Book Description

Author names not noted above: Sir William Thomson (Lord Kelvin), Simon Newcomb, Sir Archibald Geikie Originally published between 1909 and 1917 under the name "Harvard Classics," this stupendous 51-volume set-a collection of the greatest writings from literature, philosophy, history, and mythology-was assembled by American academic CHARLES WILLIAM ELIOT (1834-1926), Harvard University's longest-serving president. Also known as "Dr. Eliot's Five Foot Shelf," it represented Eliot's belief that a basic liberal education could be gleaned by reading from an anthology of works that could fit on five feet of bookshelf. Volume XXX collects foundational essays from the 19th century that expanded our knowledge of and prompted further study in the fields of physics, chemistry, astronomy, and geology: [ from English natural philosopher MICHAEL FARADAY (1791-1867), "The Forces of Matter" and "The Chemical History of a Candle" [ from German physicist HERMANN VON HELMHOLTZ (1821-1894), "On the Conservation of Force" and "Ice and Glaciers" [ from English mathematician SIR WILLIAM THOMSON, LORD KELVIN (1824-1907), "The Wave Theory of Light" and "The Tides" [ from Canadian-American astronomer Simon Newcomb (1835-1909), "The Extent of the Universe" [ from Scottish geologist Sir Archibald Geikie (1836-1924), "Geographical Evolution."