Arpan K. Banerjee
Solihull, England
London, one of the great capital cities of the world, has over the centuries provided writers with inspirational material for both fiction and non-fiction. Famous writers in the first group range from Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare, Samuel Johnson, and Charles Dickens to Virginia Woolf and George Orwell in the twentieth century. Many authors have set about chronicling its history, notably Samuel Pepys in the seventeenth century and more recently Peter Ackroyd, Liza Picard, and David Long. The Science Lover’s Guide to London by Rachael Rowe explores the often overlooked scientific heritage of this great city.
During the Renaissance, rational explanations of phenomena based on observation and experimentation overthrew the shackles of dogma. In the UK, in addition to universities such as Oxford and Cambridge, London became a major center for scientific inquiry. The Royal Society was founded in London in 1660 by a group of intellectuals including Christopher Wren, Robert Boyle, Robert Hooke and other natural philosophers who wished to form a society to advance scientific knowledge, experimentation, and debate. Today it remains one of the most prestigious scientific institutions in the world and boasts many Nobel laureates amongst its august Fellows. The Royal College of Physicians (founded in 1518 by King Henry VIII and Thomas Linacre) and Surgeons (founded in 1800) also made their headquarters in London and remain there today. In 1799 the Royal Institution was founded, a home to fourteen future Nobel Prize winners, but best remembered for its links to Michael Faraday who worked on electromagnetism here for much of his life. Additionally, London boasts twelve major undergraduate teaching hospitals, several postgraduate medical institutes, and the Francis Crick Research Institute.
To review London’s scientific history, this book explores the different regions of London, each with its unique identity and history. This includes buildings, statues, museums, and other areas of scientific interest. The author weaves together fascinating history, biography, and geography to tell the story of London’s scientific past and present. High-quality illustrations complement the text. The book is beautifully produced and provides the reader with a comprehensive guide to scientific London that will whet the appetite of scientists and non-scientists alike.
The Science Lover’s Guide to London
Rachael Rowe, Pen and Sword Books Ltd, 2024
ISBN 978-1399063623
DR. ARPAN K. BANERJEE qualified in medicine at St Thomas’s Hospital Medical School. London. He was a consultant radiologist in Birmingham 1995–2019. He was President of the radiology section of the RSM 2005–2007 and on the scientific committee of the Royal College of Radiologists 2012–2016. He was Chairman of the British Society for the History of Radiology 2012–2017. He is Chairman of ISHRAD. He is author/co-author of papers on a variety of clinical, radiological, and medical historical topics and eight books, including Classic Papers in Modern Diagnostic Radiology (2005) and The History of Radiology (OUP 2013).
2 responses
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Thank you for your wonderful review of my book. Much appreciated.