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A Crystallographic “Arrowsmith”

Abstract

IT is curious that in spite of the overwhelming influence exercised by science on our civilisation, there have been so few attempts to express its ethos in literature, especially in the field of imaginative romance. Many causes have probably contributed to this, not the least of which has been the fact that most writers are not in any sense within the boundaries of science, and have to take those essential structural details on which the whole complex of human relations must depend, at second or third hand. For this reason a book such as John Masefield's “Multitude and Solitude”, which deals with medical research in Africa, gives always a shadowy impression, failing to inspire confidence in the probability of its main theme. The “Martin Arrowsmith” of Sinclair Lewis, in contrast, is a much more powerful book, and most of those who buy “The Search” will probably place the two novels side by side on their shelves.

The Search.

By C. P. Snow. Pp. 429. (London: Victor Gollancz, Ltd., 1934.) 8s. 6d. net.

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N., J., N., D. A Crystallographic “Arrowsmith” . Nature 134, 890 (1934). https://doi.org/10.1038/134890a0

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