Early science and the first century of physics at Union College, 1795-1895 /

Pilcher prepared this book as part of Union College's celebration of its bicentennial; it tells a small but interesting and, in some ways, typical story of the cultivation of physical science at one of the first colleges in the US to do so. Union College (Schenectady, New York) is fortunate in that it purchased good pieces of scientific equipment, mostly in Europe, during the 19th century and then, as they became obsolete, refrained from discarding them. The photographs of these instruments, the biographies of some of the professors who started scientific instruction in this country, and the accounts of their defeats and triumphs as they tried to establish a new kind of educational system serving the needs of a democracy make this an absorbing evening's read for anyone interested in the history of American education. General; professional. D. Park emeritus, Williams College