Rivals by Michael White, Secker & Warburg, £12.99, ISBN
0436204630
THE role of conflict in the history of science is explored in Rivals.
This is rich ground for a writer to till, and Michael White ploughs through
some interesting episodes. From the tensions between astronomers and the Roman
Catholic church during the Renaissance, to more clearly recognisable rivalries
such as those between Newton and Leibniz, and Lavoisier and Priestley. Then he
moves into modern times: the Manhattan Project, the space race and contemporary
conflicts over software.
But despite the subtitle, Conflicts as the fuel of science, White concludes
that rivalries both…
