A History of the Sciences
¶ Hitherto there have been few, if any, really popular works touching the historical growth of the various great branches of knowledge. The ordinary primer leaves unexploited the deep human interest which belongs to the sciences as contributing to progress and civilization, and calling into play the faculties of many of the finest minds. Something more attractive is wanted.
¶ The above need in literature has now been met. Each volume in The History of Sciences is written by an expert in the given subject, and by one who has studied the history as well as the conclusions of his own branch of science. The monographs deal briefly with the myths or fallacies which preceded the development of the given science, or include biographical data of the great discoverers. Consideration is given to the social and political conditions and to the attitudes of rulers and statesmen in furthering or in hindering the progress of the given science. The volumes record the important practical application of the given science to the arts and life of civilized mankind, and also contain a carefully-edited bibliography of the subject. Each volume contains from twelve to sixteen carefully-prepared illustrations, including portraits of celebrated discoverers, many from originals not hitherto reproduced, and explanatory views and diagrams. The series as planned should cover in outline the whole sphere of human knowledge.
¶ Science is to be viewed as a product of human endeavor and mental discipline, rather than taken in its purely objective reference to facts. The essential purpose has been to present as far as practicable the historical origins of important discoveries, also to indicate the practical utility of the sciences to human life.
G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS
New York London
A History of the Sciences
Each volume is adequately illustrated, attractively printed, and substantially bound.
16mo. Each, net, 75 cents. By mail, 85 cents. 12 illustrations
History of Astronomy
By George Forbes, M.A., F.R.S., M.Inst. C.E.
Formerly Professor of Natural Philosophy, Anderson’s College, Glasgow
I thank you for the copy of Forbes’s History of Astronomy received. I have run it over, and think it very good indeed. The plan seems excellent, and I would say the same of your general plan of a series of brief histories of the various branches of science. The time appears to be ripe for such a series, and if all the contributions are as good as Prof. Forbes’s, the book will deserve a wide circulation, and will prove very useful to a large class of readers.—Extract from a letter received from Garrett P. Serviss, B. S.
History of Chemistry
By Sir Edward Thorpe, C.B., LL.D., F.R.S.
Author of “Essays in Historical Chemistry,” “Humphry Davy: Poet and Philosopher,” “Joseph Priestley,” etc.
12 illustrations. Two vols. Vol. I—circa 2000 B.C. to 1850 A.D. Vol. II—1850 A.D. to date
The author traces the evolution of intellectual thought in the progress of chemical investigation, recognizing the various points of view of the different ages, giving due credit even to the ancients. It has been necessary to curtail many parts of the History, to lay before the reader in unlimited space enough about each age to illustrate its tone and spirit, the ideals of the workers, the gradual addition of new points of view and of new means of investigation.
The History of Old Testament Criticism
By Archibald Duff
Professor of Hebrew and Old Testament Theology in the United College, Bradford
The author sets forth the critical views of the Hebrews concerning their own literature, the early Christian treatment of the Old Testament, criticism by the Jewish rabbis, and criticism from Spinoza to Astruc, and from Astruc until the present.
In Preparation
The History of Geography.
By Dr. John Scott Keltie, F.R.G.S., F.S.A., Hon. Mem. Geographical Societies of Paris, Berlin, Rome, Brussels, Amsterdam, Geneva, etc.
The History of Geology.
By Horace B. Woodward, F.R.S., F.G.S., Assistant Director of Geological Survey of England and Wales.
The History of Anthropology.
By A. C. Haddon, M.A., Sc.D., F.R.S., Lecturer in Ethnology, Cambridge and London.
The History of New Testament Criticism.
By F. C. Conybeare, M.A., late Fellow and Praelector of Univ. Coll., Oxford; Fellow of the British Academy; Doctor of Theology, honoris causa, of Giessen; Officer d’Academie.
Further volumes are in plan on the following subjects:
Mathematics and Mechanics—Molecular Physics, Heat, Light, and Electricity—Human Physiology, Embryology, and Heredity—Acoustics, Harmonics, and the Physiology of Hearing, together with Optics, Chromatics, and Physiology of Seeing—Psychology, Analytic, Comparative, and Experimental—Sociology and Economics—Ethics—Comparative Philology—Criticism, Historical Research, and Legends—Comparative Mythology and the Science of Religions—The Criticism of Ecclesiastical Institutions—Culture, Moral and Intellectual, as Reflected in Imaginative Literature and in the Fine Arts—Logic—Philosophy—Education.
G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS
New York London