From Library Journal
Covering 1300 scientists (including more than 70 pioneering female scientists) from 38 countries, this work builds on the authors' Concise Dictionary of Scientists (Chambers/Cambridge Univ., 1989), now out of print. Older articles have been revised, updated, and expanded for the new edition. Accompanied by numerous illusrations, the biographical entries are well written and seem complete, focusing on scientists in the fields of physics, chemistry, biology, geology, astronomy, mathematics, medicine, meteorology, and technology. Another special feature is found in the 32 panels, which give concise histories of selected subjects ranging from "The Exploration of Space" to "Science and the First World War (1914-1918)" to "Human Inherited Disease and the Human Genome Project." The volume also includes a chronology of science, an index to Nobel prize winners, and a nicely detailed subject index. Recommended for both academic and public library science reference collections.?Hilary Burton, Lawrence Livermore National Lab., Livermore, Cal.Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
A revision of Chambers Concise Dictionary of Scientists (Cambridge, 1989), this dictionary, like the Larousse Dictionary of Scientists [RBB F 1 95], profiles a limited number of the world's leading scientists, both past and present--Larousse, more than 2,200 scientists; Cambridge, more than 1,300. Fields covered include chemistry, physics, biology, geology, astronomy, mathematics, medicine, meteorology, and technology. Entries focus on the work for which the scientist is best known. They begin with birth and death years, nationality, and profession/specialty; e.g., "Einstein, Albert (pronunciation) (1879^-1955) German-Swiss-U.S. theoretical physicist: conceived the theory of relativity." Portraits of the individuals (a feature of Chambers) have been dropped. In some instances, family history, education, work experience, and major publications are described. Most entries are 100 to 200 words in length, but some are a page or two. Although no entries include a bibliography, the preface mentions a few sources that the authors frequently consulted (e.g., Dictionary of Scientific Biography, Ogilvie's Women in Science, and scientific journals such as Nature and Scientific American). More than 30 information boxes with essays on topics such as the entry of women into astronomy, the history of genetics, and AIDS and HIV are interspersed throughout the text and are included in the index. Diagrams, maps, and tables illustrate selected biographies. It is not always clear which biography is being illustrated. This volume concludes with a chronology of major scientific and historical events from c.550 B.C. to 1995 and a list of Nobel Prize winners in the sciences, 1901^-95. The list for the physiology and medicine prize is mislabeled "Psychology and Medicine."This dictionary will be a useful quick-identification source suitable for a school or small public library. Larger, more expensive titles, such as Roy Porter's Biographical Dictionary of Scientists (1994), John Daintith's Biographical Encyclopedia of Scientists (1994), and Gale's Notable Twentieth-Century Scientists (4v., 1995), are available for further information.


From Book News, Inc.
From Ernst Abbe, a 19th-century German physicist, to Vladimir Zworykin, the 20th-century Russian inventor of the electronic-scanning television camera, this dictionary, updated from the 1996 edition, contains some 1,500 biographical entries detailing the achievements of men and women in a variety of scientific fields. Portraits are often included with the entries. A brief chronology of science and a list of Nobel Prize winners are also included. The focus is on chemical, physical, biological, earth, and space sciences and also on linked areas of mathematics, medicine, and technology.Book News, Inc.®, Portland, OR


Midwest Book Review
Use this as a college-level reference for any collection strong in science: over 1,300 key scientists from early to modern times are covered in fields which range from physics and geology to mathematics, medicine and technology. Women scientists are also profiled in a title which provides extensive biographical information on each listed individual.


Review
"This is a superb collection of admirably concise scientific biographies; I wish I had owned a copy when I started presenting television programmes on the history of science." Adam Hart-Davis

"The book's greatest strength remains the inclusion of women scientists, and of separate panels on the entry of women into astronomy, medicine, chemistry in Britain, and the biological sciences.... It will appeal mainly to young and general readers." Choice


Book Description
This volume is an invaluable one-stop reference book for anyone wanting a brief and accurate account of the life and work of those who created science from its beginnings to the present day. The alphabetically organized, illustrated biographical dictionary has been thoroughly revised and updated, covering over 1,500 key scientists (157 more than in the previous edition) from 40 countries. Physics, chemistry, biology, geology, astronomy, mathematics, medicine, meteorology and technology are all represented and special attention is paid to pioneer women whose achievements and example opened the way to scientific careers for others. This new edition includes recent Nobel laureates, as well as winners of the Fields Medal, the mathematician's equivalent of the Nobel Prize. Illustrated with around 150 portraits, diagrams, maps and tables, and with special panel features, this book is an accessible guide to the world's prominent scientific personalities. David Millar has carried out research into the flow of polar ice sheets at the Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge, and in Antarctica. He has also written on a range of science and technology topics, and edited a study of the politics of the Antarctic. His professional career has been spent in the oil industry, principally in the marketing of geoscience software. He lives in France. John Millar graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge, and has a doctorate from Imperial College, London. He worked for BP developing new geophysical methods for use in oil exploration and production. In 1994 he co-founded GroundFlow Ltd., which has developed electrokinetic surveying and logging as a new technique for imaging and mapping fluids in subsurface porous rocks.


Book Info
An invaluable one-stop reference for anyone wanting a brief and accurate account of the life and work of those who created science from its beginnings to the present day. A clear and accessible guide to the world's prominent scientific personalities. Softcover.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

This alphabetically organized, illustrated biographical dictionary covers over 1300 key scientists from more than 38 countries whose work has helped shape modern science. Fields covered include physics, chemistry, biology, geology, astronomy, mathematics, medicine, meteorology and technology - and special attention is paid to those pioneer women whose achievements and example opened the way to scientific careers for their fellow women. Interspersed with illustrations in the form of diagrams, maps and tables, and with special panel features, this book is a clear and accessible guide to the world's prominent scientific personalities.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal

Covering 1300 scientists (including more than 70 pioneering female scientists) from 38 countries, this work builds on the authors' Concise Dictionary of Scientists (Chambers/Cambridge Univ., 1989), now out of print. Older articles have been revised, updated, and expanded for the new edition. Accompanied by numerous illusrations, the biographical entries are well written and seem complete, focusing on scientists in the fields of physics, chemistry, biology, geology, astronomy, mathematics, medicine, meteorology, and technology. Another special feature is found in the 32 panels, which give concise histories of selected subjects ranging from "The Exploration of Space" to "Science and the First World War (1914-1918)" to "Human Inherited Disease and the Human Genome Project." The volume also includes a chronology of science, an index to Nobel prize winners, and a nicely detailed subject index. Recommended for both academic and public library science reference collections.Hilary Burton, Lawrence Livermore National Lab., Livermore, Cal.

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