The Invention of Air by Steven Johnson
Review of an Historical Look at the World of Joseph Priestley
Jul 23, 2009 Margaret M. Williams
Joseph Priestley was one of the most famous scientists of the 18th Century. His friend, Benjamin Franklin, recommended him to England's Royal Society. Priestley was also a minister who played a key role in the founding of the Unitarian Church. He was a radical thinker who eventually became one of the most hated men in England; a mob burned down his house in Birmingham. But when he emigrated to the newly formed United States, he was welcomed by then President John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.
And yet very few people in America today know who Joseph Priestley was. Steven Johnson set out to change that in his book The Invention of Air: A Story of Science, Faith, Revolution, and the Birth of America (Riverhead Book, 2008).
A History of 18th Century Science, Religion and Politics
Johnson’s book illuminates the life of Joseph Priestley, but it is not a biography. Rather, it is treatise on how ideas come into being, and how those ideas in turn can influence broader scientific, religious, and political outcomes.
Priestley was an avid scientific researcher. He is credited with discovering that air is not simply empty space but has properties, one of which is oxygen. Johnson posits that a series of geological and social evolutions came together to put Priestley into position to make the discoveries he did.
Johnson credits the “carbon cycle” of the earth, the inspirations of the Enlightenment era, and the emergence of the coffeehouse culture in England and Europe as being among the moving energy forces that brought Priestley together with Franklin, Jefferson, and Adams at a point in time when the Founding Fathers were puzzling through the roles of religion and politics during the birth of America.
A Book for Readers Who Love the Interplay of History, Science, and Culture
Johnson paints a well-researched portrait of the life of this 18th Century British theologian and scientist. He focuses on the personal, detailing Priestley’s life and his relationships with other scientists and radical thinkers, anchoring his narrative in the storytelling embedded in their diaries and letters. Yet he continually brings the reader back to the larger themes of energy, communication, innovation, and the evolution of political, religious, and scientific thinking.
If there is any thing wrong with this book, is that it is only 254 pages. Johnson offers his readers an intriguing and unique look at a world of which most only have a history book knowledge. He explains how the emergence of coffee houses did for 18th Century science what email is doing for the disciplines today. He likens his historical subject to the modern day Salman Rushdie. And he tantalizes his readers with the influence Priestley had on the now famous exchange of letters between Adams and Jefferson. His research is thorough. But he leaves the reader with the impression there is so much more to learn about the man, his times, and his legacies.
About Author Steven Johnson
Best selling writer Stephen Johnson specializes in linking science, technology, and society, taking a long lens approach to the people and the circumstances of history. He is widely published in popular magazines, including Discover, Slate, Wired, and the Wall Street Journal. He wrote the cover article, “How Twitter Will Change the Way We Live,” for the June 5, 2009 issue of Time magazine
Johnson’s earlier books include:
- The Ghost Map [Penguin Books, 2006]
- Everything Bad is Good for You [Riverhead Books, 2005]
- Mind Wide Open [Scribner, 2004]
- Emergence [Scribner, 2002]
- Interface Culture [Basic Books, 1999]
Readers who enjoy mixing history with science will also enjoy The Black Hole War by Leonard Susskind and Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson.
Invention of Air by Steven Johnson
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