杏吧原创

In 1897, the University of Chicago鈥檚 Yerkes Observatory was 鈥渁 wonder of the
world鈥� with its 40-inch refracting telescope. It had been financed by Charles
Yerkes, one of the 鈥渞obber barons鈥� of 19th-century America, and it pioneered the
new science of astrophysics. After an early period of momentous discoveries, it
declined, only regaining its position as a leading research centre in the 1930s.
Donald Osterbrook鈥檚 Yerkes Observatory 1892-1950 (University of Chicago Press,
拢31.95/$40, ISBN 0 226 63945 2) celebrates its achievements and
fluctuating fortunes with wit and understanding. Connoisseurs of academic
politics will be fascinated.