Science in America
A Documentary History, 1900-1939
9780226709468
Science in America
A Documentary History, 1900-1939
From this unique collection of documents emerges a fresh, intimate, often striking picture of the life of science in the United States in the era when American investigators became central to scientific advances in many fields. Written in the course of the events described, these letters, memoranda, and other records—for the most part previously unpublished—convey personalities and issues with an immediacy hard to capture in conventional historical narratives.
Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction
1. The Carnegie Institution of Washington
2. Astronomy: The Lure of the Sun
3. Chemistry: Between Theory and Practice
4. The Germination of Physics
5. Mathematics: The Devotees of the Abstract
6. Biology to 1915: A General View
7. Genetics: The Classical Stage
8. Scientific Medicine and Its Perils
9. The Reform of the National Academy or Hale’s Vision
10. World War I: Dying Illusions and Vain Hopes
11. Biology since 1915: Defining the True Way and Locating Its Home
12. Physical Science between the World Wars: The Abstract and the Reality
13. The Institute for Advanced Study
Appendix: Sources for Documents
Index
Introduction
1. The Carnegie Institution of Washington
2. Astronomy: The Lure of the Sun
3. Chemistry: Between Theory and Practice
4. The Germination of Physics
5. Mathematics: The Devotees of the Abstract
6. Biology to 1915: A General View
7. Genetics: The Classical Stage
8. Scientific Medicine and Its Perils
9. The Reform of the National Academy or Hale’s Vision
10. World War I: Dying Illusions and Vain Hopes
11. Biology since 1915: Defining the True Way and Locating Its Home
12. Physical Science between the World Wars: The Abstract and the Reality
13. The Institute for Advanced Study
Appendix: Sources for Documents
Index