3 ll t Ch 10 (1991
mained an important consideration. The flow-type calomel nt Appl d t r C ntr l" Ind. Eng. Chem., 19 14, electrode could be replaced by one designed to give an almost 1 1 -1 1 negligible flow of potassium chloride solution. One of the 1 C Arth r nd E A K l r "A M t r f r rd n th most successful designs, described in 1947, made use of a Al l n t f l r- d W t r" Power, 19 55, 7 -77 controlled-crack junction tube (19). Pyrex glass was used for 15 C C C n "C nt n M r nt f p th Q nh - the body of the tube, A hole 5 to 10 mm in diameter was blown dr n El tr d " Ind. Eng. Chem., Anal. Ed., 1931 3, - 7 in the bottom and the hole was closed by sealing in a plug of 16.J. T. St W C rd nd M G r " h Ant n - glass having a high coefficient of expansion. After proper Ant n Ox d El tr d " Chem, Rev., 195 58, 11- annealing, a permanent crack of controlled dimensions was 17 G A rl "Ant n El tr d f r Ind tr l dr n- obtained. A typical leak rate was 0.006 mL/hr. I n M r nt " Ind. Eng. Chem., Anal. Ed., 1939 11, 31 -31 Because of improvements in instrumentation, the high 1 G A rl "Ch r t r t f th Ant n El tr d " resistance of the glass electrode ceased to be a handicap, and Ind. Eng. Chem., Anal. Ed., 1939 11, 319-3 it became the pH electrode of choice. Once this had occurred, 19 G A rl An Ind tr l S lt- r d n t n b " highly-specialized glasses that provided a stable, much im- Trans. Am. Electrochem. Soc., 19 7 92, 97-5 proved performance were discovered and exploited (20-22). G A rl "C p t n f p - p n v Gl " Anal. Chem., 19 9 21, 391-39 f r n nd t 1 G A rl "p p n f Gl El tr d " Anal. Chem., 19 9 21, 559-5 A n l d nt h r p rt ll rr d t nd r th G A rl "p - p n v Gl El tr d " U S t nt r h ll h p r r f th S n M nd n I 5 19 t r t f l t ph A M G r n f th n r p rt nt f d & rthr p f r b r nd nf r t n n E rl K l r John T. Stock is Professor Emeritus in the Department of 1 b r nd Kl n z "Ob r l tr h Chemistry of the University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, h n r nz r ft " Phys. Chem., 19 9 67, 3 5- 31 and is especially interested in the history of chemical instru- St "E n r l n (1 73-19 p t r n t n mentation and electrochemistry. M d E " J. Chem. Educ., 19 9 66, 91 -91 3 St " S d nd S l n " Trends Anal. Chem., 19 3 1- OLD CHEMISTRIES A M n S l n C E M r nd l " h Ch f th dr n El tr d th f r th El tr t v James Tytler's "A System of Chemistry" S r " n St nd M Orn d Electrochemistry, Past and Present, A r n Ch l S t W h n t n C 19 9 William D. Williams, Harding University pp 1 7-1 1 5 W d S S nd nd "El tr tr In the year 1791, the United States was slowly becoming a M th d f r th E t t n f th A d t f n r " J. Soc. nation. George Washington was in the third year of his Chem. Ind. (London), 1911 30, 7 - 77 presidency. Vermont became the 14th state. The Bill of Rights E A K l r "I n -C n ntr t n M t r" U S t nt amendments to the Constitution went into effect. And Phila- 1 5 19 delphia publisher Thomas Dobson marketed A System of 7 E A K l r "El tr d f r I n C n ntr t n Eff t " U S Chemistry (1). This volume was the second full-size chemistry t nt 1 7 151 19 3 book published in America (2) and the first American imprint E A K l r "M th d f nd App r t f r Obt n n I n to introduce the new chemistry of Lavoisier and his French C n ntr t n Eff t " U S t nt 1 7 59 19 3 colleagues (3). 9 I S th ndE A K l r "I n C n ntr t n C ntr l" U A year earlier, Dobson had begun the ambitious task of S t nt 1 5 19 publishing an American edition of the 18-volume Encyclopae- 1 G A rl "C ntr l M th d n th Ch l Ind tr " dia Britannica. He was pirating the third Edinburgh edition of Chem. & Ind. (London), 1931 50, 5 - Britannica, which was issued in 300 parts from 1788 to 1797. 11 E A K l r "C ntr l f Al l n t " Facts About Sugar, As each part reached America, Dobson would have a few of the 19 1 12, 9 ; t d n Chem. Abstr, 19 1 15, 7 articles edited by Americans and issue half-volume sections 1 E A K l r " h Appl t n f I n-C n ntr t n M - every ten weeks, The American title, Encyclopaedia; or r nt t th C ntr l f Ind tr l r " Ind. Eng. Chem., Dictionary of Arts, Sciences and Miscellaneous Literature. 19 14, 395-39 merely omitted the word "Britannica" from that of the Ed- 13 E A K l r " dr n I n nd Oth r El tr l M r - inburgh edition, Title pages bear the date 1798 because front
ll t Ch 1 (1991 35 pages were not printed until all 36 half-volumes were finished. During 1791 Dobson was working on volume IV, which contained a 238- page article on chemistry (4). Using the same type prepared for the Encyclopaedia, he also published it as a separate monograph under the title, A System of Chemistry, Nicely bound in full calf, the volume used superior quality paper manufactured in Pennsylvania and special type was cast for the work by Baine and Company of Philadelphia (5). With small print on 8 x 10 inch pages, it was the equivalent of 400 to 500 pages of typical size and type. It was an impressive, comprehensive treatise on chemistry, the first such published in America, Dobson would later pirate another treatise on chemistry from the Britannica Supplement of 1800. Table 1 summarizes the relationship of early chemistry to the Encyclo- paedia Britannica (6), Lavoisier's new nomenclature was mentioned in an appen- dix, which contained "discoveries as have appeared since the compilation of the article". It gave quotations from Lavoisier's explanation of the new system and inserted a folded chart contrasting the new names with the ancient names. This chart had been copied into the Edinburgh edition from the 1790 London edition of Fourcroy 's Elements ofNatural History and Chemistry (7). A personal comment from the Britannica James Tytler (22) author indicated that he was not yet converted to the new system: "Whatever may be the defects of the old one [nomen- by Mr. James Tytler, chemist, a man who though his conduct has been clature], we are ready to be involved in much greater difficul- marked by imprudence, possesses no common share of science and ties by the introduction of a new one." Although admitting that genius. the new system "has attracted no small degree of attention", he worried that future innovations would result in "endless vo- The uncertainty of the editor George Glaig 's statement is due cabulary" (8), to his being hired in 1793, after the work was well in progress, Although no author is listed in System of Chemistry, it was By that time, the original editor, Macfarquhar, had died and written by James Tytler (1747-1805). An eccentric character, Tytler had left the country. Tytler was at various times a chemist, physician, printer and The preface of the Britannica also contained a cryptic publisher, literary hack, balloon aeronaut and political gadfly. acknowledgment to Joseph Black (11): He was commonly called "Balloon Tytler" from being the first person in Great Britain to fly in a hot air balloon. The poet There is, however, no man to whom the proprietors of the En l p Robert Burns described Tytler as (9): d r t nn f l themselves under greater obligation than to Dr. Black for the very handsome offer he made to the person who was at ... an obscure, tippling, though extraordinary body of the name of first entrusted with the chemical department of the work, Tytler, commonly known under the name of Balloon Tytler, from his having projected a balloon; a mortal who, though he drudges about Joseph Black (1728-1799), professor of chemistry at the Edinburgh as a common printer, with leaky shoes, a sky-lighted hat, University of Edinburgh from 1766 to 1796, was the foremost andknee-buckles as unlike as George-by-the-grace-of-God and Solo- British chemist of the time. It is not known what contribution mon-the-son-of-David, yet that same unknown mortal is author and Black made to Tytler's chemistry treatise, Perhaps he re- compiler of three-fourths of Elliot's pompous Encyclopaedia Br itan- viewed Tytler's work or perhaps he allowed Tytler to use his nica, which he composed at half a guinea a week. library, Although Black's Lectures on Chemistry, edited by John Robison, were not published until 1803, many student The preface to the Edinburgh third edition of Brltannica manuscript copies were in circulation at the time Tytler wrote stated (10): his article, A comparison of Tytler's work with Black's Lectures, however, reveals no particular similarity. Tytler Aerology, aerostation, chemistry, electricity, gunnery, hydrostatics, does not refer to Black any differently than other authorities, mechanics, meteorology with most separate articles in the various Indeed, Tytler mentions Crawford's work on heat more than branches of natural history. we have reason to believe were compiled that of Black. 3 ll t Ch 1 (1991
One is impressed with the thoroughness of Tytler's System bl 1 E rl Ch tr n th Encyclopaedia Britannica ( of Chemistry. It was a masterful composite of the state of chemistry in 1791. It reads as though Tytler had made an 1st Edinburgh (3 v 1771 Ed t d b W ll S ll h exhaustive search of the existing literature, He used current t bl h d th p l f pr h n v tr t n j r research from the Philosophical Transactions and the Chemi- bj t h 11 -p rt l n h tr nt ll as well as from various "Berlin Memoirs", and cal Annals, p f M M r Elements of the Theory and Practlce "French Memoirs." Almost every paragraph named a scientist of Chemistry (3rd Ed nb r h 17 A f l d t n f and gave a concise summary of his concept, experiment or th 1771 Britannica p bl h d n 19 ( contribution. Specific references were rarely given, but liter- 2nd Edinburgh (1 v 1777-17 Ed t d nd l r l ally hundreds of authorities from many countries were identi- r tt n b tl r h 9 -p rt l n h tr fied with such phrases as "Mr. has observed", "According r tt n b tl r to Mr. ", "Dr. is of the opinion", etc. 3rd Edinburgh (18 v 17 -1797 Ed t d b G r Gl Few quotations were present; Tytler preferred to summa- tl r ntr b t d j r n rt l n l d- rize the work of others, He was remarkably adept at extracting n th 9-p rt l n h tr the essence of a large, complicated topic. He would often give 1st Philadelphia (1 v 179 -179 Ed t d b h the explanations of more than one person for the same concept. b n A p rtl r r tt n p f th 3rd Ed nb r h b- Although phlogistonist views were used, he recognized that l h d v r t n n 3 h lf-v l p rt b nd n Lavoisier had performed conflicting experiments. b rd C pl t 1 v l t d t d 179 r b nd n Tytler does not appear to have used any single work as a lf h rt l n h tr (v I pp 37 - 37 basis for his treatise. The only sources he mentioned by name r pr nt f th Ed nb r h r n l h l p r t l were: "The Chemical Dictionary" (probably Macquer's d A System of Chemistry... (pp 9 pl f ld d h rt Dictionnaire de Chymie), Scheele's Chemical anonymous h l d lph 1791 Essays, Lewis' Commercium Philosophico-Technicum or Supplement to 3rd Edinburgh ( v 1 -1 1 h Philosophical Commerce of the Arts. "Kirwan's treatise on h n r t th h tr tr t ntr d n h l phlogiston", "Crawford's treatise on heat", "Shaw's edition of b l f r th f r t t h rt l b th b f Boerhaave", and Wiegleb's System of Chemistry. h n System of Chemistry ( v Ed nb r h 1 h The book contained five sections: History (pages 5-8), f r t v l n n l r pr nt d A New System of Theory (pages 9-89), Practice (pages 89-230), Tables (pages Chemistry Comprising the Latest Discoveries and Improve- 230a-246). and Index (pages 247-269), The contents were well ments of the Science (3 pp h l d lph 1 Alth h outlined with headings and paragraph topics were given in n t n th t tl p th v l l nt n d rt l n margin notes, Three plates depicted chemical symbols. fur- n r l n l nd v t bl b t n nd d n naces and glass laboratory vessels. In addition to the table of b t n h h tr rt l (pp 1-19 d t d th new nomenclature described above, there was a 15-page table f tn t b A r n nt t h S th ( 1 A of the classification of chemical substances. This table was an nd r pr nt n pp r d A New System of Chemistry updated version of one that appeared in the 1771 first edition including Mineralogy and Vegetable, Animal and Dyeing of Encyclopaedia Britannica. The extremely detailed index Substances ... b h h n (3 pp h l d lph even included a few paragraphs of text that apparently were last 1 3 Ex pt f r t tl p th d nt l t th pr v -minute additions, Except for the page numbers, all contents t ( 1 were identical to the Encyclopaedia article on chemistry. Supplement to 3rd Philadelphia (3 v 1 3 h rt l n On three occasions Tytler inserted a personal viewpoint. h tr (v I pp 57- 53 th th t n th t One of these is quoted above in the discussion of Lavoisier's pr v t new nomenclature, but perhaps the others will give an insight Supplement to 5th Edinburgh ( v 1 1 -1 W ll into his personality (12), Thus on page 81: r nd r t n f th thr n t rt l " rt t n h rd Exh b t n G n r l f th r r f Ch l It rpr n th t th bl h t h n th r n h d h l ph fr th E rl A t th nd f th E ht nth th pr v nt f th rt h t h rt d d n t p t v l C nt r " h t r l b th pr f t r nd f th nd f p r l n t th r v r tr l Wh n f r t r t Manual of Chemistry ( nd n 1 19 b t n t n l d d h t p bl h n th n n n p rf t t t nf r r n r n th 1 1 A r n d t n d t d b W ll M n v n d r d fr tt pt n t f n h h t h h b n It l r pr nt d Dissertation Third: Exhibiting a Gen- eral View of the Progress of Chemical Philosophy from the and again on page 100: Early Ages to the End of the Eighteenth Century, W ll h r nd (1 pp t n W ll nd ll 1 1 W nn t h r h lp n r r tt n th t h t f p r r ll t Ch 1 (1991 37
b l t h ld t l v v r p rt nt d v r nl h lf f n h d th t h t f nf r r r n n n t h t t f th
James Tytler was born in 1745 in rural Scotland, where his father was a minister in the parish of Fearn (13). At an early age he was apprenticed to a local surgeon. About 1764 he enrolled in medical classes at the University of Edinburgh, where he studied chemistry under William Cullen. During the following summer, Tytler served as a surgeon aboard the whaling ship Royal Bounty in the Greenland seas, Two months after his return to Edinburgh, at age 20, he was married to Elizabeth Rattray. This early marriage undoubtedly damaged a promising career. He did not return to medical classes and began a permanent struggle against poverty. Rec- ognizing that he was inadequately prepared to practice medi- cine, he opened an apothecary shop, In 1766 this business failed and he fled to Northern England to escape debtors prison, He continued to make a precarious living as a chemist, preparing medicines for established apothecaries. Returning to Edinburgh in 1772, he gradually turned to writing as a means of support. He began publishing a weekly magazine, but it failed after several months, He constructed his own printing press and published several religious works. Establishing a reputation as a "booksellers hack." he supplied translations, compilations and ghost articles for many publish- ers. He was uncommonly adept at abridging large works, which he often composed directly into type without writing a manuscript. His versatility, h v r not matched by business success. He was paid trifling sums. He drank heavily, lived in poverty, and provided miserably for his wife and five children. About 1775, his wife deserted him and took the children to live with her family. A second wife died in was published. He also published two English poetry transla- childbirth in 1782 and a third wife survived him, but poverty tions of Virgil's works. was their constant lot, While writing articles on "Flying" and "Air Balloons" for In 1775 debts caused Tytler to again flee prosecution. This the Encyclopaedia, Tytler became fascinated with the possibil- time he took refuge, under the right of sanctuary, in the Abbey ity of manned flight. The Montgolfier brothers had success- of Holyrood, registering as "James Tytler, chymist in Leith" fully ascended in a hot air balloon in France only the previous (14). By 1776 he was back in Edinburgh and accepted the offer year. On 19 June 1784, the following advertisement appeared of Bell and Macfarquhar to edit the second edition of the in the Edinburgh Evening Courant (15): Encyclopaedia Britannica for 17 shillings a week, Tytler labored on the Britannica from 1776 to 1784, It was On Monday next, the 21st current, will be exhibited at Comely Garden published in 101 parts and then bound as ten volumes, Some by James Tytler, chemist, a fire balloon, of 13 feet in circumference. of the articles were carried over from the first edition (pub- as a model of the Grand Edinburgh Fire Balloon, with which he lished in three volumes in 1771), but Tytler wrote an astonish- intends to attempt the navigation of the atmosphere. As this exhibi- ing three fourths of the 9000 pages, including the 92-page tion intended to give the public a demonstration of the principles article on chemistry, In spite of this demanding task, he p n h h the Great Balloon will ascend .., pursued other literary enterprises. Another weekly magazine lasted about six months, He began an abridgement of a 20- In an effort to gain subscriptions to finance his work, Tytler volume history of the world, composing at the type case with displayed the finished "Grand Edinburgh Fire Balloon" on 17 the open volumes before him. Only one volume of this July 1784. It was 40 feet high and 30 feet in diameter, with a abridgement, The General History of All Nations, Ancient and basket hung below that carried the aeronaut and a stove. Modern, covering from antiquity down to Alexander the Great, Because the stove weighed so much, Tytler removed it when 3 ll t Ch 1 (1991 the balloon was ready to ascend, After several failures and night of 8 January 1805, he fell into flood waters and drowned, postponements, on 27 August 1784 Tytler became the first Although writing may have been his means of livelihood, person in Great Britain to "navigate the air." Although the Tytler appeared to consider himself a chemist. No less than six flight was only about half a mile and reached only 350 feet, extant official documents list his occupation in Scotland as Tytler was hailed as a courageous pioneer. He designed a chemist. In the 1780s he helped construct a manufactory for larger stove and made other unsuccessful attempts, In a final magnesia, but was dismissed as soon as he got it into produc- trial, this time keeping the stove aboard, the balloon hit a tree tion. He developed a bleach for linen which was stolen by and the stove exploded, The balloon was heavily damaged and clothing merchants, He often procrastinated his writing to Tytler barely escaped injury. Public excitement waned and carry out experiments, one of which was an effort to construct balloon trials ceased, but Tytler continued to be known as a perpetual motion machine. A surviving diary of a friend in "Balloon Tytler." Unable to profit from admissions to his America described him as "a well n n chemist, forced to balloon experiments, Tytler again found himself unable to leave his native country on account of his political views" (19). meet his debts. For a second time he sought refuge in the After his death, his wife knew enough about his practice to debtors sanctuary at Holyrood, this time registering as "James advertise that she could prepare ether and other medicines for Tytler, chemist and baloon [sic] maker in Edinburgh" (16), the medical profession, By 1786, Tytler was back in Edinburgh working on the It is impossible to tell what influence Tytler's System of third edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, He was not Chemistry had on American science, It was not referenced in editor of this edition, but contributed some scientific articles, any of the American chemistry imprints from 1792 to 1800, including the 269-page treatise on chemistry, Interestingly, his when another Britannica rt l on chemistry was published, articles on aerology and aerostation did not include any men- European works were available, but, as the only American tion of his own efforts at balloon flight, systematic survey of chemistry, System must have been used At the same time he was working on the Britannlca, Tytler by serious chemists. One wonders if Tytler ever saw a copy of wrote comprehensive books on geography, travels and the this book, It was a remarkable contribution to his adopted history of Edinburgh, He published several songs and verses country, that came to the attention of the noted Scottish poet, Robert Burns. Burns' description of Tytler is quoted above, When References and Notes Tytler wrote a pamphlet in defense of Mary, Queen of Scots, Burns sent his picture and "A poetical address to Mr, James 1. A S t f Ch tr : C pr h nd n th t r , h r , Tytler," one stanza of which read (17): nd r t f th S n . A rd n t th t t v r nd I pr v nt . Extr t d fr th A rl n Ed t n f th En l I nd tr fl h d f b rd p d , bl hln , b n h l d lph 1791 A tr fl r l rth r r ; h f r t f ll- z A r n h tr b r v d n t pt t d r r f r rd W W ll nd W M l " hn n n t n Ch l nd E - S n r nt d n pr r n E " ll. t. Ch ., 1990, 8, 1 - 3 h nd v r l l t r A r n pr nt b t th n n - In 1788 Tytler's first wife, who had never been legally n l t r r d r b d n v n nd Kl t n " h divorced, sued for divorce and damages, A summons was Intr d t n f v r Ch l n l t r nt A r " issued for "James Tytler, sometimes druggist in Leath, now / 1954. 4 , 7 - 9 nd 3 -3 chymist at or near Edinburgh" (18). Typically destitute, Tytler 4. En l p d r t n r f Art , S n nd M l once again fled prosecution, The divorce was finally decreed l n t r t r ... . b n h l d lph 179 v pp 37 - while Tytler remained outside Scotland, 37 Upon his return to Edinburgh about 1791, Tytler became 5 C Ev n A r n bl r ph , l t r S th involved with a group advocating political reform, After he Y r 19 1 p published several critical works, a warrant was issued for his 6. H. K n h Gr t E. . h St r f th En l p d arrest and he fled to Ireland, When he failed to appear before r t nn , Un v r t f Ch r Ch 195 pp 3-3 ; the court in 1793, he was banished from his native land. In En l p d r t nn , 9th d l S l C Ch 1795 he and his third family sailed for the United States. 1 93 pp - 1 Settling in Salem, Massachusetts, Tytler supported him- 7 A r r El nt f t r l t r nd Ch tr , C self, as previously, by preparing medicines fordruggists and by Ell t nd K nd n 179 (thr v l f ld n h rt t th writing, He compiled an exhaustive Treatise on the Plague nd f v l thr h tr n l t n f r r Elé n and Yellow Fever (1799), In 1801 he was hired by a Salem d h l r n t r ll t d h , 3rd d C h t r 17 9 (f v bookseller, at 121/20 an hour, to compile a "Universal Geog- v l raphy", He had nearly finished that task when, on the stormy f r n 1 p 3 ll t Ch 1 (1991 39
9 Q t d n K n r f r n p 1 rn r f rr n t Excluding, for obvious reasons, modern reproductions of the th nd d t n f r t nn . Ell t l l b ll r classics by Thomas Thomson, Adolphe Wurtz, Ernst von 1 f r n v 1 p x Meyer, and M, M, Pattison Muir (originally published in 1830, .Ib d., p x v 1868, 1889, and 1907, respectively), this list includes 20th- 1 f r n 1 pp 1 nd 1 century works by James Partington, Henry Leicester, Aaron 13 h t pl t b r ph f tl r r n Ihde, Isaac Asimov, and Cecil Schneer. ll n tl r, b r nd b r nd n 197 Oth r r f nd n Of these, Ihde's 1964 volume, The Development of Modern K n f r n 5 pp 1 - ; t n r f t n l r ph , Chemistry, is by far the most detailed. Now available in an l 19 Oxf rd Un v r t r nd n 19 p 1379; Appl t n inexpensive Dover paperback reprint, its 851 pages cover the C l p d f A r n r ph , Appl t n l Y r period from the 18th century to around 1950. It also has the 1 9 p best selection of portraits and illustrations ever to appear in a 1 Q t d n r n r f r n 13 p general history of chemistry. Though its size and detail make .Ib d., p 3 it difficult to effectively use in a one-quarter course, it is the 6. b d., p 5 best single-volume reference still in print and belongs on the 17 Q t d n K n r f r n p 1 shelves of every serious collector of chemical literature, 1 Q t d n r n r f r n 13 p 1 A more manageable overview is the Dover reprint of 19 Ib d., p 137 Leicester's 1956 volume, The Historical Background of Chem- 20. En l p d r t nn , ll nd M f r h r Ed nb r h istry, Unlike Ihde's more detailed work, it gives equal treat- 17 9-71 l Ed t n En l p d r t nn In Ch - ment to alchemy and pre-18th century chemistry, though at the 19 h h tr rt l r v d n G bl "En l - expense of terminating its treatment of modern chemistry p d r t nn A l t d hl t n t xtb " . Ch . around 1920. At 260 pages, it is less than a third the length of Ed ., 1979 6, 375-37 Ihde's work, but purchases its brevity with a lack of detail and 1 W W ll "M t r Ed t r f E rl A r n Ch tr the absence of the fine selection of illustrations found in Ihde, xt " ll. t. Ch ., 19 2, -7 The most recent addition to Dover's list of quality paper- h n r v n f tl r t n th p r n fr backs is their reproduction of Partington s classic 1937 volume, K n r f r n np n t d ll tr t n t nt r f b A Short History of Chemistry, Despite the fact that it is 20 years An th r l n f nd n r n r f r n 13 p 1 5 older than Leicester's work, it is quite similar in both its length (386 pages) and period of coverage (prehistory - 1920), Asimov's 1965 book of identical title, A Short History of William D. Williams is Professor of Chemistry at Harding Chemistry (263 pages), was originally issued as an inexpensive University, Searcy, AR 72143. He collects and studies early paperback as part of Doubleday's Science Study Series, While American chemistry texts. it is certainly the most accessible account for the layman, it has no references and appears to have been based solely on secondary sources and encyclopedia articles, These problems, OOK O ES coupled with the fact that it is now only available as an expensive hardcover reproduction, largely preclude its use as From Caveman to Chemist, Hugh W, Salzberg, American a text in a serious history of chemistry course. Chemical Society, Washington, D.C., 1991, xix + 294 pp, Perhaps the most iconoclastic history currently in print is (Typeset), $14.95 (Paper), $24.95 (Cloth), Cecil Schneer's 1969 volume, Mind and Matter (305 pages). While primarily a history of chemistry, it attempts, as its title There has never been a shortage of books dealing with the suggests, to inject sizable doses of the history of physics and history of chemistry, In a 1974 bibliographic study, Jost Weyer materials science. Though at first glance this integration listed no less than 71 general histories of chemistry written appears desirable, it actually produces a distortion of the between 1561 and 1970 - a number which excludes special- history of chemistry itself. Thus, for example, the history of ized histories of subdisciplines, such as organic and analytical chemical thermodynamics, as developed by chemists, fol- chemistry, and the equally voluminous literature dealing with lowed a very different path from the development of thermo- the history of alchemy. Of these histories, 29, or roughly a dynamics in physics, which is the version given by Schneer. third, are written in English or have appeared as English Despite this abundance of choices, the perceptive reader translations, will have noticed that even the most recent of these volumes is Upon examining the current edition of Books in Print, the now over 20 years old. As a result, historians have increasingly chemist looking for a suitable text to use in a history of felt the need for a new history of chemistry that will not only chemistry course, or just for personal study, will find that a cover the history of the last half century but also effectively in- surprisingly large number of these titles are still in print. tegrate the new interpretations of the older periods developed