No Characters Need Apply.

That might be the motto of this collection of biographies. This is a biographical dictionary of scientists, but casual readers beware: It's about the science itself far more than it is about the people. Scientists, after all, are quirky, and many of them had lively lives outside of the lab. You won't see much of that here -- this isn't the place to learn (e.g.) that Marie Curie was a strongly depressive autistic who, as a widow, had an affair with a scientist five years her junior. Or about Albert Einstein's illegitimate son. Or Isaac Newton's rages.

And -- guess what -- that can be good. The biographies here are almost like a bibliography of work done, which is what really matters about scientists. Oh, the personal stuff would be fun, too -- but the book is already huge. There wouldn't be room for that in a reasonable space.

It does mean that, if you really want to find out about any particular scientist -- even a very important one -- you'll need a different sort of reference. But that's all right. Within its limits, this is an excellent book, thorough, readable, and well-researched. ( )