364 JOURNAL OF THE WASHINGTON ACADEMY OF SCIENCES VOL. 11, NO. 15 



Tyndall, John. Fragments of science. Fifth edition. 589 pp. (D. 

 Appleton and Co., New York, 1884.) Though now fifty years old, these 

 spirited essays by the most ardent proponent of the scientific method re- 

 main essentially correct and only the more firmly established by the later prog- 

 ress which has amplified our knowledge in the variety of fields touched upon. 



EiNSTEi>J, Albert. Relativity. Translation by R. Lawson. 168 pp. 

 (Methuen, London, 1920.) As simple an account as is readily possible of 

 the old and new theories of relativity by the originator and leader of this 

 revolutionary school of thought.^ 



Whetham, W. C. D. The recent development of physical science. 347 pp. 

 (Blakiston's Son and Co., Philadelphia, 1909.) One of the Cambridge 

 school of physicists tells of the work on the borderland of physics and chemis- 

 try during the important period to which he and his colleagues made valuable 

 contributions. 



Ames, Joseph S. The constitution of matter. 242 pp. (Houghton, Mifflin 

 and Co., Boston, 1913.) Professor Ames' long and varied experience and 

 his close association with developments of modern physics enabled him to 

 produce this valuable book, which combines comprehensiveness in subject 

 matter with simplicity of expression. 



Fleming, J. A. Waves and ripples in water, air, and aether. 299 pp. 

 (Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, London, 1902.) This book 

 is old but much of the field which it covers has not changed in recent years. 

 It represents a course of Christmas lectures delivered to a "juvenile audience" 

 at the Royal Institution, London. It is a most readable, instructive, and 

 delightful book. 



Perry, John. Spinning tops. 136 pp. (Society for Promoting Christian 

 Knowledge, London, 1901.) This popular lecture stimulates the imagi- 

 nation by illustrating both the wealth of interesting phenomena connected 

 with a commonplace toy and the elegant simplicity with which the science 

 of mechanics unifies these effects. 



Miller, Dayton C. The science of musical sounds. 286 pp. (Mac- 

 millan Co., New York, 1916.) This book, written by one of the foremost 

 authorities in America, is very readable and particularly strong on the ex- 

 perimental side. 



Bragg, Wilham. The voorld of sound. 203 pp. (Bell and Co., London, 

 1920.) A very well done and up-to-date treatment of a branch of physics 

 that appeals to everyone. The material was prepared for a juvenile 

 audience, the most difficult of all audiences to write for.'' 



MiCHELSON, A. A. Light voaves and their uses. 166 pp. (University of 

 Chicago Press, 1903.) This is a readable popular account of the applications 

 of light waves to the most delicate and refined scientific measurements. 

 The author is a universally recognized leader in this field of science and the 

 examples which he quotes of the conquest by the human mind of the realm 

 of the "infinitely little" are (although he does not say so) in large part the 

 result of his own efforts. 



^ This book does not fully fit the specifications in the early paragraphs of this list, but 

 neither does any other of the flood of books and essays on relativity. The reader is not likely 

 to be any better off for having read "Einstein made easy" before reading Einstein himself. 



^ Agassiz required of his students in each department of study "first a monograph, 

 second a scientific lecture, third a popular lecture, fourth, a simple child's tale." ShalER, 

 Autobiography {1^91). v-^O^. 



