JOURNAL 



OF THE 



WASHINGTON ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 



Vol. 11 September 19, 1921 No. 15 



GENERAL SCIENCE.- — .4 list of one hundred poptdar books in sci- 

 ence.'^ Compiled by a committee of the Washington Academy 

 OF Sciences. 



At the request of Dr. George F. Bowerman, Librarian of the Public 

 Library of the District of Columbia, a committee of the Academy 

 has undertaken the compilation of a list of scientific books which can 

 be recommended for popular use. The Editors believe it to be of 

 sufficient interest to the members of the Academy and other readers 

 of the Journal to warrant the preliminary publication of the report, 

 particularly as it is hoped that criticisms and suggestions from readers 

 may be brought forth and the list thereby improved. It is to be em- 

 phasized that the list is strictly tentative, and that neither the Com- 

 mittee as a whole nor any one member of it can assert that the books 

 named are the very best for the purpose. It will be obvious also 

 that broad areas of the field of science are hardly touched at all, and 

 that the relative number of books treating of different subdivisions 

 of science must not be taken to represent the relative importance 

 of each subdivision or the relative activity of modern research therein. 

 Readability is an essential criterion for selection, and books that are 

 "readable," from the public's point of view, are very unevenly dis- 

 tributed as to subject-matter. 



The first test for the kind of book that is desired for the list is this : 

 Would the average reader who uses a public library, after beginning 

 to read the book in question, read it through to the end and come back 

 to the Librarian for another on the same subject? Such a book 

 should be included. Or would he lay it down after a little while and 

 turn to some other kind of book as being more interesting, and not 

 return to the subject again? Such a book should not be included, 



' Received August 25, 1921. 



353 



