Gaither's Dictionary of Scientific Quotations

Scientists and other keen observers of the natural world sometimes make or write a statement pertaining to scientific activity that is destined to live on beyond the brief period of time for which it was intended. This book serves as a collection of these statements from great philosophers and thought-influencers of science, past and present. Gaither's Dictionary of Scientific Quotations allows the reader quickly to find relevant quotations or citations to spearhead an oral or written presentation of their research. Organized thematically and indexed alphabetically by author, this work makes readily available an unprecedented collection of approximately 18,000 quotations related to a broad range of scientific topics including astronomy, biology, chemistry, engineering, and physics. With its unique thematic organization of the quotations, this book accomplishes its goal of presenting a large array of entries in each discipline and enabling the reader to choose a quotation on a particular subject from a variety of sources and perspectives. The resulting compendium allows the reader to conceptualize and embrace the written images of scientists, laymen, politicians, novelists, playwrights, and poets about humankind’s scientific achievements. Quotations are listed with the credited author, title, chapter, page number, birth/death date and occupation where possible.

• Natur
• biology
• chemistry
• history
• history of science
• medical quotations
• organization
• physics
• science
• scientific quotations

From the reviews:

“This is an incredible feat of gathering and curating. It would unbalanced to call out a few gems--they're all here. Readers will find the expected heirlooms from Dobzhansky, Haldane, Einstein and Darwin, plus plenty of surprises from Shakespeare to Twain to Frank Lloyd Wright, as well as the inclusion of writers who haven't quite barged into the canon....Here the dross is minimal, and the riches are high-grade ore.” —American Scientist

"This … dictionary of 18,000 quotations encompasses all areas of science. … the work grew from the authors’ frustration at the difficulty of finding quotations about statistics. … this new work is larger and easier to use when looking for a subject rather than an author. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers." (S. K. Oelker, CHOICE, Vol. 45 (11), 2008)

"It is a thoroughly good and worthwhile reference work … . Gaither’s Dictionary of Scientific Quotations is a fine resource that will add to any reference collection. It contains many quotations, hard to find elsewhere, in a potentially very useful arrangement. It is well-produced, clearly laid out in a double column format … ." (Barry White, Reference Reviews, Vol. 22 (8), 2008)

• Killeen

  Carl C. Gaither, Alma E. Cavazos-Gaither

Policies and ethics