The Fontana history of chemistry Book

Today I ordered The Development of Modern Chemistry from a used book site. When I was in high school, I heard a lecture by Dr. Ihde on the University radio station. It was one of his "History of Science" lectures for the Integrated Liberal Studies program that the University of Wisconsin still offers. His lecture was something magical. I was so impressed that when I entered UW in 1968 I became part of ILS. Dr. Ihde was one of my very favorite professors.

These were times of enormous campus unrest. There were National Guard troops on campus. There was a lot of pressure on students to abandon their classes and spend their time marching. One afternoon during Dr. Ihde's class in the chemistry building, several people entered and started chanting to disrupt the lecture. Dr. Ihde's students set up a counter-chant: "We Want Ihde! We Want Ihde!" The protestors left the auditorium and Dr. Ihde stood at the podium and cried.

I probably heard sections of this book years ago during his lectures as he was refining his ideas. It will be good to hear his voice again.