This shrub, also known as fuzzy deutzia, about 10 ft-tall, belongs to a genus comprising about 60 species, most of them Chinese in origin. The…
A scientist and a writer
A scientist and a writer
This shrub, also known as fuzzy deutzia, about 10 ft-tall, belongs to a genus comprising about 60 species, most of them Chinese in origin. The…
Lindens are trees gracing many a European village. Their traditional uses include collecting honey and making tea, also from their flowers. They rise up to…
This is the scholarly name for the kiwi fruit-bearing plant, that came from Southern China in rather recent times. Worldwide, there are three genera and…
The Road to Scientific Success: Inspiring Life Stories of Prominent Researchers. Volume 1. Edited by DEBORAH D.L. CHUNG. Pp. xi + 230, illus., index. World Scientific: Singapore and London. 2006. £33.00 (hbk); £17.00 (pbk).
ISBN: 981-256-600-7 (hbk); 981-256-466-7 (pbk).
Nature not Mocked: Places, People and Science. By PETER DAY. Pp. x + 262, illus., index. Imperial College Press: London. 2005. $48.00. ISBN: 1-86094-576-7.
Candid Science: Conversations with Famous Chemists. By István Hargittai, and edited by Magdolna Hargittai. Pp. xii + 516, illus., index. Imperial College Press: London. 2000. £48.00 (hbk); £21.00 (pbk). ISBN: 1-86094-151-6 (hbk); 1-86094-228-8 (pbk).
Candid Science V: Conversations with Famous Scientists. By Balazs Hargittai and István Hargittai. Pp. xiii + 695, illus., index. Imperial College Press: London. 2005. £34.00. ISBN: 1-86094-506-6 (pbk).
These four books elicit biographical information from the subjects themselves. They exemplify pitfalls of biography well-familiar to historians.1 They signal paths for biographers in general, oral biographers in particular. Their marginal value is to point to new directions which chemical science has entered.
One should not underestimate, as is currently fashionable, the merits of a biographical approach. To put it into a nutshell: “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.”2
ChemBioChem, 2004, 5, 1302. H. F. Ebel, C. Bliefert, W. E. Russey, The Art of Scientific Writing. From Student Reports to Professorial Publications in Chemistry…
South American Indians have given us quite a few vegetables now grown all over the world, such as potatoes, tomatoes, beans and corn. A possible…
This shrub of the fragrant white flowers is redolent of tall tales. The genus name? Have you guessed an allusion to gardening? You would be…
Its healing virtues made Linnaeus name it Asclepias, after the Greek God of medi-cine. The genus Asclepias, part of the family of Apocynaceae, to which…
Crocus sativus (Iridaceae) It is a small, low-lying plant found in meadows with a flower seemingly dispropor-tionate to its stem. It flowers, in temperate…
Jasmine (Olivaceae) The genus encompasses several species. Surprisingly, they belong to the same family as olive trees.The adjective “exuberant” springs to mind: jasmine, an evergreen…