Leaps in the Dark The Making of Scientific Reputations

In Leaps in the Dark, John Waller presents another collection of revelations from the world of science. He considers experiments in which the scientists' awareness was not perhaps as keen as they might have claimed in retrospect; investigates the jealousy and opposition that scientific ideascan provoke; celebrates the scientists who were wrong, but for very good reasons; and discovers how national interest can affect scientists and their theories. The result is an entertaining and highly readable re-examination of scientific discoveries and reputations from the Renaissance to thetwentieth century. The tales in Leaps in the Dark underscore the rich, fascinating complexity of scientific discovery. Writing in a clear and engaging style, and skilfully weaving history in with the science, John Waller brings these scientists to life, illustrating how their work and their discoveries influencedtheir careers and the wider world around them.

Dr. John Waller is Lecturer in the History of Medicine and Biology at the Centre for the Study of Health and Society and the Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Melbourne. His previous books for a popular readership, The Discovery of the Germ (Icon Books, 2002) and Fabulous Science (Oxford University Press, 2002, now available in paperback) have been widely and favorably reviewed.