It is rare for a complete biography of an Australian scientist,
particularly of an Australian woman scientist, to be published. It is
rarer for such a book to be co-authored by an American. Although
scientists have written discourses on the history of their discipline,
it is most unusual for a scientist to write a full length biography of a
colleague in his ?eld. It is also uncommon for a man to write about an
Australian woman scientist; most of the work on Australian women
scientists has been done by other women. However, these authors, both
distinguished researchers in the ?eld of radio astr- omy, became so
interested in the history of their discipline and in the career of the
pioneer radio astronomer Ruby Payne-Scott that they spent some years
bringing this book to fruition. Until relatively recently, Ruby
Payne-Scott had been the only woman scientist mentioned brie?y in
histories of Australian science or of Australian radio astronomy. This
book will be an invaluable resource for anyone interested in these
disciplines. Being scientists themselves, the authors explain
Payne-Scott's scienti?c work in detail; therefore, the value and
importance of her contributions can, for the ?rst time, be recognised,
not only by historians but also by scientists.