Chemists and other  scientists usually think of the peer-reviewed journal article as the  sine-qua-non of science -- if it isn't in a peer-reviewed article, it  isn't really science.  But historically, books have played a critical  role in establishing what counts as reliable knowledge about the natural  world.  Textbooks are particularly important, because they provide the  overall structure for knowledge.  This talk will examine a series of  chemistry and other textbooks to show how particular authors and  textbooks have shaped our understanding of chemistry.  These historical  findings have direct impact on how chemists use textbooks -- and the new  digital materials that are supplementing and supplanting textbooks --  in the future.

How books shape what we know

244th National Meeting (2012)

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