Making "Nature": The History of a Scientific Journal

Making "Nature" is the first book to chronicle the foundation and development of Nature , one of the world's most influential scientific institutions. Now nearing its hundred and fiftieth year of publication, Nature is the international benchmark for scientific publication. Its contributors include Charles Darwin, Ernest Rutherford, and Stephen Hawking, and it has published many of the most important discoveries in the history of science, including articles on the structure of DNA, the discovery of the neutron, the first cloning of a mammal, and the human genome. But how did Nature become such an essential institution? In Making "Nature," Melinda Baldwin charts the rich history of this extraordinary publication from its foundation in 1869 to current debates about online publishing and open access. This pioneering study not only tells Nature 's story but also sheds light on much larger questions about the history of science publishing, changes in scientific communication, and shifting notions of "scientific community." Nature , as Baldwin demonstrates, helped define what science is and what it means to be a scientist. This book chronicles the foundation and development of Nature, one of the world's most influential scientific institutions. Nearing its hundred and fiftieth year of publication, Nature is the international benchmark for scientific publication. Its contributors include Charles Darwin, Ernest Rutherford, and Stephen Hawking, and it has published many of the most important discoveries in the history of science, including articles on the structure of DNA, the discovery of the neutron, the first cloning of a mammal, and the human genome. But how did Nature become such an essential institution? This book charts the rich history of this extraordinary publication from its foundation in 1869 to current debates about online publishing and open access. This study not only tells Nature's story but also sheds light on much larger questions about the history of science publishing, changes in scientific communication, and shifting notions of 'scientific community.' Nature, as the author demonstrates, helped define what science is and what it means to be a scientist. -- Publisher's description Introduction: Who is a "scientist"? Nature's shifting audience, 1869-1875 Nature's contributors and the changing of Britain's scientific guard, 1872-1895 Defining the "man of science" in Nature Scientific internationalism and scientific nationalism Nature, interwar politics, and intellectual freedom "It almost came out on its own" : Nature under L.J.F. Brimble and A.J.V. Gale Nature, the Cold War, and the rise of the United States "Disorderly publication" : Nature and scientific self-policing in the 1980s.