Magick, Mayhem, and Mavericks: The Spirited History of Physical
Chemistry. Cathy Cobb. 420 pp. Prometheus Books, 2002. $29. In
Magick, Mayhem, and Mavericks, Cathy Cobb takes the point of
view that "the story of physical chemistry is a celebration of
the free spirit, the glory of the unabashedly odd." Her
narrative is explicitly one of heroes and heroines, and what she
calls mavericks, renegades and eccentrics. The history moves
from ancient astronomy, mathematics and natural philosophy
through early modern developments in mathematics, physics,
alchemy, medicinal remedies and chemistry, using the assumption
that physical chemists could achieve their aims only after the
foundations of mathematics, physics and chemistry were well
laid. As a consequence, some surprising figures appear in the
book: Girolamo Cardano (1501–1576) and Nicolò Tartaglia
(1499–1557), for example, who are included on the grounds that
physical chemistry has to do with mathematics, so that the
history of algebra is crucial to the story. Co