John B. Goodenough (1922–2023)

This is the autobiography of one of the most important (and maybe most under-rated) scientists of the late 20th/early 21st century. John Goodenough was for many years a professor at Oxford and still (2011) in his late eighties is professor of mechanical engineering and materials science at the University of Texas at Austin. He was one of the key figures in the development of solid-state memory, without which we would have no PCs. He invented the Lithium-Cobalt battery, and a member of his show more team invented the Lithium iron phosphate battery. Without these technologies and closely-related ones we wouldn't have smartphones and laptops you can use on the train for an hour, nor would electric cars like the Nissan Leaf be practicable.

The book itself is fairly short: an eclectic description of a personal, scientific and spiritual pilgrimage. Reflections on biblical verses rub shoulders with passages about itinerant electrons and transition metal oxides. Fortunately you don't have to understand either to profit from the book. There are vignettes, brief but fascinating, about co-operation with scientists in many countries including the cold war Soviet block.

Well worth a read show less