inventors and technologists, but I would not include them in a list that was restricted to only 100 of the most "essential" scientists. I would more easily have accepted these inclusions had the author not left out very important and very essential scientists such as J. Willard Gibbs, Paul Dirac, and Richard Feynman.

The book was interesting and covers the fields of chemistry and biology in addition to physics. A lot of interesting reference information is included. I would have rated it 5* had it included some more of what most people interested in science and the history of science consider as being essential scientists.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Shows the Uncomfortable Rewards of Being a Great Scientist, February 17, 2007
This review is from: Science: 100 Scientists Who Changed the World (Hardcover)
So you've always wanted to discover something great and go down in history so everyone will always know your name. Turns out that many didn't lead comfortable lifestyles or never knew credit for their own discoveries - certainly not capitalistic rewards. A few examples:

Galileo Galilei died in prison because he wouldn't submit to religious dogma. Galileo had forged the modern approach to experimental and mathematical physics by breaking large problems down into smaller ones.

Nikola Tesla came to America as a penniless immigrant in 1884. He would sell his idea of alternating current to transmit electricity efficiently. Westinghouse bought the idea and become a powerhouse. Tesla would die penniless after receiving 800 patents.

Robert Oppenheimer would be stripped of his security clearance to prevent his work on the hydrogen bomb. Someone had accused him of being a Communist sympathizer. Oppenheimer had already successfully lead the Manhattan Project which concluded the second world war.

Rosalind Franklin discovered the fruitlessness of being a brilliant scientist and a woman. She would die of cancer while her colleague would steal credit for her discovery. Franklin had figured out the helical structure of DNA.

There are many more. This book is a dose of reality for anyone interested in the truth about science and scientists. Real and Brilliant.
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