Synopses & Reviews
In 1965 English scientist James Lovelock had a flash of insight: the Earth is not just teeming with life; the Earth, in some sense,
is life. He mulled this revolutionary idea over for several years, first with his close friend the novelist William Golding, and then in an extensive collaboration with the American scientist Lynn Margulis. In the early 1970s, he finally went public with the Gaia hypothesis, the idea that everything happens for an end: the good of planet Earth. Lovelock and Margulis were scorned by professional scientists, but the general public enthusiastically embraced Lovelock and his hypothesis. People joined Gaia groups; churches had Gaia services, sometimes with new music written especially for the occasion. There was a Gaia atlas, Gaia gardening, Gaia herbs, Gaia retreats, Gaia networking, and much more. And the range of enthusiasts wasandmdash;and still isandmdash;broad.and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;In
The Gaia Hypothesis, philosopher Michael Ruse, with his characteristic clarity and wit, uses Gaia and its history, its supporters and detractors, to illuminate the nature of science itself. Gaia emerged in the 1960s, a decade when authority was questioned and status and dignity stood for nothing, but its story is much older. Ruse traces Gaiaandrsquo;s connection to Plato and a long history of goal-directed and holisticandmdash;or organicistandmdash;thinking and explains why Lovelock and Margulisandrsquo;s peers rejected it as pseudoscience. But Ruse also shows why the project was a success. He argues that Lovelock and Margulis should be commended for giving philosophy firm scientific basis and for provoking important scientific discussion about the world as a whole, its homeostasis orandmdash;in this age of global environmental uncertaintyandmdash;its lack thereof.and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;Melding the world of science and technology with the world of feeling, mysticism, and religion,
The Gaia Hypothesis will appeal to a broad range of readers, from students and scholars of the history and philosophy of science to anyone interested in New Age culture.
Review
andldquo;Few philosophers have blended the history and philosophy of science more successfully than Michael Ruse. And no contemporary scholar has played a more active role in establishing and maintaining the boundaries of science. In this riveting examination of the Gaia hypothesisandmdash;that is, the claim that Earth is a living planetandmdash;Ruse even-handedly applies his expertise to dissecting a controversial case where science, pseudoscience, and religion all came into play.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;Written with Michael Ruseandrsquo;s trademark combination of storytelling verve and philosophical insight, this book offers a fascinating history of the appealing but scientifically heretical idea that the earth is in some sense alive. Ruse not only recounts the successes and failures of this intriguing notion, but along the way poses searching questions about the nature of science and its popular reception.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;Michael Ruse has a habit of tackling big ideas in the history and philosophy of science, and there is hardly any idea bigger than the Gaia hypothesis. Ruse situates James Lovelock and Lynn Margulisandrsquo;s theory of Earth as a living, self-regulating organism within several contexts, ranging from their personal biographies to the long history of mechanism and organicism in the life sciences. The trek through the past helps make sense of both the immense popularity of Gaia among the lay public and the hostility it faced from professional scientists, as Ruse contends that they are both part of the same process.andrdquo;
Review
and#8220;[Ruseand#8217;s] treatment is thought-provoking and original, as you would expect from this perceptive, irrepressible philosopher of biology.and#8221;
Review
andldquo;Fascinating. . . . The book is full of empathetic, insightful, and often very funny portraits of Margulis, Lovelock, and a community of other figures associated with Gaia and its histories. It is also a wonderfully lively and readable narrative.andrdquo;
Review
and#8220;Entertaining and highly readable. . . . The value of Ruseand#8217;s book is in how he captures the wider importance of the debate triggered by the Gaia hypothesis. Like all good philosophers, he makes the reader think about how we think.and#8221;
Review
"Explores the philosophical and historical bases of Gaiaand#8217;s principle, beginning with Plato and taking readers up to the present with modern ecology and evolutionary biology. . . . There are few people writing today more qualified than Ruse to take on this job. He has the history and philosophical skills to tackle the literature across millennia, and his three-decade immersion in evolution allows him to read critically from complicated sources. Best of all, he still knows how to write in a way that makes philosophy and science fun."
Review
"Making Marie Curie is an impressive and well-written study that will be of broad interest beyond professional historians. Richly sourced and referenced, this book sheds new light on the personal and professional lives of the Curies, raising fascinating questions of the parenting and ownership of radium and providing a new angle on the Curiesand#8217; career that is sure to provoke debate."
Review
"Making Marie Cure is a gripping account of the episodes in Marie Curieand#8217;s life when her involvement with intellectual property, the press, celebrity culture, and the international management of information became especially consequential. Through these episodes, Hemmungs Wirtand#233;n traces the creation of the Curie and#8216;brandand#8217;and#8212;a term and a legal concept that the European Union has explicitly adopted. She reveals a fascinating process through which scientific persona and publicity intersect."
Review
andquot;Anyone interested in the Gaia hypothesis--its history, its philosophical underpinnings and the scientific controversy over it in the mid-twentieth-century--will find this book an exceptionally interesting read.andquot;
Review
andquot;A good read, with genuine insights into the characters and careers of Lovelock and Margulis and the general Zeitgeist that accounted for the positive reception of the Gaia hypothesis by the general public.andquot;
Review
andquot;Fascinating. . . . A refreshing reminder of just how much the scientific enterprise is a social phenomenon, both in its inner workings and in how it is affected by the broader social milieu.andquot;
Review
andquot;Written with Ruseandrsquo;s usual flair and attention to the relevant evidence (that he shows is itself rich and varied), this book is scholarly and illuminating, on the one hand, and a thoroughly enjoyable read, on the other.andquot;
Review
2015 Editorsand#39; Spring Pick
Review
andquot;Marie Curie remains the most famous of female scientists. In the analysis of how the co-discoverer of radium became uniquely idolized, cultural scholar Eva Hemmungs Wirtandeacute;n uses the prisms of celebrity and intellectual propertyandmdash;Curie and her husband, Pierre, having famously refused to patent radium. Wirtandeacute;nand#39;s picture of a scientist carefully shaping her own image is less angelic than the traditional view of Curie, but might have much to teach her modern successors.andquot;
Review
andquot;In Making Marie Curie, Eva Hemmungs Wirtandeacute;n shows how biographers and polularizers, including Curie herself, fashioned the woman born Marya Sklodowska in 1867 into an enduring scientific persona. . . . If the legend of Marie Curie represents the aspirations of modern science, Making Marie Curie shows how a diverse range of people, from biographers to philanthropists to Curie herself, created these aspirations in the first place.andquot;
Review
andquot;Original, well researched, timely, and well written. . . . In short, The Gaia Hypothesis is highly recommended reading.andquot;
Review
andquot;In light of current constraints on research funding, and the debate over who should pay for scientific and other content, Wirtandeacute;nandrsquo;s excellent account of the complexity of the 1930s intellectual property debate is timely. . . . Using Curie as the vehicle for discussion on all the themes in this thought-provoking book is a strategy that enables Wirtandeacute;n to draw a far more complex portrait than that of the legendary wife patiently stirring radioactive pitchblende, content to remain in her husbandandrsquo;s shadow.andquot;
Review
2015 Editorsand#39; Spring Pick
andquot;Hemmungs Wirtandeacute;n explores how the most recognized female scientist managed her and#39;brand.and#39; In shaping her public persona, Marie Curie (1867andndash;1934) had to balance not only her roles as researcher and wife and mother but also issues of nationalism and an agenda that straddled the pure and applied sciences.andquot;
Review
andquot;A compellingly argued book thatand#39;s also a pleasure to read.andquot;
Synopsis
In many ways, Marie Curie represents modern science. Her considerable lifetime achievementsand#151;the first woman to be awarded a Nobel Prize, the only woman to be awarded the Prize in two fields, and the only person to be awarded Nobel Prizes in multiple sciencesand#151;are studied by schoolchildren across the world. When, in 2009, the
New Scientist carried out a poll for the and#147;Most Inspirational Female Scientist of All Time,and#8221; the result was a foregone conclusion: Marie Curie trounced her closest runner-up, Rosalind Franklin, winning double the number of Franklinand#8217;s votes. She is a role model to women embarking on a career in science, the pride of two nationsand#151;Poland and Franceand#151;and, not least of all, a European Union brand for excellence in science.
Making Marie Curie explores what went into the creation of this icon of science. It is not a traditional biography, or one that attempts to uncover the and#147;realand#8221; Marie Curie. Rather, Eva Hemmungs Wirtand#233;n, by tracing a career that spans two centuries and a world war, provides an innovative and historically grounded account of how modern science emerges in tandem with celebrity culture under the influence of intellectual property in a dawning age of information. She explores the emergence of the Curie persona, the information culture of the period that shaped its development, and the strategies Curie used to manage and exploit her intellectual property. How did one create and maintain for oneself the persona of scientist at the beginning of the twentieth century? What special conditions bore upon scientific women, and on married women in particular? How was French identity claimed, established, and subverted? How, and with what consequences, was a scientific reputation secured?
In its exploration of these questions and many more, Making Marie Curie provides a composite picture not only of the making of Marie Curie, but the making of modern science itself.
Synopsis
Marie Curie represents modern science. Her considerable lifetime achievementsand#151;including being the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the first person to win two Nobel Prizes, the only woman to win in two fields, and the only person to win in multiple sciencesand#151;are studied by schoolchildren across the globe. Making Marie Curie explores what went into making this icon of science. It is not a traditional biography, or one that seeks to uncover the and#147;realand#8221; Marie Curie. Instead, Eva Hemmungs Wirtand#233;n draws readers through major events in Marie Curieand#8217;s life, tracing a career spanning two centuries and one World War, in order to paint a composite picture of her rising celebrity. In doing so, Hemmungs Wirtand#233;n provides an innovative and historically grounded account of how modern science emerges in tandem with celebrity culture, through the power of print and under the influence of intellectual property.
About the Author
Eva Hemmungs Wirtén is professor of mediated culture at Linköping University, Sweden. She is the author of Terms of Use: Negotiating the Jungle of the Intellectual Commons and No Trespassing: Authorship, Intellectual Property Rights, and the Boundaries of Globalization.
Table of Contents
Introduction
and#160;
1and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Me, Myself, I: In the Interest of Disinterestedness
and#160;
2and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Scandal, Slander, and Science: Surviving 1911
and#160;
3and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; The Gift(s) That Kept on Giving: Circulating Radium and Curie
and#160;
4and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Intellectuals of the World, Unite! Curie and the League of Nations
and#160;
Epilogue
and#160;
Acknowledgments
and#160;
Notes
and#160;
Bibliographic Essay
and#160;
Index