A History of Chemistry. Volume IIby J. R. Partington

A History of Chemistry. Volume II by J. R. PartingtonReview by: Marie Boas HallIsis, Vol. 54, No. 4 (Dec., 1963), pp. 495-497Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of The History of Science SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/228163 .

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BOOK REVIEWS BOOK REVIEWS

of related topics over a limited time span in each chapter. The gain in short-period continuity is bought at the price of geographical and chronological backtracking between chapters, but with only a few exceptions the transi- tions between Pannekoek's chapters are accomplished smoothly.

A History of Astronomy is divided into three roughly equal sections, titled respectively, "Astronomy in the An- cient World," "Astronomy in Revolu- tion," and "Astronomy Surveying the Universe." Within this titular frame- work, it is significant that about half the book is used to cover the period before 1600. Considering the rapid accumulation of important astronomi- cal results in recent years, it would be fair to say that this is a tradition orient- ed history; it is perhaps most valuable in that sense. The early chapters pro- vide a useful synthesis of much special- ized research in ancient astronomy, and the first section reflects, in the reviewer's opinion, the most authorial interest. The second section is a fairly standard treatment of the fourteenth to eighteenth centuries, preceded by an abbreviated survey (" Dark Europe ") of the ninth to thirteenth centuries; the only chapters that might be called outstanding in this section are those that treat English and French practical astronomy in the eighteenth century.

The last part of the book alternates between cosmology and the evolution of astrophysics. " Plurality of Worlds," " Cosmogony and Evolution," and "The Sun " are typical chapter head- ings. The topical method leads to some awkward jumps between these chapters, and the treatment seems influ- enced by a kind of metrical philosophy. The idea of measurement and classification, whether of interplanetary dis- tances or stellar spectra, dominates Dr. Pannekoek's chronicle of modern astronomy. No value judgment can be assigned to this view; it is one man's preference and the reader will either sympathize with it or not. It leads to some useful and concise summaries, as in the history of star classification, and some imbalances, as in the treatment of the modern telescope, which is

of related topics over a limited time span in each chapter. The gain in short-period continuity is bought at the price of geographical and chronological backtracking between chapters, but with only a few exceptions the transi- tions between Pannekoek's chapters are accomplished smoothly.

A History of Astronomy is divided into three roughly equal sections, titled respectively, "Astronomy in the An- cient World," "Astronomy in Revolu- tion," and "Astronomy Surveying the Universe." Within this titular frame- work, it is significant that about half the book is used to cover the period before 1600. Considering the rapid accumulation of important astronomi- cal results in recent years, it would be fair to say that this is a tradition orient- ed history; it is perhaps most valuable in that sense. The early chapters pro- vide a useful synthesis of much special- ized research in ancient astronomy, and the first section reflects, in the reviewer's opinion, the most authorial interest. The second section is a fairly standard treatment of the fourteenth to eighteenth centuries, preceded by an abbreviated survey (" Dark Europe ") of the ninth to thirteenth centuries; the only chapters that might be called outstanding in this section are those that treat English and French practical astronomy in the eighteenth century.

The last part of the book alternates between cosmology and the evolution of astrophysics. " Plurality of Worlds," " Cosmogony and Evolution," and "The Sun " are typical chapter head- ings. The topical method leads to some awkward jumps between these chapters, and the treatment seems influ- enced by a kind of metrical philosophy. The idea of measurement and classification, whether of interplanetary dis- tances or stellar spectra, dominates Dr. Pannekoek's chronicle of modern astronomy. No value judgment can be assigned to this view; it is one man's preference and the reader will either sympathize with it or not. It leads to some useful and concise summaries, as in the history of star classification, and some imbalances, as in the treatment of the modern telescope, which is

slighted at the expense of the helio- meter and the filar micrometer. This last section is interesting enough to leave the reader unsatisfied with its rather abrupt ending; "What came next?" will probably be a common reaction.

Dr. Pannekoek's style, while not grip- ping, is steady and readable. Its slight stiffness has not been alleviated by the translation. The publishers give no translator's credit; this is a disservice to author, translator (no matter how much he is paid), and reader alike. There are a few errors (for example, the objective diameter of the Lick refractor is reduced to 26 inches), but they are scarce, and more important, obvious. The illustrations are mostly useful, but it is not likely that the inclusion of a photograph of the Jodrell Bank Radio Telescope will do anything to bring the book up to date when radio astronomy is not mentioned in the text or index. The reviewer's copy of this book appeared to have been reproduced photo- graphically rather than printed from plates, and, its legibility left something to be desired. In summary, A History of Astronomy is a useful, traditional, carefully written synthesis, individual- istic enough that its value to the reader may fluctuate widely from chapter to chapter; those interested in surveying ancient astronomy will probably enjoy it most.

MORTON GROSSER Palo Alto, California

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J. R. PARTINGTON. A History of Chem- istry. Volume II. xxiv + 795 pp., illus., indices. London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1961.

This is the first volume to be published of a projected four-volume work of which the third has also appeared. The whole has been in the course of preparation for many years, which may account for the lack of an introductory guide to the present volume; Professor Partington has obviously not realized that the scheme of the whole, so long familiar to him, will elude the unin-

slighted at the expense of the helio- meter and the filar micrometer. This last section is interesting enough to leave the reader unsatisfied with its rather abrupt ending; "What came next?" will probably be a common reaction.

Dr. Pannekoek's style, while not grip- ping, is steady and readable. Its slight stiffness has not been alleviated by the translation. The publishers give no translator's credit; this is a disservice to author, translator (no matter how much he is paid), and reader alike. There are a few errors (for example, the objective diameter of the Lick refractor is reduced to 26 inches), but they are scarce, and more important, obvious. The illustrations are mostly useful, but it is not likely that the inclusion of a photograph of the Jodrell Bank Radio Telescope will do anything to bring the book up to date when radio astronomy is not mentioned in the text or index. The reviewer's copy of this book appeared to have been reproduced photo- graphically rather than printed from plates, and, its legibility left something to be desired. In summary, A History of Astronomy is a useful, traditional, carefully written synthesis, individual- istic enough that its value to the reader may fluctuate widely from chapter to chapter; those interested in surveying ancient astronomy will probably enjoy it most.

MORTON GROSSER Palo Alto, California

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J. R. PARTINGTON. A History of Chem- istry. Volume II. xxiv + 795 pp., illus., indices. London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1961.

This is the first volume to be published of a projected four-volume work of which the third has also appeared. The whole has been in the course of preparation for many years, which may account for the lack of an introductory guide to the present volume; Professor Partington has obviously not realized that the scheme of the whole, so long familiar to him, will elude the unin-

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BOOK REVIEWS

structed reader. Lacking assistance from the author, the reviewer must proceed by historical deduction from the document itself; it is to be hoped that the author will forgive any inad- vertent misinterpretation.

The volume under consideration be- gins with Leonardo da Vinci and some sixteenth-century contemporaries and ends with Boerhaave and his Dutch and English counterparts in the eighteenth century. In between lie a vast number of Continental and English chemists, but almost no French chemists, who are reserved for Volume III. As this im- plies, the design is not chronological but topical, though many will feel that Lemery's work (for example) is closer to that of Tachenius than to that of Geoffrey. The name of a single chemist is often used for a chapter title, but usually several other names are grouped with his. The treatment of the subject matter is roughly biographical, though chemical developments are carefully in- terspersed with brief discussions of the philosophies of Bruno, Campanella, Bacon, Descartes and Gassendi.

In his Preface, the author remarks that " since the books of Hoefer (1842- 3) and Kopp (1843-7) there has been no comprehensive work based on original sources" and hence that his aim has been to supply such a work. This is at once the strength and the weakness of A History of Chemistry: for it is based on a nineteenth-century view of the history of science, which has led to a vast accumulation of facts tempered by an insufficient admixture of ideas. There are a startling number of chemists (mainly German) mentioned here, nearly all provided with biography, list of works with very complete titles, many quotations (almost all in the original), a summary account of the views of the chemist under discussion, and (for the more important chemists) a very complete bibliography. This is therefore a reference work; it is not an enlargement of Partington's deservedly popular Short History of Chemistry, but an encyclo- pedia.

One curious aspect of the book, de- rived undoubtedly both from its aim and from the necessarily long period

over which its author has been collect- ing his material, is that both text and bibliography are firmly rooted in the nineteenth century. No distinction is made between authorities of over a hundred years ago and those of the last generation; hence old problems are kept alive to clutter the pages and inter- fere with more useful material. Thus over three pages of text and footnotes are devoted to discussing the " Basil Valentine" question, although no his- torian of chemistry would now regard it as a question at all, since Johann Tholde is universally regarded as the author of The Triumphal Chariot of Antimony, which itself is universally regarded as a characteristic work of the late sixteenth or early seventeenth century. Similarly for other chemists: refer- ences to now-discredited authors raise unnecessary complications. Thus, although Fulton's bibliography of Boyle is mentioned, Zeitlinger's Sotheran catalogue, not Fulton's work, is cited as authority. And though recent New- tonian scholarship is cited in the bibliographical footnotes, there is no discussion in the text of Newton's real work in chemistry, though there is of his (supposed) alchemy. Again, as New- ton's theory of matter is (briefly) discussed in a chapter on " The Revival of Atomism " following brief comments on Gassendi, Morin, and Charleton, the implication is that Newton was an Epi- curean, though in fact the text cor- rectly indicates that Boyle (discussed in a later chapter) and Descartes were greater influences.

But, in spite of such shortcomings, this will be an enormously useful work for historians of chemistry. (Curiously, the author mentions chemists, not historians, as his intended audience, perhaps another example of his nineteenth- century approach.) Nowhere else is so much useful information gathered to- gether in one convenient place; nowhere else is there information on so many obscure German chemists. No other history provides such detailed bibliographies of primary sources. The quotations and summaries will be invaluable for students and as a guide to further work. There are excellent illus-

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trations well reproduced, helping to make this an altogether handsome volume. It will be an essential work of reference for many years to come, and historians of chemistry will find it an essential, if sometimes infuriating, volume to have on the shelves. It is much to be hoped that Volumes I and IV may soon be available. Partington's name will probably be remembered alongside the nineteenth-century com- pilers like Kopp whom he took as models.

MARIE BOAS HALL

Imperial College, London

ROBERT B. AUSTIN. Early American Medical Imprints: A Guide to Works Printed in the United States. 1668-1820. x + 240 pp., key to symbols, chronological index, appendix. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, 1961. $1.00.

This check list of medical Americana through 1820 is invaluable to all who are working in early American medical history. Painstakingly compiled by Robert Austin, formerly of the Nation- al Library of Medicine, it was published as part of the celebration of the Library's 125th anniversary, and encom- passes all known medical imprints published in the territory of the present United States. In addition to the ex- tensive holdings of the National Li- brary which were used to describe most of the titles, the resources of 35 other selected libraries were explored. Alto- gether 2106 titles are described.

The arrangement of the list is alphabetical: by author when the name is known, or by title if no author can be ascribed. Items listed under an author have an alphabetical arrangement by title, as in a library catalogue. Each item has been assigned a key number. The description of each book includes the location of copies as well as useful bibliographical annotations. An appendix consists of a Chronological In- dex by which one can ascertain which books were published in any given year. Another appendix lists entries from


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MARIE BOAS HALL





Evans' American Bibliography which the compiler and his collaborators have been unable to locate, and it is sus- pected that they are spurious. A minor criticism of the typography is that the key numbers assigned to the items were not printed in bold type and therefore are difficult to see when one is searching for them.

The list is impeccable and will un- questionably be the standard reference work for librarians and historians alike, replacing Evans in the medico-historical field. Since researchers like to have as much as possible of their work done for them, my only regret is that Early American Medical Imprints does not have a subject index. May I also pro- test the use of an " army regulation" olive-drab binding on an otherwise well, if modestly, designed book. But one cannot have everything for a dollar, and this book is an outstanding bar- gain.

GENEVIEVE MILLER Western Reserve University

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[OVID.] The Halieutica Ascribed to Ovid. Edited by J. A. Richmond. (Vol- ume 2 of the University of London Classical Studies.) xii + 120 pp. Lon- don: The Athlone Press, 1962. $6.75.

The Halieutica is a Latin poem con- sisting of 134 hexameters whose subject, as the Greek title indicates, is sea- fishing. It is preserved to us in a highly fragmentary and corrupt form. The present edition is condensed from the editor's Ph. D. thesis (University of London, 1957). The work was done under the inspiration and guidance of Professor O. Skutsch, acknowledged with fitting warmth by the editor in his Foreword, and this is in itself a high warrant for its basic excellence.

The edition consists of an introduc- tion dealing with the manuscripts and previous editions, followed by the text with critical apparatus, a commentary, several appendices dealing with lin- guistic and metrical matters and with imitations and parallels in other authors, a bibliography, and an index. The editor would have been well ad-




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A History of Chemistry. Volume IIby J. R. Partington