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On the Surface of Things: Images of the Extraordinary in Science
Felice Frankel and George M. Whitesides. Chronicle Books: San Francisco, 1997. 160 pp. ISBN 0 8118 1394 0. $22.95.
On the Surface of Things is a wonder-book, in the best tradition of image and text working together to lead us to admire, puzzle, and learn. Strange new images capture our attention and demand explanations. The text satisfies us by revealing some of the science and technology and, thereby, some of the secrets of the images. But the words are done in ways that bring us back to the images with renewed astonishment and more questions. Our first response is teased back into new wonders. This is a book to relish and then to pass on to friends and teenage children who wonder what scientists do and why they do it.
The subtitle to the book, Images of the Extraordinary in Science, reveals some of the authors' purpose. More specifically, the book is an essay...