'... Rowlinson paints a clear picture of Dewar in this biography... Recommended.' Choice 'John Rowlinson’s book meets an important need and I recommend it to readers who, like me, are fascinated by the lives of the great scientists who contributed so much to our subject at the dawn of the twentieth century.' Royal Society of Chemistry Historical Group Newsletter 'The book is attractively presented with useful illustrations... Referencing is exemplary, and the chemistry is well explained with an erudite appendix on gas liquefaction. The book should interest both chemists and historians, and will surely remain the standard biography of a remarkable man.' Chemistry World 'This is a biography that will be read with pleasure by both historians and physical scientists. It deals concisely with the extraordinary range of Dewar’s work, leaving few stones unturned... The book captures Dewar’s difficult personality wonderfully and, without disguising his many faults and unpleasant characteristics, renders him the complete, dedicated scientist. Overall, Dewar emerges as a heroic figure, despite the unsightly warts, and above all one of Britain’s greatest experimental scientists.' Notes and Records of the Royal Society 'Unlike many biographies of scientists by professional historians and science journalists in which little is said of the scientist’s actual laboratory work for fear it will turn off the lay reader, Rowlinson takes great pains to explain the nature of Dewar’s work and has included many diagrams illustrating the apparatus used.' Bulletin for the History of Chemistry 'The book’s major strength is Rowlinson’s ability to explain contemporary problems in chemistry in a way that does not make the theories we know now seem inevitable. He also has a good eye for observations and quotations that bring to life chemists and their personalities.' British Journal for the History of Science 'With Rowlinson’s fine biography, James Dewar has finally been se
