The Rise of Scientific Europe, 1500-1800
, edited by David Goodman and Colin A. Russell. Hodder & Stoughton and the Open University, 1991. Pp. ix + 437, £14.99 ISBN 0-340-5586IX This substantial volume has been written by past and present members of the Department of History of Science and Technology at the Open University, primarily for the benefit of students taking the course AS 283. There is a rather coy arrangement for half-hiding the authors, who are not named in the list of contents and only emerge as each chapter is read: the four main authors are Colin Russell (111 pages), David Goodman (94), Noel Coley (84) and Gerrylynn Roberts (78). In several respects the book sets new standards of excellence, both for the Open University and for the history of science. To begin with, well-edited multi-authorship within a Department secures all the advantages of wider knowledge while preserving coherence of outlook. Another admirable feature is the abundance of good illustrations: there are 270 photographs and diagrams and many full-page maps, some bristling with information. The pages are wide (21 cm) and have generous outer margins where photographs and diagrams up to 6 cm wide can be placed just at the points demanded by the text.
