The Cradle of Chemistry: The Early Years of Chemistry at the

This book describes the progress of chemistry at the University of Edinburgh from the appointment of the first professor, James Crawford, in 1713 to the career of Thomas Charles Hope, a century or so later. It includes the radical attempt by William Cullen to introduce 'philosophical chemistry' as a counterpart to Newton's natural philosophy, and Joseph Black's eventual acceptance of Lavoisier's oxygen theory. This is a fascinating study of the period when Edinburgh's chemistry literacy was higher than at any other time.