Synopses & Reviews
James Henry Breasted (1865andndash;1935) had a career that epitomizes our popular image of the archaeologist. Daring, handsome, and charismatic, he traveled on expeditions to remote and politically unstable corners of the Middle East, helped identify the tomb of King Tut, and was on the cover of
Time magazine. But Breasted was more than an Indiana Jonesandmdash;he was also an accomplished scholar, academic entrepreneur, and talented author who brought ancient history to life not just for students but for such notables as Teddy Roosevelt and Sigmund Freud.
In American Egyptologist, Jeffrey Abt weaves together the disparate strands of Breastedandrsquo;s life, from his small-town origins following the Civil War to his evolution into the father of American Egyptology and the founder of the Oriental Institute in the early years of the University of Chicago. Abt explores the scholarly, philanthropic, diplomatic, and religious contexts of his ideas and projects, providing insight into the origins of Americaandrsquo;s most prominent center for Near Eastern archaeology.An illuminating portrait of the nearly forgotten man who demystified ancient Egypt for the general public, American Egyptologist restores James Henry Breasted to the world and puts forward a brilliant case for his place as one of the most important scholars of modern times.
Review
and#8220;Abtand#8217;s book is a thorough and enjoyable biography of the father of American Egyptology, enhanced by previously unpublished material and photographs from the archives of the Oriental Institute. The extraordinary life and accomplishments of James Henry Breasted finally have the treatment they deserve.and#8221;
Review
andldquo;
American Egyptologist is ably written and more than meticulously researched. Abt has rescued for us the most important American student of the ancient Near East and one of the twentieth centuryandrsquo;s leading academics. We are also able to see how brilliant scholars like James Breasted shaped the university system and the education of a democratic electorate, even as people like him were molded by wealthy donors. Abt finally contributes to our understanding of debates over the secularization of the collegiate world. Altogether, a virtuoso performance.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;Abt has written the definitive study of Breastedandrsquo;s career, deftly showing the many ways Breasted exemplified his time and his field while also showing how extraordinary the man was. The book succeeds on many levelsandmdash;as a study of an academic career; as a portrait of issues in American higher education in the early twentieth century; as a discussion of museums and their role in both universities and cities in America; as a study in organizational development and fundraising; and above all, as a portrait of an exceptional life with its overseas adventures and long-lasting impact on the fields of Egyptology and archaeology in the Middle East. A remarkable book.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;Abt has done an excellent job of narrating Breastedandrsquo;s scholarly life and accomplishments. He deftly fills in the various backgrounds and influencesandmdash;from the mentorship of William Rainey Harper and Adolf Erman to the archaeological politics of interwar Egypt and the institutional politics of the University of Chicagoandmdash;and, since Breasted was always interested in larger issues related to society, history, and religion, Abt provides sensitive insight into the contemporary worldview of the educated, both lay and professional. Well written and illustrated, this is a book that will appeal to all seriously interested in moving beyond Indiana Jones to a deeper understanding of how scholars have reconstructed ancient Egypt.andrdquo;
Review
"
American Egyptologist is the fascinating story of a man and the formation of an institution whose roots lie in the tense politics of the Middle East but whose mission is to keep alive the histories of the ancient Near East."
Review
and#8220;Much of the appeal of
American Egyptologist lies in its portrait of the America of a century or so ago. . . .All this will make a fascinating read for Egyptologists and those interested in the development of American higher education.and#8221;
Review
"Mr. Abt's biography is almost encyclopedic, but the narrative is always visible amid the detail, and footnotes and references are used wisely. It is unlikely that the story of this restless scholar will need to be written again."
Review
and#160;andldquo;Breasted would present a daunting challenge to any biographer, but Jeffrey Abt brings a number of pertinent skills into play with good results. Drawing on his established track record as an institutional historian, Abt is able to make sense of Breastedandrsquo;s incomparable and almost incredibly complex academic entrepreneurship. . . . The personal touches about Breasted are present, tastefully told and in just the right depth to delineate a real human being and to suggest how his personal life conditioned his professional life. . . . Stripping away some of the gilding allows an even brighter personality and more authentic character to shine through.andrdquo;
Review
and#8220;American Egyptologist is the comprehensive biography of Breasted that has long been needed in the field of disciplinary history. The book succeeds on two fronts: as a detailed biography of one prominent individualand#8217;s life, and as a contextualization of that life within the larger intellectual and social currents of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. . . . Contributes a valuable resource to those interested in the roots of Egyptology in America.and#8221;
Review
andquot;Portraying the extraordinary polymath Wollaston both in detail and in the round, this elegantly written work is a major contribution to understanding early nineteenth-century British science. Usselman exhibits quiet mastery of the diverse fields in which Wollaston labored, fitting his subject into the science, the technology, and the political and economic life of his day.and#160;His work says much about themes of great current historical interest, including the relationships of science to artisanal crafts, invention, and enterprise. Pure Intelligence is both an intellectual tour de force and a pleasure to read.andquot;
Review
andquot;During the first thirty years of the nineteenth century William Hyde Wollastonandrsquo;s contemporaries considered him Britainandrsquo;s greatest natural philosopher, yet today he is almost a forgotten figure. After two centuries of obscurity Wollaston is vividly brought to life in Usselmanandrsquo;s long-awaited and aptly titled biography.and#160; Based upon a thirty-year study of Wollastonandrsquo;s extraordinary wide range of publications, laboratory notebooks, letters and business records, Usselman tells the story of a polymath physician who entered a secret partnership to manufacture platinum metals and organic chemicals and found himself in an embarrassing but fascinating ethical dilemma; a brilliant analytical chemist who played a crucial role in the development of crystallography and the atomic theory; a physicist whose contributions to optics and instrument-making were fundamental; and a man who was at the cultural center of British science. This is a brilliant study of a neglected genius.andquot;
Review
andquot;Usselman has written the first major biography of William Hyde Wollaston, and it is magisterial. Wollaston was reserved in public, warm and devoted in private. Here we have Wollaston brought to life in the round, with the full range of his laboratory work incisively examined, his public service, his inventiveness, and his commercial acumen; science, society, politics, and finance are all in play, and Usselman not only teaches us about Wollaston, restoring him to the eminence that his contemporaries recognized, but also sheds new and important light on the multiple contexts in which he lived and worked. This, after two hundred years, is the definitive biography.andquot;
Review
andquot;Somehow no biography of William Hyde Wollaston materialised during or just after his life, and over time he became little more than a name, sometimes regarded as a recluse. Now after a lifetimeandrsquo;s devotion, Usselman has magnificently filled the gap with a book that brings this great man to life and puts him in his context of Regency Britain and its andlsquo;Second Scientific Revolution,andrsquo; in which science became specialised and professional. Anyone with interests in the history of science generally as well as in chemistry specifically will want to read and enjoy this biography, and I am happy to commend it most warmly.andquot;
Review
andquot;He was crucial to the development of crystallography, and discovered the amino acid cystine and the elements palladium and rhodium. Yet scientific polymath William Hyde Wollaston (1766andndash;1828) is largely forgotten. This meticulous biography, the lifeand#39;s work of late chemist Melvyn Usselman, reveals a man of indefatigable curiosity and methodological genius. As we see Wollaston crafting analytical instruments for Arctic expeditions, stargazing, or showing scientific writer Mary Somerville the uses of a goniometer, we can only concur with Usselman that this was a and#39;man worth knowing.and#39;andquot;
Synopsis
William Hyde Wollaston made an astonishing number of discoveries in an astonishingly varied number of fields: platinum metallurgy, the existence of ultraviolet radiation, the chemical elements palladium and rhodium, the amino acid cystine, and the physiology of binocular vision, among others. Along with his colleagues Humphry Davy and Thomas Young, he was widely recognized during his life as one of Britainand#8217;s leading scientific practitioners in the first part of the nineteenth century, and theand#160; deaths of all three within a six-month span, between 1828 and 1829, were seen by many as the end of a glorious period of British scientific supremacy. Unlike Davy and Young, however, Wollaston was not the subject of a contemporary biography, and his many impressive achievements have fallen into obscurity as a result.
Pure Intelligence is the first book-length study of Wollaston, his science, and the environment in which he thrived. Drawing on previously-unstudied laboratory records as well as historical reconstructions of chemical experiments and discoveries, and written in a highly accessible style, Pure Intelligence will help to reinstate Wollaston in the history of science, and the pantheon of its great innovators.
Synopsis
William Hyde Wollaston was born into a large, religious, and scientifically informed family in 1766 and died sixty-two years later as one of the Western worldand#8217;s most highly regarded scientists. With encouragement from his well-connected father, he studied medicine at Cambridge, and began practicing as a physician in the provinces before moving his practice to London in 1797, arriving in the capital about the same time as his illustrious colleagues Humphry Davy and Thomas Young. After a few years in London, Wollaston abandoned the vocation he had come to dislike and bravely set out to make his living as a chemical entrepreneur, while pursuing his intellectual interests in a wide range of contemporary scientific subjects. He, Davy, and Young were to become Britainand#8217;s leading scientific practitioners in the first third of the nineteenth century, and their deaths within a six month time span were seen by many as the end of a glorious period of British supremacy in science. In contrast to his two more famous colleagues, Wollastonand#8217;s life was not recorded for posterity in a contemporary biography, and his many remarkable scientific, commercial, instrumental, and institutional achievements have fallen into obscurity as a result. This biography is the first book-length study of Wollaston, his science, and the environment in which he thrived.
About the Author
Jeffrey Abt is professor in the James Pearson Duffy Department of Art and Art History at Wayne State University. He is the author of A Museum on the Verge: A Socioeconomic History of the Detroit Institute of Arts, 1885andndash;2000.
Table of Contents
List of maps
Epigraph
Note to the Reader
1. Equipment for a Great Work
2. What the Monuments Say
3. Two Years, Three Books, Seven Volumes
4. Expeditions to Nubia
5. Spreading Wings
6. The Near East as a Whole
7. An Institute, a Calling
8. Permanence
9. A Historical Laboratory
Epitaph
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Maps
Map 1. Breastedand#8217;s Middle East, 1894and#8211;1935
Map 2. Nile Honeymoon, 1894
Map 3. Nubian Expeditions, 1905and#8211;1907
Map 4. Survey Expedition, 1919and#8211;1920