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‘Even the cardinal rule that a great essay must be beautifully written
has been violated in a few instances,’ says Martin Gardner, introducing
Great Essays in Science (Prometheus Books, pp 427, £14.50), a splendid
collection of 34 essays on science and some of the big issues of science
and philosophy. Then, contradictorily, he describes the book as ‘a sumptuous
feast of great writing’.

It would have been far better had Gardner simply laid his stuff on the
table and left, like an arrogant waiter, without a word of comment. For
this is a largely unpredictable, partly surprising, always enchanting
collation which needs no further description or explanation.

The expected offerings from ancients such as Francis Bacon, interim
players such as Charles Darwin, and moderns Stephen Jay Gould, Isaac Asimov,
Lewis Thomas and Carl Sagan are complemented by gems from less familiar
writers, making the book excellent value for anyone involved or interested
in science.

‘Essay’ is interpreted loosely here, and several of the most arresting
items are excerpts from books. My top marks go to an extract from the Dutch
physicist Samuel Goudsmit’s Aslos, in which he superbly and hilariously
recorded his experiences as a member of the Second World War mission to
determine how far the Germans had progressed in atomic weapons. The answer
was not very far, and ‘The Gestapo in science’, is a vivid portrayal of
the boneheaded behaviour and philosophical nonsense that were responsible
for the Nazis’ failure.

Another delight is a charming extract from Laura Fermi’s biography of
Enrico Fermi, in which she describes the day in December 1942 when he directed
the operation of the world’s first atomic pile. Two others, by relatively
unknown American authors, are equally satisfying: the limpid speculations
of Walt Whit-man’s friend John Burroughs on science and literature, and
retired English professor Joseph Krutch’s reflections recorded in ‘The
colloid and the crystal’. The Spanish philospher Jose Ortega y Gasset is
there too, reminding us that there was hostility to science – and far more
powerfully, knowingly expressed – long before the mean-spirited attacks
of recent years.

Just one request to Martin Gardner, if and when he plans the next edition.
Please may we have more than a single example of literary excellence from
the field of medical science? There’s quite a lot of it about.