Faraday : The Life

by James Hamilton

A major biography of Michael Faraday (1791--1867), one of the giants of 19th century science and discoverer of electricity who was at the centre of an extraordinary scientific renaissance in London. Faraday's life was truly inspirational. Son of a Yorkshire blacksmith who moved to London in 1789, he was a self-made, self-educated man whose public life was underpinned by his devotion to a minor Christian sect (the Sandemanians) and to his wife. He was also a fine writer and brilliant lecturer. This book is a passionate exploration of his life, work and times (he was a pioneering scientific all-rounder who also experimented with electromagnetism, techniques for preserving meat and fish, optical glass, the safety lamp, and the identification of iodine as a new element). It will also tell the story of the dawn of the modern scientific age and interweave Faraday's life with the groundbreaking work of the Royal Institution and other early scientists like Humphrey Davey, Charles Babbage, John Herschel and Mary Somerville.

Genres: Nonfiction

496 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2003

About the author

James Hamilton is a curator, writer and lecturer, who entered the University of Manchester to read Mechanical Engineering, and emerged with a degree in History of Art.

Reviews

[Joseph · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was looking forward to a good read about this giant of science in the 19th century. Unfortunately this book doesn't deliver. Written by an art historian/critic instead of a historian or scientist it flaps. Biography is a tricky genre and there was too much of the author's own opinion, own background of art, and not enough of the science. Non-historians can be too tentative with the past and the mass of information available. I was disappointed as there was quite a choice of books on Faraday that I picked this one. There must be better out there, but now i have the basic facts of his life there's no point in reading the others.

[Benj · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sadly this was not the book I was hoping to read. I wanted to read about Faraday's place in the history of science; how his discoveries and inventions moved us towards the modern world. This was a 'proper' biography, telling all about his life, who he knew, who he met, who he wrote to. The science parts were almost glossed over, and (I felt) not clearly explained.

Also, I didn't really understand Faraday's economic situation. He was employed by the Royal Institution, but his salary didn't seem high enough for him to enjoy the reasonably comfortable lifestyle he had.

[Ben Jeapes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating account of a fascinating man. The son of a blacksmith, no formal education beyond 14, useless at maths, not great at chemistry, and never wrote a single equation or formula - but one of our greatest scientists. Full of interesting anecdotes. It's also interesting to see the role his religion played in his life - or didn't play, or which he tried not to let it play, whichever way you look at it.