Customer Reviews

Science: 100 Scientists Who Changed the World

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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.

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.