The Scientific Revolution: An Encyclopedia

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	Issues in Science and Technology  Librarianship
	Summer 2002

	DOI:10.5062/F4SB43QV



      

     Book Reviews
    The Scientific Revolution: An Encyclopedia
      Ann Jensen
  University of California, Berkeley
ajensen@library.berkeley.edu        


       


The Scientific Revolution: An Encyclopedia / William E.   Burns. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, c2001. 387 pp. $75.00 ISBN 0-87436-875-8  

    This book covers the developments in knowledge of the natural world that took place  during the 16th and 17th centuries in Europe. The historical events chosen as the  beginning and ending anchors for the chronology of this work reveal much about its  focus. 1503 is the date of the establishment of a repository of navigational and  cartographic knowledge by King Ferdinand II of Spain. 1727 marks the death of Isaac  Newton, the first president of the Royal Society of London. Both are important  events in the development, codification, recording and dissemination of scientific  knowledge. Entries are included for individuals, movements, and specific  discoveries in science, and for a variety of social, religious and cultural topics,  including skepticism and magic, the papacy and politics, to literature and  illustration. 

    The author defines the scientific revolution, in part, as that time when knowledge  of the physical and natural world developed from simple discrete observations by  isolated individuals into subjects for analysis, explanation, controversy, and  ultimately integration and interaction with all other aspects of society. The  selections of scientists and scientific phenomenon are well chosen from many  disciplines. These include topics at the discipline level -- geology, chemistry,  mathematics, mining, etc -- and items at a more specific level, such as slide  rules, the trial of Galileo, thermometers, and blood transfusions. Adding depth to  the scientific entries, are sections that describe trends in Islamic, East Asian,  Indian, and Medieval science, the impact of various religious traditions, and early  institutions of science discovery and discourse: : Oxford and Cambridge  Universities, salons and learned societies in several European countries,  libraries, museums, and collections. 

    It is this presentation of connection and context that contributes to the  uniqueness of this volume, and that provide an understanding of not only scientific  content, but its changing cultural role. Seemingly disparate entries are connected  through clear writing, careful attention to context, excellent cross referencing,  and a minimum of redundancy from one entry to another. The subtitle "An  Encyclopedia," is misleading. This volume is presented as an encyclopedia, but it is  also highly readable as a whole, either from start to finish, or from one entry to  the next via its well chosen cross references. It should not be relegated to a  non-circulating reference section as its title might imply. 

    This small volume is not comprehensive or complete as a study for all scientific  activity during these centuries. But each of its entries is satisfyingly thorough  and consistently presented within a multi-faceted historical context. A 10-page  chronology; an extensive 12-page bibliography that includes web sites; and a very  detailed index, all add to the usefulness of this volume. The foreword by Paula  Findlen, director of the Science, Technology and Society Program at Stanford  University, is itself a timely essay on the integration of information that is  contained within the pages. 

    This title will entice readers from high school through professional, generalists,  scientists and historians, into better understanding and appreciation of the  historical complexities inherent in the scientific revolution. 

    

  

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