Biography: science, technology and medicine Books

Book SynopsisVorwort.- 1. Frühe Jahre.-  2. Das kritische Genie.- 3. Spätere Jahre.- 4. Der Pauli-Effekt.

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Book SynopsisJohan David Åkerblad (1763–1819) contributed to the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs and Demotic and is known as a predecessor of Jean-François Champollion. This intellectual biography offers a new and less heroic interpretation of the first reading of the Egyptian scripts. Åkerblad, an exceptional linguist, was a diplomat and orientalist who spent several decades living in the Ottoman Empire, France and Italy. Of humble birth, he was a supporter of the French Revolution – something that stymied his career. His life cannot be understood in a purely Swedish national framework, and this study firmly situates him as an international scholar. The book discusses European expansion in the Eastern Mediterranean during the tumultuous decades around the year 1800, and traces Åkerblad’s momentous life in relation to the debates on ‘orientalism,’ the tradition of classical studies and the history of science.Trade Review‘’This is a sad but admirable work, well-written and well-researched. It is also extremely well-illustrated; the color plates of Åkerblad’s work in hieroglyphics are especially fine.’’ In: Reference & Research Book News, December 2013 p. 37.Table of ContentsList of Figures, Tables and Plates Acknowledgements List of abbreviations Introduction Part I – The making of a diplomat and orientalist 1. Family and education 2. Constantinople – city of rumours 3. Diplomacy and intrigue 4. Travel in the East 5. War in Egypt 6. Mixing East and West 7. “The sabre in one hand and the Koran in the other” Part II – 1789–1801: Revolution and turmoil 8. Return to Europe 9. To Constantinople and back 10. “A dangerous man of Enlightenment” 11. The Roman Republic 1798–99 12. Final year in Sweden Part III – Reading Egyptian: deciphering the Rosetta inscriptions 13. “I am alive only in Paris” 14. Åkerblad’s Rosetta Lettre 15. Geographic competition 16. Egyptology and orientalism Part IV – The Napoleonic wars and Restoration in Italy 17. Book thefts, inkblots and French expropriations 18. Antiquarian in Rome 19. Salons and belle amiche 20. Curses and cabals 21. Oriental Rome 22. Archaeology and art 23. French defeat 24. Digging with the Duchess of Devonshire 25. “Despised by Sweden and by every Swede” Conclusion References Indexes

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Book SynopsisIn Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, Master of the Minuscule, the Father of Microbiology is presented in the context of his time, relationships and the Dutch Golden Age. Although he lacked an academic education, he dedicated his life to investigating the microscopic world using handmade, single-lensed microscopes and magnifiers. An expert observer, he planned experiments and designed equipment to test his theories. His pioneering discoveries included blood cells, protozoa, bacteria and spermatozoa, and resulted in an international reputation among the scientific and upper classes of 17th and 18th century Europe, aided by his Fellowship of the Royal Society of London. This lavishly illustrated biography sets his legacy of scientific achievements against the ideas and reactions of his fellow scientists and other contemporaries.Trade Review"Antoni van Leeuwenhoek: Master of the Minuscule presents an engaging and copiously illustrated biography in a format which should suit a wide audience and age range. It's the English edition of the biography first published in Dutch by Veen Media in 2014 entitled Van Leeuwenhoek, groots in het kleine. [...] The authors have found a good balance for the level of depth presented without becoming a dry read. [...] The style chosen doesn't use either in-text numbered references or footnotes and presents a more inviting read than the sometimes dense appearance of a heavily annotated monograph. [...] The reproduction of the illustrations is to a high standard, presented on bright white paper and incorporated into the body of the text rather than as separate plates. Together with an attractive hardback cover it is a book that is inviting to read. [...] The authors successfully present imagery (including darkfield) which provides an insight into the sort of views Van Leeuwenhoek may have seen, rather than use modern microscopes and techniques. [...] I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book and deserves a wide audience for those wishing to learn more of Van Leeuwenhoek's life and work." – David Walker in the June 2016 edition of Micscape (the online monthly magazine of the Microscopy UK web site at http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk). The full review can be read here.Table of Contents1 The Early Years 2 Return to Delft 3 Antoni’s First Brush with Science 4 Van Leeuwenhoek’s Microscopes 5 Antoni van Leeuwenhoek and His Microorganisms 6 The Discovery of the “Semine genitali Animalculis” or Spermatozoa 7 Antoni van Leeuwenhoek and the Question of Generation 8 The Circulation of Blood 9 Secrets of Nature 10 The Famous Van Leeuwenhoek 11 The End of a Long Life 12 The Scientific Legacy of Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Timeline

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Book SynopsisWinner of the 2021 Donald E. Osterbrock Book Prize for Historical Astronomy In Decoding the Stars, Ileana Chinnici offers an account of the life of the Jesuit scientist Angelo Secchi (1818-1878). In addition to providing an invaluable account of Secchi’s life and work—something that has been sorely lacking in the English-language scholarship—this biography will be especially stimulating for those interested in the evolution of astrophysics as a discipline from the nineteenth century onward. Despite his eclecticism, reminiscent of the natural philosophers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Secchi was in many ways a very modern scientist: open to innovation and cooperation, and a promoter of popularization and citizen science. Secchi also appears fully inserted in the cultural context of his time: he participated in philosophical and scientific debates, spread new theories and ideas, but also suffered the consequences of political events that marked those years and impacted on his life and activities.Trade Review“Excellent biography […] Historians of science, whatever their national origin, should become familiar with the achievements of Father Secchi.” Naomi Pasachoff, Williams College. In: Metascience, Vol. 29, No. 1 (March 2020), pp. 77–80 (2020). “[This] will undoubtedly be the standard work on this remarkable Jesuit astronomer.” Wayne Orchiston, National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand, and Centre for Astrophysics, University of Southern Queensland. In: Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, Vol. 23, No. 1 (April 2020), pp. 227–228. “This excellent book not only presents Secchi’s scientific contributions and his personality but also situates him in the fascinating mix of science, politics and society of the Italian late nineteenth century.” Augustín Udías, Universidad Complutense, Madrid. In: Journal for the History of Astronomy, Vol. 52, No. 1 (2021), pp. 111–112. “Chinnici’s excellent biography gives us a thorough and strongly felt portrait of Secchi’s personality and work, especially, through his letters and writings. This is an important work for the history of astronomy and astrophysics in Italy; more generally, it aids the historical exploration of Jesuit contributions to science and the wider relationship between science and religion.” Agustín Udías, S.J., Universidad Complutense, Madrid. In: Archivum Historicum Societatis Iesu, Vol. 88, fasc. 176 (2019-II), pp. 611–613.Table of ContentsForeword  Br. Guy Consolmagno, S.J. Foreword  Nichi D’Amico Preface  Ileana Chinnici Acknowledgments List of Illustrations Introduction: A Century in Ferment 1 Secchi’s Early Life and Education: From Childhood to the Priesthood 2 The Experience of Exile: A Tragic Opportunity 3 Establishing the New Collegio Romano Observatory: An Observatory for “Physical Astronomy” 4 Advisor to the Papal States: Science in the Service of the Public 5 A Rising International Career: Travels, Achievements, and Recognition 6 Contributions to Astrophysics 7 A Crucial Political Change: New Risks and Missed Opportunities 8 A Society for a New Astronomy: Building a Network for Spectroscopic Research 9 A Controversial Personality: Secchi and the Scientific Debates of His Time 10 Secchi’s Final Years: Illness and Uncertainty Conclusion: Secchi’s Scientific Legacy Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisCoenraad Jacob Temminck and the Emergence of Systematics (1800–1850) is the first study to examine in detail the life and work of Coenraad Jacob Temminck (1778–1858), the Dutch naturalist who was the first director of ’s Rijks Museum van Natuurlijke Historie (National Museum of Natural History) in Leiden, The Netherlands. This study situates Temminck’s activities in the context of European natural history during the early to the mid-nineteenth century. Three issues which defined the era are discussed in more detail: the growing European colonial territories, the rise of scientific meritocracy, and the emergence of systematics as a discipline. Temminck’s biography elucidates how and why systematics developed, and why its status within the natural sciences has been a matter of discussion for more than a century.Table of ContentsAcknowledgments List of Illustrations Abbreviations Note on Quotations and Translations Introduction  1 Portraits of Coenraad Jacob Temminck  2 On Dutch Natural History  3 Summary of the Chapters  4 A Word of Caution: On Definitions part 1: Birds, Cabinets, and Museums 1 From Catalogs to Monographs  1 Exotic Birds on Cupboards and Plates  2 François Levaillant and Bernhard Meyer  3 From Listing to Classifying  4 Temminck’s Earliest Monographs 2 From Collector to Director  1 Appointments and Politics  2 The Direction of ’s Lands Kabinet  3 Collections for the Universities  4 Building Up a Network  5 The Concept of a National Museum 3 National Museum, National Expeditions  1 The Birth of ’s Rijks Museum van Natuurlijke Historie  2 Temminck’s Directorate  3 Colonial Nature  4 A Worldwide Web of Collectors 4 A Place for Systematics  1 The Museum’s Scientific Output  2 Temminck’s Podium  3 The Geography of Systematics Part 2: Zoological Classification: 1800–1850 5 Patterns, Laws, and Types  1 Geographical Patterns and the “Type” Concept  2 Temminck’s Law versus Buffon’s Law  3 On the Origin and Immutability of Species  4 After Temminck’s Law 6 Systematics Wars  1 Temminck’s Debates  2 Nomenclatural Chaos  3 Establishing Genera  4 The Search for a Natural Classification System  5 The ‘Parliamentary Practice’ 7 Systematics and Natural History: 1800–1850  1 Defining ‘Natural History’  2 The Issue of Philosophical Arguments  3 The Status of Anatomy and Physiology  4 Systematics within Natural History Conclusion: The Emergence of Systematics Appendix Bibliography Index

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