Newton’s Tyranny: The Suppressed Scientific Discoveries of Stephen Gray and
John Flamsteed by David Clark and Stephen P. H. Clark, W. H. Freeman,
£15.95, ISBN 0716742152
ADVERSARIAL histories of science, in which an underdog genius receives rough
treatment at the hands of the “scientific establishment”, have enjoyed
considerable popularity in the wake of Dava Sobel’s Longitude (1996).
But while adversarial books can make for gripping reading and serve an excellent
purpose in encouraging people to take an interest in the history of science,
professional historians tend to be wary of them. The past, no less than the
present, cannot…
