"A refreshing record of how scientists worked.... The practice of science provides the context necessary for understanding how theories advanced; without this background, scientific progress looks too simple, and leaps seem extraordinary." - Nature "Imperial Nature adds significantly to our understanding of the multifaceted and far from inevitable ascendancy of the professional scientist in Victorian culture." - Isis "This biography ... Read moreshows how science in the nineteenth century transformed from the activities of independently wealthy men to those of professionals paid by governments.... Highly recommended." - Choice" Show Less