BULLETIN FOR THE HISTORY OF CHEMISTRY
Volume 49, 2024
Wacławek, Stanisław, “Review of My Life with Science,” by Gerhard Ertl, Bull. Hist. Chem., 2024, 49, 170-171.
Abstract/Description: Gerhard Ertl's book, My Life with Science, presents the life of a German-born Nobel laureate. As is written in the preface of the book, in 2019, Prof. Ertl was invited by the chair of the History of Chemistry division of the German Chemical Society, Carsten Reinhardt, to write a summary of his scientific achievements. The book has five chapters arranged chronologically, an epilogue, a list of literature as well as noteworthy holographs. My Life with Science is a fascinating autobiography that not only chronicles Prof. Gerhard Ertl's remarkable career but also provides a quite deep scientific explanation of the work that he has done on heterogeneous catalysis and surface science. Moreover, it contains lots of personal photographs and information, which would be difficult to obtain without access to this book.