A Life of Discovery: Michael Faraday, Giant of the Scientific Revolution

It is a sad fact of modern life--at least in America--that so many of the great scientific minds that helped create our modern life are forgotten. As a high school science teacher, I try to give my students some knowledge of the important figures of scientific history. Standing as one of the giants of nineteenth century science is the subject of this book, Michael Faraday. Faraday's rise to the top of the scientific world is an interesting one. The son of a blacksmith, Faraday was apprenticed at an early age to a bookbinder. During his apprenticeship, however, he became interested in science through the popular public lectures on the subject and likely through reading some of the books he was binding. As his apprenticeship came to an end, Faraday tried to apprentice himself to a scientist and, through both hard work and good luck, attached himself to one of the most important scientists of the day, Humphrey Davy. While working with Davy, Faraday learned the fundamentals of scientific research, demonstrating extraordinary ability as an experimentalist. In time, Faraday became his own man, achieving a place of honor at the Royal Institution where he loyally remained for the rest of his career. During that time, he made a number of important discoveries, including the basics of electromagnetism, developing the prototype of the modern electric generator among other devices that will become integral to our modern society. He also made a name for himself as a popular lecturer on science whose fame at the time could only be equaled by Charles Dickens. Through this, he made known his lifelong belief in universal scientific education for the young. Most significantly, he did this all with minimal formal schooling leaving him forever limited in some respects such as mathematical ability. James Hamilton does a very good job of taking us through Faraday's life with depth but also in a very readable way. He brings out not only Faraday's scientific achievements but also his dedication to his strict form of Christianity (the Sandemanians) and the tension this sometime brought to his life. He showed Faraday's constant struggle against illness and his own limitations. Also, he shows something of Faraday's artistic side and how this influenced Faraday's research, most obviously in his support of the developing science/art of photography. Though Hamilton's expertise in art gives an added dimension often missing from scientific biography, it also contributes to the two main weaknesses of this book. In general, Hamilton's explanations of Faraday's work is quite good, particularly for the general reader, but he does miss some opportunities. Most noticeably, he gives a very cursory coverage to Faraday's development of the field concept which plays such an important role in physics today. This is quite surprising considering how easily it lends itself to artistic depiction. Additionally, from his previous work it seems he has a fixation on the Britis

One thing that delighted me about this book and about the person of Michael Faraday was the mixture of science and faith. While these two disciplines have parted ways and are no longer intertwined for many in the modern world, Michael Faraday is an intriguing example of both a devout believer and a ground breaking researcher. Faraday's story also has immense appeal as it relates his rise out of humble beginnings on the basis of his own genius and merit, in contrast with the lingering emphasis of his time on inheirited wealth and position. My only criticism is that the author, who evidently has written much in the realm of art history, adds a bit more content on art to this biography than seems justified. On the whole, I recommend this book as it is a well told tale about a significant and intriguing character whose story is very much worth retelling and considering anew.