Oxford Portraits in Science is a collection of biographies of famous scientists for young adults edited by the Harvard University astronomer Owen Gingerich. Each book portrays the life and personality of an eminent scientist, and the thought processes by which they made their discoveries.
The series is notable as an example of the Sobel effect - an interest in popular accounts of scientific history and biography, stimulated by the success of the book Longitude written by journalist Dava Sobel. Some works in this series have also been written by science journalists as well as scientists and science historians.
Works
| Title | Date: | Author: | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bell Alexander Graham Bell: Making Connections | 1996 | Pasachoff Naomi Pasachoff | 9780195099089 |
| Babbage Charles Babbage and the Engines of Perfection | 1999 | Collier Bruce Collier | 9780195089974 |
| Darwin Charles Darwin and the Evolution of Revolution | 1996 | Stefoff Rebecca Stefoff | 9780195089967 |
| Fermi Enrico Fermi and the Revolutions of Modern Physics | 1999 | Cooper Dan Cooper | 9780195117622 |
| Rutherford Ernest Rutherford and the Explosion of Atoms | 2003 | Heilbron John L. Heilbron | 9780195123784 |
| Galilei Galileo Galilei: First Physicist | 1999 | MacLachlan James MacLachlan | 9780195093421 |
| Mendel Gregor Mendel and the Roots of Genetics | 1999 | Edelson Edward Edelson | 9780195122268 |
| Newton Isaac Newton and the Scientific Revolution | 2004 | Christianson Gale E. Christianson | 9780195092240 |
| Pavlov Ivan Pavlov | 9780195105148 | ||
| Kepler Johannes Kepler and the New Astronomy | 2001 | Voelkel James R. Voelkel | 9780195116809 |
| Pauling Linus Pauling and the Chemistry of Life | 1998 | Hager Tom Hager | 9780195108538 |
| Pasteur Louis Pasteur and the Hidden World of Microbes | 2001 | Robbins Louise E. Robbins | 9780195122275 |
| Mead Margaret Mead: Coming of Age in America | 1999 | Mark Joan Mark | 9780195116793 |
| Curie Marie Curie and the Science of Radioactivity | 1997 | Pasachoff Naomi Pasachoff | 9780195120110 |
| Faraday Michael Faraday: Physics and Faith | 2001 | Russell Colin A. Russell | 9780195117639 |
| Copernicus Nicolaus Copernicus: Making Earth a Planet | 2004 | Gingerich Owen Gingerich and James MacLachlan | 9780195161731 |
| Harvey William Harvey and the Mechanics of the Heart | 9780195120493 |
References
- "Media review", The Chemical Educator, 11 (3), 2006
- Paola Govoni (March 2005), "Historians of science and the "Sobel Effect"" (PDF), Journal of Science Communication