Legends in Their Own Time: A Century of American Physical Scientists

Serafini ( Linus Pauling ) suggests that advances made by American physical scientists in the last 150 years represent a golden age in the field. It is a contestable thesis, for these sciences are notably international, as is suggested by Serafini's recurrent references to the work of German, Dutch, Japanese and French scientists, among others. Chapters center around the research and milieus of such notable figures as R. A. Millikan, Irving Langmuir, E. O. Lawrence and Richard Feynmann. Serafini's prose is marked by awkward constructions and repetitions that seem to reinforce the forced nature of the pattern he attempts to impose on his material. Readers may be more intrigued by the political and social context they can glimpse over the shoulders of these Americans, who weren't the only giants in their fields. (June)