biographies

I've heard a part of story of Mendeleev directly from Michael Gordin during the dinners in the Harvard Society of Fellows, and the discussions with Michael were always extremely insightful as well as entertaining.

One of the main reasons is that Michael knows a lot, and he is interested in everything. My feeling is that he knows more about Russian history than those who are specialized in humanities. Think about any two people whom you know and who lived in the 19th century or the early 20th century (two Russian writers, for example), and Michael will be able to tell you what was the relationship between these two people, when they met, and why it was important. What you read in this book about Mendeleev is just a fraction of what Michael could tell you about the 19th century.

Moreover, he also understands the important technical points of chemistry - in fact, not just chemistry: physics, mathematics, and other sciences are his cup of tea, too. Therefore his presentation is not superficial: you will learn the right things about the right ideas and their evolution, about the wrong ideas as well as about the influence of politics and ghosts.

Michael Gordin's Russian is very good and it helped him to understand all the relevant events and links between the contemporaries of Mendeleev as he studied the archives in St Petersburg (and perhaps also Moscow). Incidentally, he also learned Czech - which is my first language - because at some moment he decided that it is helpful to follow some old letters about chemistry.

Anyone who is interested in chemistry, history of science, or Russian history should immediately buy this book because Michael Gordin was the right person to write it, and you will certainly learn a lot about all these issues. Moreover, Mendeleev might be the most famous chemist ever and his life was rich enough to keep you excited as you read through these 300+ pages of a superb text.

This is a superbly written text by a young, brilliant historian. It is a must have for all who study Russian history and the history of science. I would recommend it whole-heartedly.