Letters for the Ages Great Scientists: Private Letters from the Greatest Minds in Science

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James Drake Hugh Aldersey-Williams

Letters for the Ages Great Scientists

Private Letters from the Greatest Minds in Science

James Drake, Hugh Aldersey-Williams, Lord Martin Rees

$42.99

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Bloomsbury
04 February 2025

Biography: science, technology & engineering; Diaries, letters & journals; Anthologies (non-poetry); Mathematics & Sciences; History of science

Series: Letters for the Ages

A collection of the most fascinating letters by the world’s greatest scientists from Copernicus and Galileo right up to the present day Crick and Watson, Dorothy Hodgkin and Richard Doll.

The particular interest in this volume is that the letters are intensely personal. Of course, the great scientific discoveries are alluded to, but just as interesting are the emotional conflicts, battles and jealousies that went on among the scientists themselves. Even today, for example, there is intense debate in the press about the reputation of Rosalind Franklin and the structure of DNA or whether Charles Darwin did really invent evolutionary theory. Such matters are intrinsically interesting not just to scientists, but to the general public at large. This book will find a large audience.

The book covers scientists from a wide collection of disciplines – including psychology (Freud and Jung), electronics (John Logie Baird), relativity (Einstein) and medicine (Marie Curie).

The interest and authority of this book is greatly enhanced by the Introduction by Martin Rees, (Lord Rees of Ludlow), Astronomer Royal and until recently Master of Trinity College, Cambridge who, having read all the letters included here, has pronounced them ‘fascinating’.

Introduction by: Lord Martin Rees
Edited by: James Drake, Hugh Aldersey-Williams
Imprint: Bloomsbury
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 153mm,
ISBN: 9781399416092
ISBN 10: 139941609X
Series: Letters for the Ages
Pages: 320
Publication Date: 04 February 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Lord Rees is the Astronomer Royal and one of the top scientists often on radio and television. His speciality is cosmology and astrophysics. James Drake is a serial entrepreneur, philanthropist, and Founder at Of Lost Time, an innovative literary unit which uncovers the hidden stories of the past through the power of personal correspondence. When James is not trawling through historical letters, he is seeking to improve the health and welfare of people impacted by head injuries through his Drake Foundation, and supporting the next generation of exceptional musicians through his Drake Calleja Trust. Hugh Aldersey-Williams is the author of the bestselling Periodic Tales - a cultural history of the chemical elements. He is an author, journalist and columnist.