This biography of the famous Friedrich Wöhler is based upon the Ph.D. dissertation written by Robin Keen at University College, London, in the 1970s. The author was directed in his historical research by the late William A. Smeaton. Having lain dormant for a quarter century, the richly informative treatise has now been transformed into a book after meticulous revision by William Brock (who served on Keen's oral doctoral examination in 1976) and final editing by Johannes Büttner, cofounder with the late Wilhelm Lewicki in 2000 of Edition Lewicki-Büttner. This Wöhler biography constitutes
Volume 2 in the Lewicki-Büttner series, Volurne 1 being "Stoffwechsel im tierischen Organismus: Historische Studien zu Liebigs 'Thier-Chemie' (1842)." Source materials are extensive: besides over 300 books and articles cited. Keen took advantage of the myriad letters exchanged between Wöhler and Liebig and between Wöhler and his cherished mentor and friend Berzelius. According to the editor, Keen's collection of correspondence includes several omitted from A. W. Hofmann's "Briefwechsel" published in 1888. Citations are carefully footnoted; even though many
are necessarily repeated, the number of footnotes reached an irnpressivel,378. Organization of the 23 chapters is chronological to a degree, in that Wöhler's life is traced frorn early days through bis education and the year spent with Berzelius in Stockholm, followed by his positions in Berlin, Kassel, and finally Göttingen. Interspersed between these moves, however, are descriptions of Wöhler's varied research activities at each location, spanning his early work with aluminum in 1828 to his fascination with meteorites and minerals up to the end of his career. Because he frequently dropped one area of investigation to take up another, only to return to an
earlier interest later, the author's treatrnent of each research area often spans decades or sornetirnes nearly his entire professional career. Wöhler had unusually
broad interests. As Brock has stated in bis foreward, "Wöhler refuses to be categorized as an inorganic, organic, or physical chemist." His early work in Berlin
on urea earned lasting fame, as is well known, but his claim for the first isolation of aluminurn also dates from the Berlin days, as does work on beryllium, yttrium,
and vanadium (clearly inspired from his year with Berzelius). At Göttingen alone he investigated 23 elements, all described in some detail, while concurrently delving into organic chemistry. He published scientific articles numbering rnore than 500 over a period of 59 years, many coauthored with Liebig and some written in Swedish. Although much of the work and probably all of the publications were done by Wöhler himself, he directed the research of many doctoral students in Göttingen over a time span of 30 years, beginning in 1841. Some but not all of these students can be found
in appendices, either as assistants under Wöhler or professors who were his pupils. A full bibliography of Göttingen chemistry doctoral students was published in 1998
(G. Beer, "Die Chemischen Dissertationen der Universität Göttingen, 1734-1900", Verlag Museum der Chemie, Göttingen). What about Wöhler the man? The reader gains considerable insight into the individual: well educated, with knowledge of Latin, Swedish, and apparently Russian as foreign languages; possessed a keen interest in science from an early age; industrious and adventurous in his explorations; a prodigious reader, author, and correspondent. He made Berzelius' "Lehrbuch der Chemie" and "Jahresbericht" available to European readers by translating the many volumes into German from the original Swedish. This labor of dedication deprived Wöhler of untold weeks of time he might have devoted to his own investigations. Benefiting from a pleasing disposition, he was even ternpered, abhorred confrontations and conflicts, and served effectively as a diplomat in controversies between Liebig and Mitscherlich and Liebig and Berzelius. Wöhler, charismatic and a genuine friend to rnany, frequently used his sense of humor in correspondence. In writing to Liebig in 1843 concerning Liebig's annoyance with Marchand, he reminded his colleague that by 1900 they all would have become arnmonia, carbon dioxide, and water! The fact he was successful in collaborating with Liebig in research and editing is a measure of his good disposition. The text is highly readable, although the treatment of individual research areas is sometimes difficult to follow because of the time spans covered. The many
appendices enhance the book considerably. While the "Index of Personal Narnes" appears to be fairly extensive, the subject index is scant. Typographical errors,
inevitable in view of the final preparation by individuals with different native languages, do not usually distract from the meaning. English-speaking readers may well be confused, however, to learn about a "3.000-word letter" written by Berzelius to Liebig. This welcome biography of one of the giants of 19th-century chemistry, in English, will serve historians of chemistry most effectively. We owe an immense debt of gratitude to the original author and those who had the persistence to realize its evolution into a full-length book. Paul R. Jones, University of Michigan Copyright © 2005 by Verlag Traugott Bautz