Filling a hole in reference collections on the history of science, this
tome brings together a great collection of articles on the progress of
scientific discovery in the 16th and 17th centuries. The text, which
considers the social and philosophical climate of the period as well as
the science itself, is equally good at covering the concrete (such as
institutions, people, and instrumentation) and the abstract (such as
theories, schools of thought, and controversies). The 437 entries vary
in length from just half a page to five pages, and each has a short
bibliography directing the reader to recent articles and monographs as
well as primary sources. Access to the entries is aided by a 60-page
index, a detailed chronology, a topical/taxonomic outline of entries,
and cross references. Just under 40 percent of the articles cite a work
by the contributor, demonstrating that Applebaum (emeritus, history of
science, Illinois Univ. of Technology) was skilled at selecting
accomplished scholars from around the globe (though primarily from
Europe and North America). Written at a level accessible to the
educated lay reader, this work will find a welcome home in academic
libraries and public libraries with larger science collections.