Technology and Culture

1084 Book Reviews TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE Uneasy Careers and Intimate Lives: Women in Science, 1789—1979. Edited by Pnina G. Abir-Am and Dorinda Outram. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1987. Pp. xiii + 365; illustrations, notes, index. $35.00 (cloth); $12.00 (paper). In Uneasy Careers and Intimate Lives, twelve chapters, each by a differ­ ent author, are split into sections on social-historical issues and on bio­ graphical studies. They sparkle with the descriptions and assessments of the private lives of women scientists who practiced over the past two centuries. Only Hertha Ayrton studied a technology-related science, the electric arc, from 1893 to the end of her life in 1911. At first her husband read her papers at engineering society meetings, but later she was permitted to deliver her own papers, includingone on an insulating material that would withstand the heat ofthe arc without being affected by its thickness. Engineers Gaspard de Prongand Townsend Brandegee played a role in two other lives. De Prong’s wife was not a scientist, but as a patron’s wife she influenced scientists’ careers by hosting a salon in early 19th-century France. Brandegee, the second husband of bot­ anist Kate Brandegee (1844-1920), facilitated his wife’s career. The couple walked 500 miles from San Diego to San Francisco on their hon­ eymoon, collecting plants; later they founded the botanicaljournal Zoe. Among the scientific careers discussed are those of astronomer and Vassar professor Maria Mitchell, mathematician Sofia Kovalevskaia, Nobel Prize chemist Marie Curie, astronomer Cecilia PayneGaposchkin , mathematical biologist Dorothy Wrinch, and the French translator of Darwin, Clemence Royer. There are as well a host of bot­ anists, ornithologists, and physicians. The biographers’ data lead to the general conclusion that women pur­ sued their scientific interest in spite ofdistractions, opposition, and lack of scientific community support, professional opportunities, and in­ come. The will to follow their curiosities and to explore studies thought improper and unsuitable for the female mind led to scientific contri­ butions ranging from first-rate discoveries in astronomy, physics, and mathematics to much average, but often useful, information compiled in botany, ornithology, and medicine. Volunteering or working for a low income was the norm. The women realized that encouragement and support for their projects were most easily obtained when they adopted male scientists’ standards and remained subservient, at least on the surface. Those who were married received the most advantages and support from the sci­ entificcommunity; these diminished on their husbands’ deaths. A num­ ber of the women led unconventional lives: Clemence Royer raised a son out ofwedlock while living with her lover; Sofia Kovalevskaiajoined the nihilist movement in mid-19th-century Russia, which promoted equal rights for women. Others, like Dorothy Wrinch and Cecilia PayneGaposchkin , juggled family duties with their scientific careers. Their TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE Book Reviews 1085 lives bear scrutiny for their revelations about concerns and habits that continue to affect women today. This volume should be part of any course on the history of science as well as the more obvious women’s studies courses. Audrey B. Davis Dr. Davis is curator in the Division of Medical Sciences at the National Museum of American History. Women in Science: Options and Access. Edited by £va Vamos. Budapest: National Museum of Science and Technology, 1987. Pp. iii + 249; references. Paper. This volume contains eleven papers presented ata Unesco-sponsored session at the XVIIth International Congress of History of Science at Berkeley in 1985. The contributors, representing several European countries, Canada, the United States, India, and China, dealt with a wide range ofsubjects, including science, gender, and teaching; the his­ torical process of feminization of the intellectual professions in Hun­ gary from 1880 to 1980; introductory botany books and women; and women scientists in China. Of more interest to the readers of Technology and Culture are five articles dealing, in whole or in part, with the topic of technology and women. Of particular importance are the excellent articles by Judit Brody, Daryl Hafter, Joan Mason, and Madhuri Seth. Brody explores “Patterns of Patents: Early British Inventions by Women” in 1635— 1852. Hafter writes about “Women’s Use of Technology in 18thCentury Rouennaise Guilds,” concentrating on the...