Robert Hooke

`This group of fine essays on Robert Hooke places him firmly among the most interesting of the late-seventeenth-century English virtuosi'. ARCHIVES OF NAT. HIST. 19, 1 (1992)`Hooke -inventor, architect, surveyor of the city of London and man of science - was one of the most brilliant English scientists in the seventeenth century, eclipsed only by Newton. His mechanical genius was surpassed by no one. Yet in many respects he is still an elusive character.... The multi-authoredvolume on different aspects of Hooke yet again illustrates the versatility of the man's genius.... ably held together by the introduction.' NATURE Vol 346, July 1990Individually excellent and scholarly essays... most illuminating and thought-provoking. A conspicuous feature of the collection is the heterogeneity of the scientific topics discussed. ENGLISH HISTORICAL REV`essential reading for all students of Hooke and of the context of Restoration science.' Stephen Pumfrey BRITISH JNL FOR HISTORY OF SCIENCE 24; 9/91`adds coscientific scene. * BIBLIOGRAPHIE CRITIQUE *

Hooke's instruments for astronomy and navigation, J.A.Bennett; Robert Hooke and practical optics - technical support at a scientific frontier, A.D.C.Simpson; Robert Hooke's longitude timekeeper, Michael Wright; rhetoric and graphic in "micrographia", John T.Harwood; Robert Hooke, the incongruous mechanist, John Henry; Robert Hooke and the dynamics of motion in a curved path, Patri J.Pugliese; geological controversy in the 17th century - Hooke vs Wallis and its aftermath, David R.Oldroyd; experience and experiment - Robert Hooke, illness and medicine, Lucinda McCray Beier; who was Robert Hooke?, Steven Shapin. Appendix: Hooke's possessions at his death - a hitherto unknown inventory.