THE RITTENHOUSE ORRERY.

ByHoward C. Rice Jr. '26. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1954. 99 pp. $2.50.

Unusual in its content and refreshingly delightful in the handling of the material, The Rittenhouse Orrery by Howard C. Rice Jr. should appeal to scientists, historians and teachers alike. It is written as a "commentary" on the exhibition at the Princeton Library of the restored Rittenhouse Orrery—"a machine to represent the motions of the heavenly bodies according to the system of Newton and Copernicus." The setting for this exhibit brings together the development of astronomy in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, tracing the background of the Newtonian philosophy and its impact on the teaching of science in America.

The author has woven skillfully into this the life of David Rittenhouse whose astronomical studies and mechanical skill brought about in 1770 the completion of this "American Production, much more complete than any Thing of the Kind ever made in Europe." The book is exceedingly well documented and beautifully illustrated.