3 comments about A Life of Sir Francis Galton: From African Exploration to the Birth of Eugenics.

1. A word to the wise, heed the title and sub-title of this book. It is not a very good all around biography of Sir Francis Galton. The book does bring you up to his first accomplishment, African exploration, very directly. Other chapters occasionally touch on some of his life-milestones like marriage and his relationship with the Royal Geographical Society. The majority of the book discusses his theories and scientific achievements. The book delves deep when it arrives on Galton's ideas and experiments in the field of genetics and hereditary traits. The reader will wonder why the book takes such great pains to explain Galton's outdated Victorian genetic theory. A quick perusal of the author's bio shows that he is a professor of genetics.
   Sir Francis Galton does not have much name recognition today, but his name pops up in various books about the history of African exploration, statistics and genetics. He was one of a hand-full of renaissance type geniuses that Britain produced during the Victorian Age. They had wide ranging interests and consequently wide ranging discoveries. Galton is also credited with discovering the uniqueness of fingerprints to each individual. He began the modern type of data collection through scientific surveys and he correlated the results statistically. His improvements in the field of statistics are still used today.
   There are not too many biographical books about Sir Francis Galton
   This book may be a little too much for the casual reader looking for some general information . The reader must be prepared to skim over the deeper sections.



2. This biography of Sir Francis Galton is clearly well-researched. The difficulty, however, is that while the author writes individual paragraphs in an interesting, descriptive style, the paragraphs themselves come one after another in confusing sequence, with so much detail that it is difficult to follow or focus on the main thread.
   
   A much more readable Galton biography is the one published in 2004 by Martin Brookes, which obviously used the same primary sources and contains much of the same information (in some instances, almost word-for-word.) The Gillham book has the advantage of having visual representations of Galton's graphs, tables, etc., and contains a deeper level of scientific detail. If you are more interested in the life of the man, what made him tick, and his place in history, go with the Brookes version.
   
   Note: Gillham's version has an extensive index; Brookes' version has none.



3. A comprehensive life of Sir Francis Galton busting with detail. Unfortunately more about what he did than about what he was or how he came to be. In the later parts he is hardly mentioned in page after page while the abstruse arguments of his disciples are rehashed ad nauseum. There is a "tinge" of calling Galton a racist and he's connected to Herrenstein's The Bell Curve -- which dates this book. In truth, Galton was an amazing and varied genius who created much of statistics and the idea of "intelligence." One can't help but notice the incredible group of connections between Galton and other Victorian intelligensiae such as JBS Haldane, J Clerk Maxwell, William Kingdon Clifford (whom some think is the model for H.G.Wells' "Time Traveler") and others. On balance, a qualified recommendation. Lots of notes and a remarkable subject. Yet, I would have liked more information on Galton's own mental processes. The story reinforces the idea that the Victorian age was really interesting and chock-o-block with interesting people.

5 comments about Starlight Nights: The Adventures of a Star-Gazer.

1. This book is a straightforward telling of Leslie Peltier life as an amateur astronomer. Although it is a simple story without much drama it draws you into his world and never gets boring.
   
   The dark night sky is a free resource we need to preserve. Our ancestors gazed up on the same stars we see today. When you go out at night you can be the latest in a long line of humans who have looked up to the heavens and wondered about their place in the universe.
   
   If this book doesn't inspire you get out and observe, nothing will.



2. This is a really neat book! I love the way that Leslie Peltier wrote - such an honest, everyman's perspective. It draws the reader in and fascinates anyone; whether interested in astronomy as a passion or just in passing. A great, quick read. Wonderful rainy day (or cloudy night!) book and a nice one to take to the beach this summer, too.
   
   The foreward by Eugene Shoemaker is great. It is only in the newly printed version, of course - not in the original. :-)
   
   As an amateur astronomer - a lunar observer in particular - I can heartily suggest this as not only a fun and interesting book to read but one where you learn of life in the past in the United States - a slower time but a time of great discovery and accomplishments, too.



3. Starlight Nights: The Adventures of a Stargazer by Leslie Peltier is a wonderful book, which embodies the heart and soul of stargazing. It was out of print for many years, but has been republished by Sky Publishing, and is available through Amazon and through the Sky & Telescope Store online. I obtained a copy last year and read it. Once started, I couldn't put it down.
   
   Peltier begins when, as a child of five, he first saw the Pleiades. As a young teenager he saved up his money and bought his first scope, made his own observing pier in the pasture, and hung out every night learning the night sky. The book covers about 60 years in Peltier's life, including his stargazing honeymoon out west. He observed every night he could, undeterred by cows in the field or snow on the ground.
   
   He became an avid variable-star observer and a comet hunter. He tells the story of bicycling into town on a dark November night in 1925 to telegraph his first comet discovery to Harvard College Observatory. One of his early telescopes, a six-inch refractor, had a wooden (mahogany) tube. When he found each comet he neatly carved the date in the tube of the telescope.
   
   Over the years he built his own observatories, and obtained castoff FAMOUS telescopes (a twelve-inch refractor made by Alvan Clark), when Miami University of Ohio, 125 miles from his home, wanted to upgrade theirs. He became famous among astronomers, but always lived a simple life, shunning publicity, and not straying far from the family homestead in Delphos, Ohio. Leslie Peltier was a gentle soul, self-effacing and honest, and "real". He writes as if he were talking to a friend, telling a favorite story.
   
   This book captures the romance of amateur astronomy. Peltier embodied the "heart and soul" of a stargazer. As David Levy says in his foreword, this book explains the "why" of astronomy, and not just the "how".
   
   It's a book every stargazer should read.



4. This is a jem. The author would likely fail to recognize the world of 2002, and would certainly be horrified to awake in it.
   He lived, really lived, in an earlier era when discovery of a new comet by an amateur simply looking through a telescope, without the CCDs and other fancy technology, was celebrated, and civilization grew at a pleasant pace in the midwest where he lived, away from the hustle, rush hours, and UN crisis. His humility in accepting the gifts of slowly increasing aperture telescopes and the way in which alone, he found good ways to use them to their best are balm to the soul.
   Get a copy of this little book, turn off the TV and computer and regress to Peltier's world of worthwhile ways of spending your time while seeing the universe. Fortunately, you don't really have to wait weeks to get a copy if you'll dial up Sky and Telescope.



5. Remember those movies where an old man tells his story in the form of a flashback? The kind that makes you wish you could go back in time to hang out with them, experience their life? Starlight Nights is one of those stories.
   Leslie Peltier's book is full of warmth and humor. He takes us back to a 1905 farm and describes what it was like to grow up without electricity, television. The beginning of his story predates the spread of the automobile. We watch as he buys a small telescope, and without the benefit of a college education, becomes the friend and colleague of the eminent astronomers of his day. We experience the thrill of finding comets and novae, and at the same time, the quiet joy of country life a century ago.
   The book is wonderfully illustrated by Mr. Peltier himself, and the introduction includes family photographs.
   Absolutely recommended for everyone, not just stargazers.

5 comments about Charles Darwin: A New Life.

1. This bio does a fine job in analyzing and comparing the great scientist's personal and family life, with his famous scientific research, writing, and early Beagle Explorations. Apparently, he had serious health problems, most in the digestive system, but overcame this adversity, among others, to write some of the greatest scientific documents ever. Of his ten children, three died young, including two as infants. His financial independence certainly helped matters, but the long and involved writing and research would probably have discouraged a lesser man. Truly well done thruout, and not overbearingly difficult for the scientific and biological layman, like this reviewer!



2. This biography gives a new slant to the study of Darwin. It is by no means a new slant, but the author has certainly presented it in a much better fashion, more through, than any previous biographicals on Darwin. The author's style is easy and interesting. I Would highly recommend the additon of this one to your collection. Well worth the read. Hope we get to see more from this author.



3. Most biographies are geared towards illustrating the life of a famous figure for the purpose of presenting or revisiting the accomplishments. This biography, however, does not give the central focus to the writings and finds of Charles Darwin; the thesis deals more with Darwin being a possible hypochondriac.

   The preface and appendix discuss recent research regarding Darwin's being an invalid during parts of his life. Some research deals with a disease that he may have picked up in South America while on the voyage of the HMS Beagle; some research says that Darwin was merely obsessed with being sick and therefore created a self-fulfilling prophecy.

   This brings us to the text. Although Darwin's life is shown to us, as well as some additional information on family and colleagues, the life is covered in regards to his worst periods of sickness. By plotting this out for us, Bowlby shows us that many of these periods are preceded by deaths of family members close to Darwin and by fierce scrutiny of his discoveries and writings.

   Another idea is the family's way of dealing with intense emotion. Rather than express this emotion by crying or mourning, it was internalized. This internalization led to depression, which led to sickness.

   This biography is written less as a narrative of Darwin's life, but more as a proof for the author's thoughts on Darwin's sickness. As a result, there are many points where the author becomes more noticeable.

   This is still an intriguing book, and I would recommend reading it.




4. The life and times of Darwin are masterfully brought to our attention by child emotional development expert and pioneer John Bowlby. Darwin's biography and upbringing are masterfully revealed and how they relate to his lifelong behavior, health, choices, and decisions in life. A most interesting aspect of this book is how evolution unknowingly affected Darwin's behavior as he himself is formulating and writing his famous theories on evolution. Because of the voluminous and extremely revealing written personal and professional correspondence by Darwin and his acquaintances a very good record of his health can be deduced from it. A must for those interested in more details on Darwin's life and how evolution affected the emotions and behavior of the main founder of evolution himself; and written by child emotional development pioneer Bowlby. It is a very detailed and well written book. For a complete definitive traditional biography of Darwin you may want to go to a plethora of other books available on the subject.



5. My title probably says it all, but I will elaborate. I still think that janet Browne has made the best START to a biography, I just wish she would finish by giving us Vol. 2! In the meantime we have Bowlby and that isn't half bad. Full of interesting background material and written with a lively pace A NEW LIFE manages to steer through some of the perils of "psychohistory" that have damaged other authors and gives us an interesting and at times provocative look at Darwin and Darwin's time. Well worth the read.

5 comments about Schrödinger: Life and Thought.

1. If you look on page 238 on Walter Moore's book and view the Solvay Conference of Physics in 1927, you should think carefully of the world that Erwin Schrodinger was part of. All of those great minds were around him, Curie, Pauli, Einstein, etc, plus he lived through two world wars, and he had to deal with the Nazis and so on. Has anyone every lived at a better (or worse) time? The Schrodinger equation was probably the greatest discovery of the 20th century, but because of the wave mechanics involved, most people credit Einstein with being the smartest guy around because they would rather talk about relativity than a complicated equation. Our QM world is based on his equation for the most part and he did this in 1925! There is no denying this is a most complete book, having virtually every detail of ES life mentioned (some where) in it. My problem with this is it really necessary? Physicists will probably like this book because they can relate to it much better, but I guess you could skip the math and just read on. You can see how the scientists of the time pretend not to compete with one another, yet it is evident Schrodinger is the man for most of this period in time. This story is that of a great physicist that many times is overlooked because of the company he kept. He was horrified by the dropping of the bomb on Hiroshima, as were most of his friends and considered it mass murder, but later managed to solve the Peierls equation which allows one to calculate the critical mass of a nuclear explosive. I would recommend this book for reading, but must warn you that every sexual encounter is included and you will not complete it in a day. It was quite interesting to read of the closeness between ES and Einstein. However, this exposure of how great ES was should impress upon you how often a man of such importance is virtually unheard of in many parts of the modern world--even today. guyairey



2. If there is some way I could rate this book as five star plus, then I would love to do that. This is a very well researched book by an author who makes a passionate presentation of the mind and work of one of the greatest physicists of 20th century. Erwin Schrodinger is an enigmatic figure, a brilliant scientist, philosopher, poet and a humanist who lead a complex personal life; several love affairs allowed and approved by; his wife Annemarie, and husbands of his girlfriends. The author has examined and reviewed many archived materials from Schrodinger's family, friends, and universities/academic institutions who knew Schrödinger. The reader becomes fascinated by sheer brilliance, wisdom, sadness, and struggle in personal and professional life of Schrödinger.
   
   Schrodinger was deeply philosophical in his thoughts than any other scientist of his time, but he apparently did not make far-reaching philosophical conclusions from his work in quantum physics. He was held back because he knew there was a lack of clarity. Schrödinger was deeply influenced by the thoughts of Schopenhauer, and developed strong interest in Buddhist philosophy and Vedanta (one of the six schools of Hindu philosophy.) Schrodinger intensively studied the works of Schopenhauer, Henry Warren, Max Welleser, Richard Garbe, Paul Deussen, Max Muller, and Rhys Davids to understand Hindu and Buddhist philosophies. Erwin's interest in Vedanta and Upanishads started at a young age when he was accustomed to cold hungry time in war-torn Vienna. His search for the truth never reached conclusion as his one time lover Hansi Bauer noted, but his belief in Vedanta remained the same since 1920 until his death. He was a life long believer of Vedanta. He lashed out Christian churches accusing them of gross superstition in their belief of individual souls.
   
   Quantum physics has tremendous philosophical implications, which revolutionized modern thought in science and philosophy because it did not agree with the philosophy of materialism expounded by Newton. Interpretation of quantum world suggested that strict determinism and predictability is not an accurate description of reality, and consciousness is an integral part of the laws of quantum physics. In other words, the human observer (biological system) and the observed (rest of the universe) is not merely a biological (cognition) phenomenon but more than that. One can not actually derive the Schrödinger wave equation from classical physics. It is a justification and hence the final equation is used to calculate the energy levels that fit the experimental results such as the observed UV spectra of a hydrogen atom. Schrodinger developed relativistic equation first and then the non-relativistic equation. The relativistically framed (without spin) equation did not agree with the experimental result because it did not include electron spin. It was not known at that time that electron has a spin. This equation was good for a particle with no spin and it was the same as fine structure formula of Sommerfeld.
   
   According to Vedanta; there exists only one universal being called the Brahman, which comprises all of reality in an undivided unity. This being absolutely homogeneous in nature: It is pure thought, which is not an attribute but the substance devoid of any qualities. The Brahman is associated with a power or a principle of illusion called Maya. As a magician creates illusion during his act, Brahman through Maya creates the appearances of the material world. Maya is the cause of the material world, and an indivisible Brahman is present in all forms of existence. The soul in reality is an infinite Brahman enmeshed in the unreal world of Maya. The unenlightened soul is incapable of looking beyond this illusion, but an enlightened soul knows the difference between its true self and the external illusory world thus paving the way for identifying itself with Brahman. This unity and continuity concept of All in One expounded in Vedanta is consistent with quantum physics where the universe is superimposed inseparable waves of probability amplitudes. The existence of Heisenberg uncertainty phenomenon and quantum Zeno effect is an allegory to the illusions of Maya or a prelude to the indivisible, All in One, Supreme Brahman. This intense philosophical debate was taking place in the mind of young Erwin in the midst of discovering wave mechanics! Nov 1925 to Dec 1926 is a critical period for the development wave mechanics. Erwin's thought process was so upbeat that his creative power peaked during this period and remains without parallel in the history of science!
   
   In personal life; Erwin had contempt for Nazis but never openly criticized the regime. Schrodinger left Berlin 1933 to protest Nazi regime, in the same year he was awarded Nobel Prize with Paul Dirac. At one time he considered a faculty position at Tata Institute (Indian Institute of Science) in Bangalore, India at the invitation of Nobel laureate C.V. Raman. Erwin's love interests include a long list of women; Felice Krauss, Lotte Rella, Ithi Junger, Hansi Bauer-Bohm, Hilde March, Sheila May Green, Kate Nolan, Betty Dolan, Lucie Rie, and maids of Vienna during war years. He had two daughters Ruth and Linda from his lovers. Hilde March, wife of physicist Arthur March, with whom he had a daughter was his pseudo-wife living side by side with wife Annemarie under the same roof. It is ironic that the personal stress associated with his daring extra martial affairs unperturbed by the pressures of the society, and sadness created by financial problems and deaths of his parents and the terrible guilt that ensured due to his inability to do more to care them may have helped rather than hindered his creativity. In a letter of 1930, he recalls how his father's death on the Christmas Eve of 1919 left little cheer in his soul for the festive season throughout his life. This demonstrates the emotional and human side of Erwin; the deaths of his parents shook his consciousness and left him with tremendous pain and loss. Schrödinger's life is filled with drama and sadness caused by several failed romances; three illegitimate children, infidelity, two wives, nervous breakdown of his wife Annemarie, and some of his lovers, and his own illness due to various health problems, and constant displacement due to war and the Nazi regime. Yet his contributions to mankind are immortal. At the end of the book you feel like crying at the triumph and tragedies of this great human being.
   
   1. What Is Life?: with "Mind and Matter" and "Autobiographical Sketches"
   2. Schrodinger's Kittens and the Search for Reality: Solving the Quantum Mysteries Tag: Author of In Search of Schrod. Cat
   3. 'Nature and the Greeks' and 'Science and Humanism' (Canto original series)
   4. Space-Time Structure (Cambridge Science Classics)
   5. Letters on Wave Mechanics: Schrodinger-Planck-Einstein-Lorentz
   6. The Historical Development of Quantum Theory: Erwin Schrodinger and the Rise of Wave Mechanics, Part 1 : Schrodinger in Vienna and Zurich 1187-1925 (Historical Development of Quantum Theory)



3. Walter Moore captures the life of Erwin Schrödinger, one of the most important theoretical physicists of the 20th century, covering his career, science, philosophy and personal life.
   
   In this ambitious book Moore tries to shed light on all aspects of Schrödinger's life, and tries to connect them, but no coherent picture evolves. I had the impression, however, that this is not Moore's fault, but that the pieces that made up Erwin Schrödinger did not fit into a coherent whole.
   
   A gifted student from an early age on, he took on physics. After initially dwelling in different sub-fields, he developed wave mechanics at the (for creative work in theoretical physics) late age of 38. His almost unparalelled mathematical skills made this advance possible. Schrödinger never saw mathematics only as a tool, but he greatly appreciated it's beauty. Moore does an excellent job in describing the intellectual journey towards this discovery, as well as the giants on who's shoulders Schrödinger was standing. For this work Schrödinger received the Nobel prize in 1933.
   
   In his later years, he dedicated a substantial part of his efforts to the search for a unified (quantum mechanics - relativity) theory of physics. Just like Einstein, with whom he had an extensive correspondence about the mater, he failed. Schrödinger's scientific work is explained in quite a bit of detail. Despite being quite familiar with differential equations, but without a background in theoretical physics, I must admit that I had a hard time following Schrödinger's insights as presented by Moore.
   
   From his student days on, Erwin Schrödinger was a believer in the Indian teachings of Vedanta, proclaiming a one-ness of all minds, which make up reality. It is hard to see how a rational 20th century scientist could adhere so uncritically to an ancient religion. However, these beliefs seemingly did not influence his science much and neither did they influence his personal life.
   
   His personal life was, nevertheless, unusual. He was a lover of interesting women, and he had many (I am all for that!), but many of his loves were still teenagers, while he was in his 30s and 40s (very weired!). For a man of such high intellectual capacity, this shows very poor moral judgment. He was not solely interested in sex, but sincerely in love with many of them and wrote them love poems.
   
   Schrödinger also showed somewhat poor moral judgment in terms of politics, although the turmoils of the 20th century greatly affected him (he was removed from his professorship in Graz by the Nazis). He was not an opportunist, like so many of his fellow Austrian and German physicists. Although he leaned to the left, he basically was not interested in politics at all. An irresponsible neglect during the rise of fascism in Europe!
   
   Moore brings together all these aspects of Erwin Schrödinger, and he does so with lots of knowledge of the local culture and history of the places Schrödinger visited and lived at (Vienna, Graz, Dublin, Cambridge). This is a well researched book in all aspects and one with lots of sympathy for "Erwin".



4. This is a masterful biography, but one need to have a profound knowledge of higher mathematics and a basic one in physics to fully understand it.
   
   Walter Moore shows that Schrödinger's life and thought was at least controversial.
   
   Life
   Schrödinger's personal itinerary is exemplary for the 20th century. He was born in a comfortable upper-middle class, but his parents lost their savings in the German inflation after WW I. The result was famine and diseases. It marked the rest of his life. As a young man he was confronted with unemployment and nearly left physics for financial reasons!
   He found a decent job only at the age of 34. Even after winning the Nobel Prize he was still confronted with 'pension' problems.
   
   Science
   Walter Moore gives us a magisterial and detailed analysis of the scientific discoveries of ES, from his humble beginnings to the elaboration of the quantum wave function and after.
   It shows that ES was above all a mathematical genius and a not so brilliant experimenter.
   ES remained all his life opposed to the complemantary (particle/wave) interpretation of quantum mechanics (the 'Kopenhagen oracle' for ES). For him, there were only waves!
   
   Sex
   Beside science, sex was the principal occupation of his life, with all combinations imaginable. He lived a ménage à trois and sometimes à quatre, but still fell in love with other women, also with very young ones for he had a Lolita complex. He could without doubt have been accused of paedophilia.
   But his intense love affairs stimulated highly his scientific creativity.
   One can only wonder if his 'wild' behaviour and negative view of bourgeois marriage were not fundamentally influenced by the fact that he couldn't marry his first true love, because her family found that he was too poor!
   
   Politics
   He had a deep contempt for the governing classes (politicians, clergy) who 'enslave men by violence and use the religious desire of many people to promote superstition to rule over the dispossessed'. He also distrusted democracy!
   
   Philosophical world view
   This is certainly one of the strangest aspects of his thoughts.
   He was convinced that physics provided absolutely no answers to philosophical questions (e. g. free will). All his life he remained, like Einstein, an adept of determinism.
   His philosophical views and ethical principles were completely dissociated from his real life!
   As an adept of the Vedanta, he believed the Buddhist wisdom that a thing could be both A and non-A (horribile dictu)!
   He was also heavily influenced by the philosophy of Schopenhauer.
   
   This work gives excellent explanations of the Vedanta, and the philosophy of Mach and Schopenhauer.
   It contains a very painful paragraph on Heidegger.
   
   I see only one minus point: the author doesn't give Bohr's pertinent response to the EPR-article against the Copenhagen interpretation of qm.
   
   This is a brilliant book and certainly the definitive biography of Schrödinger. It is by no means a hagiography and doesn't dodge some 'weird' aspects of Schrödinger's life.
   Not to be missed.



5. This book, is amazing. I came across it because I was forced to do a project for chemistry on Erwin Schrödinger, and I'm glad I did. It's a 512 page biography of him, and I think that says it all. It covers and extensive amount of ground, and is very useful for anyone doing any researh on the man. It gives a lot of background information about what was going on in his life, and the events in the world around him. Whenever he went to a new college, there was always some information on the college itself. If Schrödinger did research on a topic, there would be a small history on the scientist that came before him and how they affected him. The book is virtually packed with quotes form other people, letters, and speeches. One of the other things I liked was that it contained details of Schrödinger's personal life, such as his extramarital affairs and details on his marriage, and his family history. Want to see some pictures? There's that too. Bet you didn't know that Schrödinger wrote poetry. Well he did, and all of it is here too, in both German and an English translation. Another thing that makes the book stand out it that it is bery readable. Walter Moore did an excellent job writing the book, and it shows. I can say that you only need to read one book about Schrödinger: this one.

3 comments about MUSTANG DESIGNER: Edgar Schmued and the P-51.

1. 
   This is an excellent book, and serves as both a biography about Edgar Schmued and a history of the engineering work behind the P-51 and several other aircraft. Schmued led the design team that created the P-51. It does not cover all of the details behind the development of the P-51, leaving out the politics of how the USAAF finally adopted this half British aircraft. The best part of this book is that it is possible to see how closely the North American engineers worked with the test pilots and field reports; it was this tightly coupled engineering culture which responded quickly to every input, every flaw, that enabled the P-51 Mustang to reach perfection first and beat out its rivals.
   
   Another book "P-51 Mustang: Development of the Long Range Escort Fighter" covers the bigger picture of the USAAF's overall search for a better fighter plane. This book very much complements "Mustang Designer" and should be read to get the full flavor of what happened with the P-51's development. For example, "P-51 Mustang" talks about the role of Colonel Thomas Hitchcock in championing the P-51 with the Roosevelt administration at a time when some in the USAAF brass were trying to kill it (an upper crust polo player, he had direct connections to the Roosevelt administration), but fails to mention Hitchcock's ultimate fate. "Mustang Designer" mentions almost in passing that Hitchcock was killed while test flying a P-51D on April 18, 1944, but does not go into the details of how crucial he was to the adoption of the P-51 by the USAAF.
   
   One reviewer complained about the lack of information about Schmued's use of conical sections in designing the curves of the airplane. There is a half-page description of Schmued's use of conical sections on the P-51 - page 57, which does explain the principles, if not the details of what Schmued did.
   
   "Mustang Designer" does clear up some urban legends about the P-51. It was the British who started the myth that the P-51 was designed by a German who had worked for Messerschmitt.
   
   Schmued was indeed a German-Austrian, with an Austrian citizenship until he immigrated to the U.S. by way of Brazil. He was sponsored to come to the United States through his excellent work for General Motors in Brazil (immigration rules were extremely strict at that time - he was one of 794 people with Austrian citizenships admitted in the 1929 quota) and went straight to work for Fokker Aircraft Corporation of America, which was an aircraft company that was owned by General Motors and based in New Jersey. He joined North American Aviation when it was reorganized as an aircraft manufacturer. Schmued never worked for Messerschmitt; he did work for Fokker, but, despite its name, this was a wholly American owned company that happened to have Dutchman Anthony Fokker as its head.
   
   The book goes on with details about the later problems with the F-82 (the USAF forced North American to use a two-stage supercharger Allison V-1710, which was an engineering flop, instead of the Packard-Merlin engine). Schmued also had a hand in the designs of the F-86 and F-100, but the exact details of what he did are not spelled out in this book. Schmued left North American in 1952, after Dutch Kindelberger became ill and started to devolve power to Lee Atwater, with whom Schmued disagreed intensely (the intensity of this disagreement is seen by the fact that Schmued was just three years shy of being fully invested in a pension from North American when he left - as a result, he received no pension from North American).
   
   This book does not talk about the post-Schmued, post-Kindelberger years at North American, but they were mostly filled with a series of aircraft designs that never made it into production. The F-100 would be the last fighter plane that North American would produce. Schmued would leave North American before the F-100 flew (he lost a final dispute over changes to the design of the F-100), and it is clear from the subsequent prolonged teething problems of the F-100 that North American sorely missed Schmued's troubleshooting genius.
   
   With Kindelberger and Schmued gone, the excellent engineering culture of North American seemed to wither under the mediocre stewardship of Lee Atwater. North American went into the space business, but this would culminate in the disastrous fire that killed the Apollo 1 astronauts in 1967. The negative backlash from that disaster (North American had built the command module that caught fire) ultimately forced North American to merge with Rockwell, which then buried this once famous name completely. (This later period of North American's history is not covered in this book).
   
   Schmued, on the other hand, would go on to work for Northrop, and would help revive the flagging engineering designs of that company by designing the F-5. Ironically, the person who would hire him was Oliver Echols, the general in the USAAF who had played a semi-antagonistic role against the P-51 during its early days (Echols's role against the P-51 is described in the book "P-51 Mustang").
   
   Also not mentioned in this book is the fact that Schmued's F-5 design would evolve into Northrop's YF-17, which then became the F-18, the Navy's current all-purpose and ONLY fighter plane (now that the F-14s have all been chopped up to keep Iran from obtaining parts for their remaining F-14s).
   
   Overall this is an extremely valuable book for understanding the history of the P-51, F-82, F-100, North American Aviation, the F-5, and the man behind all of those success stories, Edgar Schmued.
   
   Amazon has four listings for various other printings of this book:
   
   0517088207 Random House 1992 (hardcover)
   
   0517567938 Crown 1st edition 1990 (hardcover)
   
   B000KRITOC Orion Books 1990 (hardcover)
   
   B000QRPVEC Orion books 1991 (hardcover)
   
   All of these are out of print, and so this paperback reprint by Smithsonian Institute Press is the most readily available.



2. the history of conic sections at North American Aviation (NAA). NAA was using conics in '32, Schmued was (at the least) an enthusiastic supporter of conics, and his P-51 Mustang was the first aircraft to be completely defined by conics.

   Roy A. Liming worked with Schmued to mathematically analyze the Mustang's shapes, tangents and curvatures. Schmued wrote an introduction to Liming and Hartley's series of articles for Aero Digest explaining the use of conics. These articles (along with the success of the Mustang) showed that NAA was ahead of it's time during WWII.




3. Mustang Designer: Edgar Schmued And The P-51 is the complete story behind the development and deployment of one of the most famous fighter aircraft of World War II. Beginning with the choosing of fighter designs in the formative years of 1935 to 1939 covering P-30 to P-50 craft, author Ray Wagner presents the birth of the Mustang in 1940 as designed by Ed Schmued and North American Aviation. The various incarnations and variations of the Mustang are followed up to and including the early jet age years of 1945 to 1952 and the Northrop Aviation launch of a new fighter. A highly recommended design and development history, Mustang Designer is enhanced for the aviation enthusiast and military buff with an appendix, notes, glossary, bibliography and index.

3 comments about A Life of Discovery: Michael Faraday, Giant of the Scientific Revolution.

1. Although it might sound as a very good idea, it is obviously pretty brave to write about Michael Faraday when you're not a scientist. Hamilton does complain in the editorial already to have accepted this work, and worthy enough to mention, he does not do a good job. Reading this long book you do get a lot of more or less single informations on the life of MF that taken together do not make up more than a small-minded reconstruction of whome he answered which letter when and using which tone. Pretty few notes on where science came from and what the dream of a final theory was about. Nothing at all on Maxwell and his electrodynamics, this alone is inexcusable. Nothing of course on how the theory failed already with Michelson and Morley in the late 1880's. Einstein, who admired Faraday like almost nodbody else, isn't even mentioned once. We do not get an insight into the Sandemanian sect. What we do get is pages of analysis of random photographs showing MF and others. This book has little understanding of the matter and therefore no life in it. Sorry.



2. It is a sad fact of modern life--at least in America--that so many of the great scientific minds that helped create our modern life are forgotten. As a high school science teacher, I try to give my students some knowledge of the important figures of scientific history. Standing as one of the giants of nineteenth century science is the subject of this book, Michael Faraday.
   
   Faraday's rise to the top of the scientific world is an interesting one. The son of a blacksmith, Faraday was apprenticed at an early age to a bookbinder. During his apprenticeship, however, he became interested in science through the popular public lectures on the subject and likely through reading some of the books he was binding. As his apprenticeship came to an end, Faraday tried to apprentice himself to a scientist and, through both hard work and good luck, attached himself to one of the most important scientists of the day, Humphrey Davy.
   
   While working with Davy, Faraday learned the fundamentals of scientific research, demonstrating extraordinary ability as an experimentalist. In time, Faraday became his own man, achieving a place of honor at the Royal Institution where he loyally remained for the rest of his career. During that time, he made a number of important discoveries, including the basics of electromagnetism, developing the prototype of the modern electric generator among other devices that will become integral to our modern society. He also made a name for himself as a popular lecturer on science whose fame at the time could only be equaled by Charles Dickens. Through this, he made known his lifelong belief in universal scientific education for the young. Most significantly, he did this all with minimal formal schooling leaving him forever limited in some respects such as mathematical ability.
   
   James Hamilton does a very good job of taking us through Faraday's life with depth but also in a very readable way. He brings out not only Faraday's scientific achievements but also his dedication to his strict form of Christianity (the Sandemanians) and the tension this sometime brought to his life. He showed Faraday's constant struggle against illness and his own limitations. Also, he shows something of Faraday's artistic side and how this influenced Faraday's research, most obviously in his support of the developing science/art of photography.
   
   Though Hamilton's expertise in art gives an added dimension often missing from scientific biography, it also contributes to the two main weaknesses of this book. In general, Hamilton's explanations of Faraday's work is quite good, particularly for the general reader, but he does miss some opportunities. Most noticeably, he gives a very cursory coverage to Faraday's development of the field concept which plays such an important role in physics today. This is quite surprising considering how easily it lends itself to artistic depiction. Additionally, from his previous work it seems he has a fixation on the British landscape artist, J. Turner, and refers to him repeatedly throughout the book (particular in the latter part) whereas I could not see how this contributed in any real way to the story of Faraday.
   
   Despite this, Hamilton has written a very good book here that will hopefully contribute to a revival in interest in this very important scientific figure, particularly here in the U.S. When I traveled to England some years ago I was surprised upon turning over a twenty pound note to see an image of Michael Faraday. Clearly Faraday still retains respect in his homeland. Scientific figures don't command that kind of respect here but Hamilton's book helps to show why they should.



3. One thing that delighted me about this book and about the person of Michael Faraday was the mixture of science and faith. While these two disciplines have parted ways and are no longer intertwined for many in the modern world, Michael Faraday is an intriguing example of both a devout believer and a ground breaking researcher.
   Faraday's story also has immense appeal as it relates his rise out of humble beginnings on the basis of his own genius and merit, in contrast with the lingering emphasis of his time on inheirited wealth and position.
   My only criticism is that the author, who evidently has written much in the realm of art history, adds a bit more content on art to this biography than seems justified.
   On the whole, I recommend this book as it is a well told tale about a significant and intriguing character whose story is very much worth retelling and considering anew.

5 comments about Force of Nature: The Life of Linus Pauling.

1. Linus Pauling was indisputably one of the greatest Americans of the last century. He revolutionized chemistry, helped to start biochemistry, was a well-known political activist, and later put his energies into health science research. For these accomplishments, he became the only person to win two unshared Nobel prizes. There are, indeed, those who claim that he was very close to being the first person to determine the structure of DNA, but did not do so because he was unable to attend a crucial meeting, at which some pivotal discoveries about DNA were reported. The two scientists who did discover the structure of DNA were, of course, rewarded with the Nobel Prize.
   
   Any biography of such a prodigy must suffer under the dearth of biographers able to do their subject justice. Hager, who knew Pauling before his death, has done a very good job of making Pauling come to life; the book, which bears close reading, is easily worth five stars.
   
   Nevertheless it has a few deficiencies. One is that Hager barely explains Pauling's scientific accomplishments. Obviously excessive detail is beyond the scope of the book, but a hundred or so pages devoted to the basic concepts and the ramifications of Pauling's work would have made for a vastly more interesting book. Hager, as is to be expected of one of Pauling's friends, is somewhat protective of Pauling. He describes how Pauling repeatedly made fools of many American "Anti-communists" who were, at times, paranoid and ignorant, at times, vindictive, and, at times, outright liars. The climate of "loyalty oaths" and of various government agencies suspecting anyone who had ever had anything to do with anyone under suspicion was chilling.
   
   And yet Hager doesn't adequately describe the other side of the coin. The United States certainly had warts, but he utterly neglects the Soviet Union's abject disregard for human rights, its forced labor camps, and its many other flaws. Neither does Communist China's self-genocidal Cultural Revolution merit a single mention, not even when Hager describes Pauling's controversial visit to the Chinese attempt to create a "Worker's Paradise." Pauling, who was drawn into the demimonde of fringe left-wing politics, and Utopian political ideas by his wife, appears to have been completely oblivious to these unpleasant realities. By neglecting to duly describe these rather poor judgments on Pauling's part, which did so much to discredit him, Hager doesn't portray Pauling as the political knight errant he so clearly was. All the same, this biography is well worth reading.



2. There are very few scientists in history who can truly be called 'giants'. Two times Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling was undoubtedly one of them, and also a great humanitarian. In this biography, Thomas Hager brings a fine perspective to the life of this remarkable man.
   Hager puts every part of Pauling's life and science in the spotlight; growing up in Oregon among difficult times without a father, attending college and university through sheer grit and determination, learning the new sciences of x-ray crystallography and quantum mechanics, and finally applying this knowledge to an amazing array of fields in chemistry, physics, biology and medicine, in the process becoming one of the greatest scientists of the century.
   
   Pauling's life can really be divided into two parts, both of which Hager discusses in detail. In the first part, he became the foremost chemist in the world and made contributions to an almost unbelievable variety of topics; the chemical bond and quantum chemistry, inorganic and organic chemistry, biochemistry and molecular biology, and medical research. In at least two of these, quantum chemistry and molecular biology, he became their founding father in the true sense of the term.
   In the second part of his life, Pauling became a great humanitarian, relentlessly protesting against nuclear testing in the face of great troubles brought about by McCarthysm and the Cold War. After World War 2, Pauling's life was a constant struggle as he waged war against nuclear weapons, was accused of having Communist sympathies and denied a passport for travelling to England by the State Department (thus possibly missing out on winning the race to discover the DNA structure), and had to leave his beloved Caltech of many years because of tensions between himself and the administration. When he received the Nobel Peace prize, a prominent newspaper called it 'a weird insult from Sweden'.
   In spite of all this, Pauling still found time to make the great discovery of protein structure, and make decisive contributions to molecular biology and medicine. He was the first person to describe a genetically inherited disease, sickle cell anemia, in molecular terms. This is one of the harbingers of the modern age of drug discovery and gene-therapy. Hager portrays both Pauling's scientific as well as political crusades in an excellent way. He also manages to put the man in context, and discusses the general changing political and scientific scenario of Pauling's times. This includes the beginning of 'big science', the permanent moulding of science and politics, and the coming of age of American academia and industry.
   
   In later years, Pauling was even more bitterly criticized for his espousal of unorthodox ideas in nutrition and medicine (especially his insistence about the benefits of unusually large doses of Vitamin C as a puported cure for almost everything, from the common cold to cancer). However, the last words on his medical theories has not yet been said and research continues.
   From very early on in all of Pauling's endeavors, he was constantly supported by an extraordinary woman; his wife, Ava Helen, and Hager very rightly gives due and important attention to her in this book; many times, the essential strong and silent women behind the men are forgotten and fortunately Hager does not do this.
   
   There are many biographies of Pauling ( the ones by Serafini, Goertzel and Mead being the main ones). In its scope and comprehensivenes, Hager's is probably the best. All in all, a great read about a truly important scientist-citizen of the last century



3. The Hager book is not bad at all, though I would not rank it above the Serafini book. Probably the motivation for saying this is that there is less of Pauling's science in the Serafini book and more in Hager's book. However, many reviewers miss the point that the purpose of a biography is to delve into a subject's life and personality -- not the details of his work. And, in any case, Pauling stopped doing any serious science before the 60's began and in fact left Caltech near the beginning of that decade, thereafter devoting his life mainly to silly peace crusades, vitamin C hokum and such things. So in this respect the Serafini book is actually more in proportion to Pauling's serious work in science and does a fairly good job. In this respect also, the Goertzel book in my view also does well, although the latter is a bit too "psychoanalytical" for my taste .



4. Editor: I wrote one of the reviews of this book already included on your website. But there was a typo in my original version. I wrote "21st century" when I obviously meant "20th century" in describing the century in which Linus Pauling lived. Do you think you could correct this typo? Thanks.

   William Ott
   Montgomery Village, MD




5. Linus Pauling loved America. Born in the USA in 1901, of humble, working parents, he was a winner of two Nobel Prizes and a witness and participant in almost all the grand events of the 21st century: the discovery of quantum physics, the gradual understanding of how chemistry works, the discovery of DNA, the development of the atomic bomb, two world wars, the cold war and McCarthyism, the emergence of big science and super-universities like Cal Tech, and the social activism of the 60s. Pauling, like the fictional character, Forest Gump, had a remarkable life in which he encountered and influenced almost all the major characters of 21st century science, politics, and society. A loving husband and father, Pauling was devoted to his wife of 60 plus years, which provides another fascinating undercurrent to his life. This is one book I was sorry to have finished -- I found it relaxing AND educational. Author Tom Hager has an enviable ability to explain complex, scientific concepts in everyday language, whether they come from the world of physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, or drug development. He expertly weaves the science in with the modern history of our country, from life in rural Oregon where Pauling was born and raised, to the capitals of the world where he influenced presidents and national leaders, to Hollywood and university campuses where his gregarious, fun-loving personality, communication ability, and liberal politics turned him into a media darling. With short, snappy chapters, this book is hard to put down.......

3 comments about "Most of the Good Stuff:" Memories of Richard Feynman.

1. This is probably not the first book to read about Feynman. I think the best introductory read is Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman. However, this one is unique in that it gives a first hand objective account of his life, personality and achievements (particularly in Physics). It's unfortunate that I have had to skip parts of certain essays (written originally for Physics Today) because they required the kind of Physics knowledge that I do not have, in order to understand and appreciate what Feynman's contribution was to the problem. Nonetheless, the book is a pleasure to read, and some essays are gems in that respect. I especially liked Richard Feynman and the Connection Machine by W. Daniel Hillis. Just when I'm thinking I've learned all of the interesting Feynman stories that I will ever get to know, I come across yet another one that makes me smile and shake my head. I wonder if there are any left after reading this book :)



2. Divided into seven sections (The Early Years, At Los Alamos, The Cornell Years, The Research Physicist at Caltech, The Teacher at Caltech, The Public Physicist and Consultant, and Feynman--The Man), this fine book presents Richard Feynman as he was seen by those closest to him--his friends and colleagues. To their credit, they present him as they knew him, the qualities with the flaws.
   
   The book is especially successful in communicating Feynman's way of thinking, the processes he used in attacking problems. The essay entitled "Richard Feynman and the Connection Machine" by W. Daniel Hills is notably successful in this regard, and by itself justifies the purchase of the book. I found it especially interesting that Feynman was fascinated, as I am, by the potential of cellular automata for modeling fluids. Readers with the same interest should also consider purchasing Seek! by Rudy Rucker.
   
   Five or so essays by other physicists who knew Feynman contain mathematics that is proably beyond the ability of the average reader (certainly mine), but even these contain gems of insight that reward readers who wade through them.
   
   All in all, a most satisfying experience.
   
   Also recommended: Feynman's Rainbow: A Search for Beauty in Physics and in Life



3. Fascinating and insiteful lectures from many of the great people in the world of physics. Amusing anecdotes, touching tributes, and glimpses into the private life of a genius who was also extremely human and persevered through very painful personal problems to help create the atomic bomb while his wife was seriously ill, yet keeping his spirits up and his sense of humor. Never a person to rest on his laurels Feynman is shown in this book as a person who listened intently to other people's theories, no matter how odd they sounded and never assumed anything was right or wrong until he worked it out for himself from first principles. It's all here, his life, his work, his friends, family and colleagues - but most of all his spirit.

5 comments about The Queen's Conjurer: The Science and Magic of Dr. John Dee, Adviser to Queen Elizabeth I.

1. For 25 years I have read & collected everything on John Dee I could find, even to the point of ordering the Sloan MSS fron the British museum. My only complaint about this effort is that it wasn't longer. It reads like a novel. This is the daily life of one of the most fascinating people in British history. Occultists will get clarity on the nature of the Angelic workings, Alchemists get a glimpse of the nature of the craft, students of history are drawn into the gritty reality of fifteenth century Europe. This book carried me through from beginning to end in only two sittings. I couldn't put it down. Well done Woolley!



2. I have always found Dr. John Dee to be one of the most intriguing characters of Elizabethan times. Yet, there seemed to be so little information available about him, only bits and pieces and rumors- often spread by his enemies. Here is a most satisfying biography that not only gives you a complete look at the Doctor's life, but is also supplemented with a wealth of associated detail and historical background. This book turns Dee from a shadowy character to a real man, a great man.

   What comes across is the amazing breadth and depth of Dee's interests and scholarship. He was already famed for his remarkable intellect and ability as a student at Cambridge. At a time when most scholars barely processed a reading knowledge of bad Latin, he mastered classical Greek to be able to read the forgotten works of Plato and Pythagoras. He was a personal friend and correspondent to the great men of the age such as Tycho Brahe and Mercator. Dee himself was famed as a great mathematician in Europe (at a time when simple trigonometry was almost unknown in England.) He was offered high positions at the great courts of Europe, but turned these offers down out of a deep seated desire to raise up his country of birth to be their eventual global equal (at this time England was a poor, backward, weak backwater.) Indeed, the first conception of a British Empire, founded upon a strong Royal Navy, was first expounded by Dee.

   John Dee was as close to modern scientist as existed in the 16th century. He independently came to the conclusion that bodies of unequal weight fall at the same rate- before Galileo. He was recognized as England's top expert on optics and lenses. He was recognized as one of the top experts on navigation and chart making of his day. He kept detailed astronomical observations that even Tycho Brahe admired. He based his astrological work upon the heliocentric "heresy" of Copernicus. He was an expert in geology and ores and leased his own tin mine. He also collected the biggest research library of the age in Mortlake, which was a gathering place of the greatest minds of England and the continent. In short- Dee was a competent expert in several areas of natural philosophy and applied technology. He believed in detailed observation and record keeping- in both natural, and supernatural, phenomena.

   The thing is, Dee believed his accomplishments in the more material and practical sciences to be among his lesser accomplishments. Like Newton after him, his real passion was with the deepest cosmic and spiritual secrets. This led to his fame as an astrologer, and an alchemist, and a cabalist. Dee's passion was to discover the ancient, true, original religion of mankind, the "prisci theology." That is why he could walk easily among both Protestants and Catholics- he ultimately considered both of their dogma's to be equally absurd. Dee had a much more open mind that the "scientists" of later centuries- he studied all unknown forces, natural or supernatural. This was why be studied and practiced natural magic (Agrippa's three books were always open upon his desk for quick reference.) He knew that hidden currents influenced the day-to-day world, and he documented his observations even if he couldn't explain them in terms of material cause and effect. This also led to his interest is scrying and the use of natural sensitives to communicate with spirits. It should be noted, that no one at this time doubted the existence of such spirits- it was as self evident as the existence of God. In fact, many powerful lords of the day employed seers and scryers, including the earls of Leicester, Pembroke, and Northumberland.

   All in all, you come away with a renewed respect for Dee. You realize that his only fault was to be born in a society of petty, ignorant, lesser men. It was they that libeled and slandered his image and painted him as a superstitious conjuror. Indeed, the only real mistake that the good Doctor made was to outlive his beloved queen and protector.




3. Dr. John Dee is now considered to be the English Renaissance man. This was not always the case, however, because his first biographers, as the author of this fine biography points out, were either `hard-headed rationalist or muddle-headed mystics.' In present time, researchers and historians agree that Dee was a true Renaissance man because he sought to connect or reconcile rationalism with magic, science and the supernatural. This was not unusual for the time. Copernicus cited the mystic Hermes Trismegistus in his Magnum Opus, proposing the heliocentric universe. Isaac Newton began his career as an alchemist, before moving on to modern methods of pure science. John Dee was the most important scientists of the Elizabethan age. But this is only a somewhat recent recognition because throughout the ages he was considered a charlatan, crook, blockhead and "companion of hellhounds". Benjamin Woolley's fine biography combines history, science, espionage and common sense and attempts to answer how a man of genius that had such a major influence in mathematics, astronomy, cartography, navigation and science in general, could die a pauper and in obscurity.

   In 1659, a scholar by the name of Meric Casaubon copied and published a collection of Dee's documents, which contained the recordings of spiritual conversations with angels and archangels, and other dialogues, which could be interpreted dubious at best. After the publication Dee's reputation as a credible philosopher went steadily down hill and has taken centuries to recover. Woolley has done some fine research, using Dee's actual diaries, and has painstakingly pieced together his life and career.

   The Elizabethan age was a turning point in Western history. The Reformation was essentially a battle for power and knowledge and a bloody war in the name of religion. But it also set the stage for the Enlightenment, and Dr. John Dee was a precursor to the Age of Reason. He was a man of `science', collecting and studying every ancient text he could get his hands on, (his library is the stuff of legend) but rational knowledge, he truly believed, would only take him so far - he desired heavenly knowledge and wisdom. And it is possible that his spiritual researches into the divine nature could have been the cause of his downfall. Dee did not seek worldly gain, riches and material pleasure; his only desire was to attain the secrets of the Holy. Did he pay the ultimate price for this activity?

   ~The Queen's Conjurer~ is not a dense historical text, but an informative and enlightening piece of research. It casts some light on an intriguing figure, removing him from modern occult history and in to the mainstream.




4. Benjamin Woolley's 'The Queen's Conjurer' is the most recent attempt to present the life of the English Enigma, Dr. John Dee. Dee is an interesting character and one that has sadly been much maligned over the centuries. Since his death in 1608, he has largely been dismissed at best as an sorcerer and black magicican and, at worst, as a credulous old fool dabbling in astrology and necromancy. Today, despite his prominent historical role in Elizabethan politics and his great contibutions to many fields, he is hardly remembered at all. This book tries to alleviate that problem.

   Wolley's work is well-researched and attempts to shed light on Dee's life and his many accomplishments as not only an occultist, but also as an astronomer, mathematician, explorer, and spy. Dee was a product of the Renaissance and devoured knowledge and information. He was an avid bibliophile, a voracious author of various works on astronomy, astrology, mathematics, occult philosophy, and was well-respected by many prominent people at the court of Queen Elizabeth. The Queen herself counted herself one of Dee's benefactors and visited him numerous times at his home at Mortlake, taking a genuine interest in his many magical and mathematical works. Today he is largely remembered for his works concerning "Enochian" or Angel Magic, due to the fact that these are the bulk of his writings that have survived the flames of history. Most of the second half of this book is concerned with Dee's European adventures with the mysterious scryer Edward Kelly, who is largely regarded by history as a charlatan and a rake. Kelly is a shadowy and intriguing figure and we get some insight into his character and motivations but he is never truly revealed to us, perhaps he never will be. In the end, Dee finds that despite a lifetime of great works and accomplishments, he is viewed with mistrust and suspicion by the general public and has lost favor with the new court of King James I. He dies a tired and broken man, and history would continue to tarnish his great name until well into the 20th century.

   The Queen's Conjurer is a very readable account of a great and fascinating man.




5. Woolley's book is good-hearted, an attempt to help modern readers see John Dee not at the fringes but at the heart of much that was going on Elizabethan England.

   But the book's execution leaves *much* to be desired. As other Amazon.com reviews have noted, the thread of the story gets lost along the way (especially amidst some of the sordid details concerning Dee's relationship with Edward Kelly). There are a number of interesting facts and anecdotes, but they never quite come together as a coherent whole. And Woolley displays such an appalling ignorance of Catholicism when he attempts to describe the religious background of the period (and in some instances, ignorance of Christianity in general) that I tend to wonder whether he's gotten his facts about Dee's life wrong too.

   While I'll give the book 3 stars for good intentions, in general, you're better off finding a copy of Peter French's _John Dee: The World of an Elizabethan Magus_.

No comments about Taxes, Estate Planning, and Asset Protection (Secrets of the Great Investors).