The surprising truth behind many of the most cherished "facts" in science
history
Morse invented the telegraph, Bell the telephone, Edison the light bulb, and
Marconi the radio . . . right? Well . . . the truth is slightly more
complicated. The history of science and technology is riddled with apocrypha,
inaccuracies, and falsehoods, and physicist Tony Rothman has taken it upon
himself to throw a monkey wrench into the works. Combining a storyteller's gifts
with a scientist's focus and hardheaded devotion to the facts-such as they may
be-Rothman breaks down many of the most famous "just-so" stories of physics,
astronomy, chemistry, biology, and technology to give