For too long James Clerk Maxwell has remained insufficiently known by both non-scientific historians and the general public. Maxwell was a theoretical mathematical physicist of world class. Twentieth-century giants in physics have attested to no less. In The Feynman Lectures on Physics (1964) Richard Feynman offered unparalleled praise: ‘From a long view of the history of mankind – seen from, say, ten thousand years from now – there can be little doubt that the most significant event of the 19th century will be judged as Maxwell's discovery of the laws of electrodynamics'. Darwin might have opened spectacular, emotional public controversies but the lesser-known Maxwell likely did much more to reroute the course of human history. It is remarkable that he is not more widely recognized. Fortunately, in recent times excellent historical research such as assembled here by Raymond Flood, Mark McCartney and Andrew Whitaker has addressed the gap in popular and general academic knowledge.
The general plan of this project is acutely designed to deliver a wonderfully holistic tour of Maxwell's life and impact. Each of the chapter contributors is an expert in the area of his or her comment. For purposes of economy of space in this review, it is not possible to break down comments to a contributor-by-contributor level. Suffice it here to assure the reader that each and every section has valuable and insightful information, well worthy of inclusion in the final product. Chapter topics are broken into three general sections: ‘Life’, ‘Science’, and ‘Poetry, religion and conclusions'.
The first section delivers a chronicle of Maxwell's life and experience rather than an attempt at biography. Yet there are depths of detail here that lay bare the important social and intellectual connections Maxwell established at different phases of his education and career. In Britain of the 1840s, Maxwell's formative years, there existed nothing like a scientific establishment or even advanced scientific educational infrastructure. The imminent and awesome breakthroughs of nineteenth-century British science germinated in the traditional ancient universities, in private study, and perhaps most importantly within the networks of various scholars and gentlemen intellectuals around the nation. Knowing something precise of Maxwell's associations, in classrooms and beyond, is absolutely critical to understanding the genius who emerged to deliver his epochal contributions.
The second section, the longest, undertakes to acquaint the reader with Maxwell's science. Maxwell will always dominate the history of science for his electrodynamic laws and equations. However, he was also a crucial figure in the science/physics of colour, theoretical mathematics, mathematical physics in astronomy, physics of gases, thermodynamics, and field theory and the electromagnetic theory of light. The present contributors covering Maxwell's academic work and research thus faced a daunting task. To this day, Maxwell's work is demanding in its mathematical complexity. Fortunately, this section of the book exhibits a wonderful balance. These chapters are particularly clear, providing substantive but ever-accessible expositions of Maxwell's ideas. Readers will require a solid but not advanced scientific and mathematical literacy. In return, they will come away with a heightened appreciation of just what Maxwell accomplished.
The last section, ‘Poetry, religion and conclusions', is a marvellous capstone to the overall work. Hearty congratulations to the editors for the decision to make serious inquiry into Maxwell's emotional and religious life. The known agnosticism of figures such as Darwin or T.H. Huxley has become almost axiomatic. From the perspective of today, a conflict between faith and science, and the inevitable triumph of science as a way of knowing, seem obvious. On the other hand, Maxwell retained through his life a heartfelt Christianity, steeped in traditional belief: sin, atonement, and resurrection. He had encyclopedic knowledge of the Bible. He followed closely theological debates and trends in his native Church of Scotland. His marriage to Katherine Dewar was grounded in a shared and very earnest religious outlook. For a man whose science Richard Feynman has asserted will delineate a sea change in human history for the next ten thousand years, those seem to be curious credentials. It is the achievement of the last section of this book to explore this side of Maxwell effectively and with scholarly rigour.
This work is highly recommended. It will be of interest to researchers and most certainly will enhance a library collection or serve as an anchor for a seminar in British history and/or the history of science.
