THE ATOM

This discussion of atomic theory lives up to the jacket promise: ""No prior knowledge of science is required of the reader, and the explanations involve no mathematics"". A careful reading of the book with these two points in mind reveals that this is indeed the case, although a smattering of chemistry doesn't hurt. The author is presently a science feature writer for British newspapers and his text has the virtue of brevity. The short book starts with the history of the tom from the time of the Greek philosophers and follows the reasoning applied to evidence by experimenters from that time forward. His explanations of the development of atomic science are clearly presented and supported by a multitude of labeled diagrams, photographs and charts. The possibilities of the use of atomic energy are well explored. Unfamiliar terms are introduced in caps, immediately defined and used again in the text. Competent readers will encounter no difficulty and the math-shy will find help. A table of historic dates in atomic physics is followed by an index.