The History of Science

School Library Journal

Gr 6-9-The author of Astrology: A History (Abrams, 2001) and other specialized studies in the development of modern science offers a ruminative overview of the entire subject for young readers. The arrangement is topical, but with a chronological tendency; the author begins with a survey of science in ancient Europe and the Middle East, and devotes subsequent volumes to medieval (including Islamic) science and to "Traditions of Science Outside Europe" (i.e., in China, India and the Americas). He then focuses on Western science from the Renaissance to the mid-1990s. The 15 to 20 articles within each volume summarize particular fields ("Electricity: Faraday, Maxwell, and Hertz"); survey broad areas ("Ancient India: Mathematics and Astronomy"); or critique current theories ("Astronomy: What Remains to Be Discovered?"). Each volume closes with an identical list of print and Web resources, plus a comprehensive index that compensates in part for the lack of internal see references. Along with his general narrative, the author profiles a select but diverse company of scientists, either within the main text or in sidebars. Enhanced by generous quantities of well-chosen, sharply reproduced photos, prints, diagrams, schematics, maps, and other illustrations, this set will draw both browsers and assignment-driven readers. Although its scope precludes much depth of detail, it will fill a gap in reference collections between general encyclopedias and more monumental resources like the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology (McGraw-Hill, 2002).-John Peters, New York Public Library Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.