Willard Gibbs: The Whole Is Simpler Than Its Parts - Hardcover

by Muriel Rukeyser (Author), Maria Popova (Foreword by)

Marginalian Editions presents a groundbreaking poet's biography of the forgotten scientist who founded physical chemistry, shaping much of the 20th century--and an ingenious, expansive treatise on American creativity, character, and remembrance.

Josiah Willard Gibbs (1839-1903) was an American visionary whose work shaped a century of science by bridging classical mechanics and quantum physics. A kindly and shy bachelor who lectured at Yale in relative obscurity for more than thirty years, he single-handedly created the field of physical chemistry without ever completing a single experiment. Gibbs's visionary work enabled future scientists to predict what states a substance can assume and under what conditions--the implications for industry, agriculture, and warfare were vast. Hailed by Einstein as "the greatest mind in American history," Gibbs remained essentially unknown.

To acclaimed poet Muriel Rukeyser, Gibbs "lived closer than any inventor, any poet, any scientific worker in pure imagination to the life of the inventive and organizing spirit in America." Rukeyser's thoroughly researched and lyrical tribute to Gibbs is much more than a biography: it is an alchemical compound of philosophy, history, ethics, and literature writ large. It is the story of a country, a century, a global epoch of scientific creativity that would color every realm of human imagination and aspiration, from poetry to politics.

Author Biography

Muriel Rukeyser (1913-1980) was a prolific poet, playwright, biographer, novelist, children's book author, and political activist. Her first collection of poetry, 1935's Theory of Flight, won the Yale Younger Poets Prize. During her life she was the recipient of a National Institute of Arts and Letters award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Levinson Prize for Poetry, and the Shelley Memorial Award, among other honors.

Maria Popova is a reader and a writer, and is curator and editor of Marginalian Editions. She writes about what she reads on her website The Marginalian. She grew up in Bulgaria immersed in music and mathematics.