first edition Hardcover
(c.1966) · New York
by Patrusky, Ben
New York: Dodd, Mead & Company. Near Fine in Very Good dj. (c.1966). First Edition. Hardcover. [very light wear to book at extremities, gift inscription (non-authorial) on ffep; jacket has a somewhat ragged 3-inch closed tear and associated creasing at bottom of front panel, "Dodd Durable Library Binding" foil label at bottom left of front panel (extending onto spine), small tear at top front hinge with associated creasing and minor paper loss]. (B&W photographs, diagrams) One of several early science books "for the layman" by this author (his two earlier works were "Gravity" and "Light"). This volume "traces the evolution of the laser (and its forerunner, the maser)," taking the reader "through three hundred years of scientific inquiry, from the earliest visions of Isaac Newton up to the present -- and beyond, to the dazzling possibilities of the future." Patrusky went on to a distinguished career as a science writer, serving as Executive Director of the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing from 1988 until his retirement in 2013. A rather uncommon book. . (Inventory #: 23107)