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Preface

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

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Summary

This anthology of nineteenth-century American science writing began with my pursuit of American studies. Over the years I became intrigued by the scientists of the period, especially the first half of the century. They often wrote about science and natural history, literature and exploration. When I queried my science friends on their familiarity with scientists of the nineteenth century, they recognized names, knew who represented their own fields, but had rarely read any of the original work. I soon realized one of the reasons why when I tried to find ready sources for the primary works of the early naturalists (Say, Nuttall, Wilson). Not only were there no anthologies of early American science, but even the compendiums of nineteenth-century science writing, of which there are scores, rarely bothered with the Americans. If by chance they should, the same three or four names appeared: Joseph Henry, Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., a smattering of William James as philosophy of science or Thoreau as natural history. I came away from these anthologies with the uncomfortable feeling that American science in the nineteenth century was inferior at best, non-existent at worst. Of course, there might be good reason for this omission from the British and European point of view; simply put, they were far ahead of the Americans in both productivity and scientific infrastructure, but that did not mean science in the United States had not made contributions to the century or that it would not be of interest to students of the American nineteenth century.

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Publisher: Anthem Press
Print publication year: 2012

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  • Preface
  • Edited by C. R. Resetarits
  • Book: An Anthology of Nineteenth-Century American Science Writing
  • Online publication: 05 June 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.7135/UPO9780857286512.001
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  • Preface
  • Edited by C. R. Resetarits
  • Book: An Anthology of Nineteenth-Century American Science Writing
  • Online publication: 05 June 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.7135/UPO9780857286512.001
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Preface
  • Edited by C. R. Resetarits
  • Book: An Anthology of Nineteenth-Century American Science Writing
  • Online publication: 05 June 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.7135/UPO9780857286512.001
Available formats
×