Abstract
THIS book is of a type now becoming more common, an elementary account of science intended for “the intelligent general reader who, having a genuine interest in science, is nevertheless unable to follow up any one branch of it in close detail.” To write such a book successfully a sound knowledge of the subject, a gift of attractive exposition, and a good literary style are necessary. These are evinced in a very satisfactory measure by the authors of the work before us. No serious misstatement has been noticed during perusal—nothing more important than the use of “dephlogisticated” for “phlogisticated” on pp. 70 and 89. The exposition is clear, and a fresh turn is given to the story of elementary chemistry by following the track of the ancient “elements.” The language is not hackneyed, nor yet aggressively unconventional. A perusal of the book will not make a chemist, but it will give a just idea of chemistry to an intelligent reader; and to an elementary student, in the shackles of a traditional text-book, it will afford a salutary relief, a breath of fresher air.
The Story of the Five Elements.
By E. W. Edmunds J. B. Hoblyn. (The Library of Modern Knowledge.) Pp. viii + 264. (London: Cassell and Co., Ltd., 1911.) Price 2s. 6d. net.
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S., A. The Story of the Five Elements . Nature 89, 60 (1912). https://doi.org/10.1038/089060a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/089060a0