The Oxford Companion to the History of Modern Science edited by John L. Heilbron, Oxford University Press, $110, ISBN 0195112296 Reviewed by Jeff Hecht
IN The Oxford Companion to the History of Modern Science, J. L. Heilbron has assembled a book of historical essays rather than an encyclopaedia or history of science. The essays focus largely on ideas and personalities, covering a broad range of topics from diverse viewpoints. One essay covers the use of cathedrals as experimental laboratories at a time when they were the largest structures available for scientists trying to measure the pull of gravity. Others give…
