Ruth Lewin Sime is on the chemistry faculty at Sacramento City College. She co-wrote and narrated a BBC-TV program on Lise Meitner, A Gift From Heaven, which was named one of the best science programs of the year by The Royal Society in 1992.
"Sime has produced a magnificent biography that should help rescue
Meitner from oblivion. . . . The story, especially in the lead-up
to the discovery of fission by Hahn, Meitner, and Strassman, is
absolutely gripping, full of twists and false dawns."
*New Scientist*
"The characters include the whole pantheon of European physicists.
The several story lines of Meitner's life are carefully and
smoothly interwoven, and once the war starts, the plot becomes
breathtaking. . . . Meitner's story is moving, and the book is
clearly a labor of love. Such labors are worth attending."
*New York Times*
"Sime has produced a thorough and intelligent treatment of an
extraordinary scientist who received little of the credit she is
due."
*Library Journal*
"An extraordinary and rewarding read. Sime has written the
definitive biography of Lise Meitner and much more."
*Physics and Society*
"Sime provides an insider's account of the discovery of fission and
the treatment of Jewish intellectuals and scientists during the
rise of Nazi Germany. Her insights into the distortion of reality
and memory help to explain why this extremely talented and
significant contributor to atomic physics has been neglected."
*CHOICE*
"The story told by Sime is a powerful one. She not only explains
how scientists went about their work in Germany during the first
half of the twentieth century but how they came to grips with the
tragedies of those years."
*American Historical Review*
"Sime is to be applauded for bringing to life the story of a
brilliant physicist whose contributions to science and personal
integrity were unparalleled."
*San Francisco Chronicle*
"Sime has infused the writing with a passion that is both
refreshing and exhilarating. This is a book that deserves to be
widely read and deliberated. Its significance exceeds the
boundaries of the history of nuclear physics and
chemistry."
*Bulletin of the Atomic Sciences*
"A moving, artfully detailed biography that should reestablish Lise
Meitner among the greats. Sime maintains that elusive balance
between scientific exposition, personal insight and political and
cultural analysis that good scientific biographers strive for but
seldom attain."
*The Sciences*
"Sime has written the definitive scientific biography of Meiter, a
riveting and masterful account of a scientist's steadfast devotion
to physics. Sime blends the science and history with seamless ease.
Sime's extensive research offers fresh insights into the
devastating legacy of Nazism's distortion of the scientific
truth."
*Washington Post*
"Sime has constructed here an admirable restorative of scientific
credit."
*Booklist*
"Sime has produced a magnificent biography that should help rescue
Meitner from oblivion. . . . The story, especially in the lead-up
to the discovery of fission by Hahn, Meitner, and Strassman, is
absolutely gripping, full of twists and false dawns." * New
Scientist *
"The characters include the whole pantheon of European physicists.
The several story lines of Meitner's life are carefully and
smoothly interwoven, and once the war starts, the plot becomes
breathtaking. . . . Meitner's story is moving, and the book is
clearly a labor of love. Such labors are worth attending." * New
York Times *
"Sime has produced a thorough and intelligent treatment of an
extraordinary scientist who received little of the credit she is
due." * Library Journal *
"An extraordinary and rewarding read. Sime has written the
definitive biography of Lise Meitner and much more." * Physics and
Society *
"Sime provides an insider's account of the discovery of fission and
the treatment of Jewish intellectuals and scientists during the
rise of Nazi Germany. Her insights into the distortion of reality
and memory help to explain why this extremely talented and
significant contributor to atomic physics has been neglected." *
CHOICE *
"The story told by Sime is a powerful one. She not only explains
how scientists went about their work in Germany during the first
half of the twentieth century but how they came to grips with the
tragedies of those years." * American Historical Review *
"Sime is to be applauded for bringing to life the story of a
brilliant physicist whose contributions to science and personal
integrity were unparalleled." * San Francisco Chronicle *
"Sime has infused the writing with a passion that is both
refreshing and exhilarating. This is a book that deserves to be
widely read and deliberated. Its significance exceeds the
boundaries of the history of nuclear physics and chemistry." *
Bulletin of the Atomic Sciences *
"A moving, artfully detailed biography that should reestablish Lise
Meitner among the greats. Sime maintains that elusive balance
between scientific exposition, personal insight and political and
cultural analysis that good scientific biographers strive for but
seldom attain." * The Sciences *
"Sime has written the definitive scientific biography of Meiter, a
riveting and masterful account of a scientist's steadfast devotion
to physics. Sime blends the science and history with seamless ease.
Sime's extensive research offers fresh insights into the
devastating legacy of Nazism's distortion of the scientific truth."
* Washington Post *
"Sime has constructed here an admirable restorative of scientific
credit." * Booklist *
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