Animals: Unique Moments by Miriam Austerman (review)

162 Books Yet each documents the eiistence of specific relationships between the various spheresand the interaction of factors within a specific sphere. Among the scientific specialities that are discussed are agricultural chemistry, tropical medicine, radio astronomy, radar meteor research and X-ray protein crystallography. Theconcluding four essaysare directed towards a preliminary delineation of the methodological problems that occur in the course of investigating scientificdevelopment from the historical and sociological perspectives. The discussion here is fairly specializedand ordinary artists, aswell asscientists,arenot likely to be familiar with this sort of analysis and thus will find the discussion not an easy one to follow. In no manner does this detract from the significance of these attempts to formulate a methodology that eventually might be able to specify in a ‘consistent, precise and general form, the links between the various factors involved and the exact manner in which they affect the rate, direction and content of intellectual development in science’. In summary, except for the introductory essayby Mulkay, this book, despite its scholarly worth, is not one that an artist can look to in order to understand the sociology of science. Parenthetically, and perhaps significantly, the only index provided isthat of names of persons. For the nonspecialist this is naturally of little use and thus is illustrative of the audience to which the essays are primarily directed. The New Challenge of the Stars. Patrick Moore and David Hardy. Mitchell Beazley and Sidgwick & Jackson, London, 1977. 62 pp.. illus. €4.95. Reviewed by A. T. Lawton* We live in an age of technological development where yesterday’s dreams become present reality. The technology ‘explosion’ in contemporary astronomy is forcing the most recalcitrant planets to yield their secrets. Space probes fly past and busily scan them or sometimes cross their gravitational doorstep, settle down, ‘breathe the air’, look at their landscapes and then tell those on Earth all about them. Fortunately, artist David Hardy isableto keep abreast of most of these developments-may his brush never wear out! For in 34 superbly coloured plates (10 of them beingdouble-page spreads) he accurately illustrates some of the latest findingsand then goes onto depict the scenesthat may be witnessedby our descendants. Onecan use them either as examplesof the art of painting orpossibly more important-as aids, concepts and ideas that may lead to valuable new hypotheses. For those who wonder how a ‘blackhole’could look to the human eye,a glanceat pages 54and 55 may be of help. The paintings could also give one an insight into the developments in technology. A stranded starship is shown being repaired by ‘intelligent’ vehicles, because the radiation emanating from the star is too intense for even the highly shielded astronaut to venture into the open. Half of the paintings are of the space fiction and fantasy categories, but they inevitably provide a basis for anthropomorphic ideas. One such picture concerns an ‘Interstellar Ark’ formed from a hollowed-out asteroid. Driven by ion rockets and carryinga generation that hasnot livedon the surfaceofa planet, it is manoeuvering to take up a stable orbit around a planet with Earth-like characteristics. Down below, there is a reception committee awaiting their descent! Moore’sconcise, crisptext is, asthose who areacquainted with his writings would expect, up-to-date and informative. It is directed not only to amateur astronomers but also to anyone who is naturally inquisitive. It is a book that can be enjoyed by young and old alike. The pictures are, of course, the main attraction of the book, and, as I mentioned above, they are abreast of ‘most of the developments’. Although it is mentioned in the text, I suspect that the discovery of the fact that Uranus has rings was announced after Hardy had produced an illustration of the planet for the book. Perhaps this is not too unfortunate, for the *13, Gastonbridge Road, Shepperton, Middlesex, TW17 8HH, England. latest reports indicate that there may be as many aseight narrow rings around Uranus and the matter is not finally settled. But this isa minor criticism of a good example ofwhat I regard as ‘healthy’contemporary art. Accuracy in art of the space age, combined with a book’s beauty of format and...