The history of science in the United States : an encyclopedia /

Rothenberg's subject encyclopedia covers the physical and biological sciences, with lesser coverage of technology and medicine. The alphabetically arranged entries include about 200 nonbiographical articles devoted to fields of study, academic institutions, or government agencies. The choice is singular, omitting among others Xerox, the University of California, Johns Hopkins, and even MIT. There are also about 200 erratically selected biographical articles, which exclude living individuals. There are no illustrations, not even portraits, and no list of articles, but there is an adequate index. Each article has several well-chosen bibliographic references. The book is explicitly intended for nonspecialists, and the level of the biographical articles requires (and will impart) no knowledge of science whatever. The justification for any national history of science lies in integration with the economic, social, and political history of the country. That aspect of this book is exce ptionally naive, especially in the laudatory coverage of government agencies, with embarrassing topics such as germ warfare not even mentioned. An earlier work in this series, Encyclopedia of the Scientific Revolution: From Copernicus to Newton, ed. by Wilbur Applebaum (CH, Nov'00), was pitched at a distinctly higher academic level. For general readers and beginning undergraduates only; not otherwise recommended for academic libraries. D. Goodman Princeton University

This single-volume encyclopedia comprises 500 short- to medium-length articles, all written by experts in the field, on the development of science and medicine in the United States. The typical article runs a page, though broad topics (e.g., major branches of science, interdisciplinary subjects) receive longer treatments. Short bibliographies accompany each article, and cross references, though present, are sparse. The alphabetical arrangement serves well in most cases, though less concrete entries, such as "Science in the U.S. from 1789 to 1865," aren't found very intuitively. Neither the introductory essay on the historiography of science since World War II nor the index (a necessity!) was seen by this reviewer. Rothenberg, of the Smithsonian Institution, is well prepared to edit this work (and his other Garland history of science encyclopedias), as he also authored the two-volume History of Science & Technology in the United States: A Critical and Selective Bibliography. No other encyclopedic works with this focus are available, recommending this for academic libraries and large reference collections in public libraries.ÄWade M. Lee, Univ. of Toledo Libs., OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.