HERSCHEL AT THE CAPE: Diaries and Correspondence 1834-1838 Cape Social and Cultural Life

AA Balkema 1969

Hardcover, with dustjacket. The book itself in in good condition but the jacket shows wear with a piece missing from the back.

 "Sir John Herschel, one of the founders of Southern Hemisphere astronomy, was a man of extraordinary wide interests. He made contributions to botany, geology, and ornithology, as well as to astronomy, chemistry, and mathematics. Throughout his scientific career he kept a diary, recording his public and private life. The diaries from 1834 to 1838, years spent making astronomical observations at the Cape of Good Hope, are reproduced in this book and prove to be much more than an ordinary scientist's logbook. They present personal and social history, literary commentaries, the results of close observations of nature and numerous scientific experiments, the excitement of travel, political intrigues, gossip, and philosophical reflections - all interpreted through an alert and versatile mind. In the present transcription, the material has been enriched with selected correspondence of Sir John and Lady Herschel."

Please see photographs as they form part of the description.