Professor, A President, and A Meteor: The Birth of American Science

by Cathryn J. Prince

Based on original source documents and interviews, Prince tells the story of Benjamin Silliman, arguably America's first scientist, pitting him against no less an adversary than Thomas Jefferson when science on this continent was still in its infancy.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

254 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[James F · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a short biography of Benjamin Silliman, one of the first American academic scientists to gain international recognition, and a fairly interesting account of the 1807 meteorite fall in Weston, Connecticut, which he investigated and wrote about, giving the first real chemical analysis of a meteorite and establishing that they come from "outer space" (Prince's term). The president (Thomas Jefferson) is something of a red herring, as his alleged comment on the fall only takes up a page or two of the book.

Unfortunately, the author, a journalism professor who has written books on a number of miscellaneous topics, seems to have no understanding of the scientific background which she puts together from a variety of mutually inconsistent and mostly popular secondary sources. She tells us that "It would be some time before people knew that Earth plows through hundreds of tons of meteors every day. Orbiting in a belt between Mars and Jupiter, these meteors make shooting stars." In another place, she tells us that one of the main reasons for studying meteorites is that they help us to understand the big bang theory. She constantly tells us that "we now know" or "scientists think" followed by some very speculative hypothesis taken from the Internet. Her forays into history aren't any more successful. She tells us that the earliest recorded meteorite fall was "about four thousand years ago" in Phrygia, and it was immediately brought to Rome; knowing that Rome didn't exist four thousand years ago, I looked at the reference in her endnote, and the title of the article says the meteorite fell in "467 Be" -- assuming that Be is a typo for BCE, that falls a bit short of four thousand years ago. In addition, the writing is very awkward and often just ungrammatical; there are many non sequiturs, introducing a totally unrelated subject with an initial "But".

Despite the interest of the main story, I can't really recommend this muddle to anyone.

[SwensonBooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone who has ever turned their eyes to the sky and pondered, this story of the 1807 Weston Fall offers a full and fasincating account of how early Americans reacted to a magnificent meteorite. The responses and reactions of those who witnessed this event are chronicled by Cathryn Prince in this meticulously researched book. Across time and culture, Prince reports on humans' responses and rationalizations to meteorites -- thunder stones -- and offers the kind of contextualization needed to make sense of the national controversy which ensued in 1807.

The Professor is Benjamin Silliman, with a calling to become Yale's missionary for American Science. The President is Thomas Jefferson who mocks the Yankee who would consider the meteor anything less than an act of God. You can see through the array of factual evidence, the seeds for the split between south and north that brought the nation into civil war 40 years later. The "you are there" feel to the story makes it a joy to read as history comes back to life; the specificity and details of everyday life in 1807 give depth to the characters and actions. Science, in its origins, began with space exploration and this historical connection is compelling.

Fantastic!

[Ana Unruh Cohen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't remember what google search took me too this book but it was an enjoyable find. The book is many things: biography of Benjamin Silliman, history of science development in America, a look at the evolution of the science of meteorites and even some early evidence of the interaction of science and politics. Some more editing would have improved the book but still a worthwhile read if the topics interest you.

[Scott Kardel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just finished "A Professor, A President, and A Meteor" and it was...okay. I like history of science books and this one tells the story of Benjamin Silliman, an early American scientist who investigated the 1807 meteorite fall in Connecticut. There's no doubt of Silliman's importance to American science and yet the book didn't quite work for me. Yes, there's a famous quote from Thomas Jefferson that relates to this, but it wasn't quite enough for me to be included in the title. This lost a star from me because the science in book isn't always quite on the mark. It's not that it is bad, but it is imprecise at times (such as confusion between meteor, meteorite, asteroid, etc.) which brought me out of the narrative.

[Ann Ackermann · Rating 4 out of 5]

A vibrant biography of Benjamin Stillman and the birth of American science, all interwoven with the fall of a meteor and Jeffersonian politics. I liked this book for its breadth: the author, a journalism professor, tackles both science and history with ease and makes them exciting. Especially fascinating was the account of how a meteor piqued Stillman's interest in geology, the state of science at Yale and other universities, and the mudslinging in Jefferson's presidential campaign. Politics affect science and science affects politics, as this story makes clear.

[Robert J · Rating 3 out of 5]

A meteor falls on Dec 14,1807 and the study of it by professor Benjamin Silliman leads to the beginnings of American science. He built up the chemistry department at Yale and debunked many inaccuracies in the science world regarding meteors. The partisanship of Thomas Jefferson would prove to be the beginnings of mixing politics and science that continues today in the global warming debate.

[Calvin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Found it a little ponderous, making the same point over and over again-for the most part I never got a sense of the major players.