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Title: Methods and Styles in the Development of Chemistry (Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society, 245) by Joseph S. Fruton ISBN: 0-87169-245-7 Publisher: Amer Philosophical Society Pub. Date: February, 2002 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $40.00

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Average Customer Rating: 5 (2 reviews)

Rating: 5
Summary: An impeccable work of scholarship
Comment: Methods And Styles In The Development Of Chemistry by Joseph S. Fruton (Eugene Higgins Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry and Senior Research Scholar in the History of Medicine at Yale University) is an informed and informative study of how human beings have conceptualized and evolved the science and art of chemistry, from Alchemy and the ancient wisdom of Greek philosophers to Antoine Lavoisier's immortal contribution to more recent revolutions in discovering the composition of elements, atoms, molecular structure, forces, and much more. An impeccable work of scholarship, Methods And Style In The Development Of Chemistry is commended as a thoroughly engaging journey through both the complex history and evolving science of chemistry.

Rating: 5
Summary: Another Fruton Gem---Chemical Heritage magazine
Comment: We are already indebted to Joseph Fruton, the distinguished Yale University biochemist, for several excellent monographic works on the history of chemistry, including outstanding studies of the research schools of Justus Liebig and others. Here he offers us a lively interpretive summary of the entire history of chemistry, with a particular focus on a theme that he has explored in the past, namely research styles.
In truth, his subject is essentially nineteenth-century European chemistry. Just 33 pages at the beginning of the book take us from Pythagoras to Lavoisier; another 40 pages at the end summarize twentieth-century developments to about 1960. In addition to the chronological emphasis on the nineteenth century, Fruton also understandably pays particular attention to his previous concentrations, the history of organic and biochemistry. After Lavoisier, he treats "Atoms, Equivalents, and Elements," "Radicals and Types," "Valence and Molecular Structure," "Stereochemistry and Organic Synthesis," "Forces, Equilibria, and Rates," and "Electrons, Reaction Mechanisms, and Organic Synthesis."
Professor Fruton has had a long and varied career, and intensive acquaintance with the history of chemistry. His reading of both the primary and secondary literature is wide-ranging and conscientious, and he has written voluminously and attractively on many subjects in the field. It would therefore be most interesting to read in this summary work his considered opinions and generalizations regarding research methods and styles in chemistry. However, he draws back from such a general analysis. Impressed with the great diversity of personalities and styles in the history of chemistry, he suggests that "[b]road generalizations drawn from the careers of the chemists considered in this book are therefore likely to be wrong ..." (pp. 241-42). But his reticence does not extend to judgments of individual matters, on which he is exceedingly frank. He is doubtful, for example, of the reputation "of Lavoisier as the revolutionary founder of modern chemistry, [and] of Liebig as the greatest chemist of the nineteenth century." In terms of overall scientific merit he elevates Wöhler above Liebig, Laurent above Gerhardt, and Wurtz above Dumas (p. 242). Such candor is refreshing, even if historians might disagree with his judgments.
What we might have hoped for is a fuller justification of these judgments. Fruton provides just six pages of prefatory and other preliminary matter before plunging into ancient history, and just five pages of concluding observations after dispensing with the twentieth century. Moreover, both Foreword and Conclusion end disconcertingly abruptly. Some chapters also have occasional jumpy transitions, suggesting that the book might have benefited from one final revision before going to press.
The strength of the book is in its appealing engagement with the history of chemistry. It would certainly be an attractive choice as a first introduction to the field, from one of the finest living scientist-historians.