Edward Gibbon's allegation at the beginning of his Essay on the Study of Literature (1764) that the history of empires is that of the miseries of humankind whereas the history of the sciences is that of their splendour and happiness has for a long time been accepted by professional scientists and by historians of science alike. For its practitioner, the history of a discipline displayed above all the always difficult but fmally rewarding approach to a truth which was incorporated in the discipline in its actual fonn. Looking back, it was only too easy to distinguish those who erred and...

Edward Gibbon's allegation at the beginning of his Essay on the Study of Literature (1764) that the history of empires is that of the miseries of humankind whereas the history of the sciences is that of their splendour and happiness has for a long time been accepted by professional scientists and by historians of science alike. For its practitioner, the history of a discipline displayed above all the always difficult but fmally rewarding approach to a truth which was incorporated in the discipline in its actual fonn. Looking back, it was only too easy to distinguish those who erred and...

Places I Was Dreaming is a study in poetic tone and the function of story that introduces us to a plucky boy living in rural poverty. The book follows him from preschool through his third grade winter, showing us his life in an extended family of storytellers in which everyone talks at the same time and the lack of money is an ever-present threat that even a child cannot help but be aware of. The boy approaches difficulty through -kid-logic---seemingly rational but incorrect conclusions about what he sees, and his attitude is by turns stoic, uncomprehending, philosophical, and comic.