RaveThe Open Letters ReviewNot only is he [Roland Jackson] a General Editor of The Correspondence of John Tyndall (ongoing from the University of Pittsburgh Press), but now, with The Ascent of John Tyndall, he has written the great biography the man has always warranted. In this brick-solid 500-page book, virtually every aspect of Tyndall\'s very active life is thoroughly and sympathetically examined: his youth, his marriage and steady rise in world of practical science, his constantly-branching interests, and his constantly-expanding circle of close friends. Refreshingly, Jackson doesn\'t shy away from the nuts-and-bolts of Tyndall\'s extensive scientific work—rather, he dives right into specifics and conveys it all wonderfully for the non-scientific audience. And throughout, he maintains a regular focus on the bedrock thinking that animated Tyndall\'s approach to his professional passions ... John Tyndall is fated to go right on being a member in good standing of that swarming crowd, the Forgotten Victorian Greats. But he has his book now, and that\'s cause for cheer regardless.
