"This is by far the best book about Volta in English... It is contextual, unawed, and enriched by new manuscript material. It is also far more than just a biography. Based on this study of one individual's electrical activities, Pancaldi makes general arguments about the culture of science at the end of the Enlightenment."
Patricia Fara, Times Literary Supplement "In this ... Read moredetailed and ambitious book, Volta's life and the fascinating and complicated patterns that led to the battery are beautifully described... Every chapter has an interesting and original thesis, shows detailed and painstaking knowledge of manuscripts and adds to our knowledge of Volta and his time."
Fabio Bevilacqua, American Scientist "An insightful chronicle of an individual genius riding global tides of cultural transformation... A fascinating mix of science and biography."
Booklist "Giuliano Pancaldi's engaging book contributes substantially to a reappraisal of the sciences of the Enlightenment, as well as providing a wealth of information about Volta's life and accomplishments... [I]t is an impressive accomplishment that significantly advances the historiography of the sciences in enlightened Europe."
Jan Golinski, American Historical Review "This is a remarkable study of Alessandro Volta's science of electricity in its social and cultural context, one that adds significantly to the scholarship on Enlightenment science and technology. The first monograph on Volta to appear in English, it offers an in-depth contextual analysis of his experimental practice founded on Guiliano Pancaldi's detailed knowledge of the sources."
Massimo Mazzotti, Technology and Culture "This is by far the best book about Volta in English... It is also far more than just a biography. Based on this study of one individual's electrical activities, Pancaldi makes general arguments about the culture of science at the end of the enlightenment."
Patricia Fara, Chemical Heritage "Giuliano Pancaldi's study of Alessandro Volta reveals the vast international trade in scientific knowledge that, by the end of the eighteenth century, had transformed the promotion of experiment. Pancaldi's treatment of Volta as a major figure in the revolutionary world of the late eighteenth century is an important addition to studies of a scientific public."
Larry Stewart, Business History Review Show Less