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To write a history of chemistry achievements of the previous century is a daunting task, one taken on by Arthur Greenberg in his book Twentieth-Century Science. Chemistry: Decade by Decade. The book, published by Facts on File Inc., is one work in a much larger project by the publisher to create a seven-volume set of the history of 20th-century sciences—biology, chemistry, earth science, marine science, physics, space and astronomy, and weather and climate. The set is advertised as being essential for middle and high school students, teachers, and general readers who seek comprehensive information on recent scientific history and its effect on future advancements in science (more on this later). I did not have access to the other six volumes in the seven-volume set, so cannot comment on the content and treatment of topics in those volumes.
The chapters of Greenberg’s book are a decade-by-decade description of selected topics, each chapter ending with a conclusion, a brief biography of the Scientist of the Decade, and a thorough, annotated list of references for further reading. Most of the topics included center on Nobel-prize winning works or those closely related to them in chemistry and/or medicine or physiology. As with any historical account of such chemistry achievements, there is a latitude of choices exercised by the author regarding subject matter, always open to debate, about what to include and what to omit. In Greenberg’s case his choices are inconsistent, going from points of legitimate interest and detail to excruciatingly superfluous minutiae. This type of treatment leads to a distinct unevenness in the book, one that tosses the reader to and fro in coverage that varies from a “mile wide and an inch deep” to “a mile deep and an inch wide.”
The Preface notes that “the purpose of the seven-volume set [including the work reviewed here] is to provide students, teachers, and the general public with an accessible and highly readable source for understanding how science developed, decade by decade, during the century and hints of where it will go during the early decades of the 21st century.” The Introduction states that the book “…is written to be accessible for a broad audience of readers who will, hopefully, enjoy it and partake of the ‘low-lying fruit’ as well as the tasty fruit in the higher branches as their backgrounds and desires to climb the tree permit… There is useful and accessible material for the younger students as well as for college students, teachers, nonscientists, and scientists.” In spite of these lofty goals, there is in fact very little “low-lying fruit” that is accessible for the reader who does not have a significant background in chemistry, certainly not middle school or high school students (an audience denoted on the back cover). In almost all cases, the reading level and scientific background required is well beyond that of a major portion of the target audience. Chapter 1 has very heavy lifting for all but those who are chemists by training, material definitely not approachable or comprehensible for an informed reader with only a high school chemistry background.
Figures occur throughout the book but are not numbered, a distraction when a figure and its related text are widely separated, as occurs often. A more serious concern is that many figures are outdated (for example, stratospheric ozone hole depletion), incorrect (wedge-and-dash structural formulas), or indecipherable (HOMO electron-density). Also, figures are lacking where their presence would have added clarity to the textual descriptions (e.g., reaction surface, FTNMR).
Twentieth-Century Science Chemistry: Decade by Decade would have benefited significantly from much more thorough copy editing. Errors of fact and style abound, ones that would have been uncovered by a more thorough vetting of the manuscript or page proofs. Style errors, from a very long list, include: improper placement of chemical equations and accompanying text material; isotope designations lack a hyphen (molybdenum-146, not molybdenum 146); 1996 Nobel Prize winners Smalley, Kroto, and Smalley (Curl); 10−15 s, not 1015 s (transition state times); computers (hardware) and computer programs (hardware; should be software); charges of ions are missing; R is used in organic structures without defining it; outdated ous/ic terminology is used for transition metal ions; dots are lacking for free radicals; the list of Nobel Prize winners in chemistry, 1901–2000, should include those from 2001 to at least 2005; –CH3 not CH3 (and other substituents); and many other stylistic mistakes. Factual errors, from a long list, include: atmospheric nitrogen concentration (78%, not 80%); incorrect structural formula for cholesterol; routine confusion of mass number and atomic masses; a solid compound is not needed to “fix” nitrogen; incorrect structures for hydrogen bonding in water; Molina was a post-doc, not a graduate student, of Rowland’s; incorrect mechanism given for stratospheric ozone depletion; perpetuates myth of three C–C and three C=C bonds in benzene; incorrect definition of carcinogens and catalysts; etc.
Twentieth-Century Science. Chemistry: Decade by Decade is a gallant effort that includes a number of items of interest for trained chemists, but falls far short of its intended broader audience.
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