The subjects of this father and son biography are Henry Cavendish (1731-1810), one of the greatest scientists of his century, and his father, Lord Charles Cavendish (1704-83), a scientist and statesman whose importance lies in his 40 years of organizational work for the Royal Society of London. Clearly a labor of love, this meticulously researched work traces the lives of two scions of a powerful family and heirs of two revolutions one political and the other scientific and the historical and social context of their work. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.