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Rating: 
Summary: a hatchet job
Review: I am really quite puzzled as to just why the author wrote this book. By his own admission Sabbagh isn't a scientist, and by his writing it is apparent that he doesn't understand Botany, Botanists or Biogeography. In spite of this he has chosen to write about all three. The story is a rather sad little affair which could be interpreted in a number of ways. In one a botanist is suspected of fraud by members of the scientific establishment, the case is investigated, the suspect records are quietly dropped from publication, and everyone eventually retires and dies. It is clear that Sabbagh, for reasons that escape me, would rather that there had been a public trial, with any guilty parties being tarred, feathered & ridden on a rail. Since this DIDN'T happen when anyone involved was alive, Sabbagh sets out to do it to the dead. Starting by gaining access to a manuscript whose author had specifically requested should remain sealed (there are some weird aspects of class struggle throughout this book by the way, Sabbagh boasts that since he is "a Kingsman" -a graduate of King's College Cambridge- the widow of his hero is confident that the ms will be "in safe hands" -false hope as it turns out.) Sabbagh sets out to develop a case against his villain, John Harrison. This "case" is based in part on excerpts from the sealed manuscript by the book's hero, John Raven, in part on wild speculation, and in large part on every bit of gossip, hearsay and innuendo that Sabbagh seems to have dug up. It is clear from the outset that there were people -especially particularly well-connected people in the British scientific aristocracy- who didn't like John Harrison. It also seems likely that Harrison wasn't particularly likable in general. Whether this dislike could have engendered the sort of plot that Sabbagh suggests seems somewhat far-fetched, and is based here on second and third hand gossip & sometimes ludicrous "reading between the lines" of selected letters. While there is clearly the POSSIBILITY of fraud in the behaviour of "villain" Harrison, what also emerges is that both the "hero" John Raven and the author are what I was raised to call "cads". By Sabbagh's own account Raven gets access to Harrison's study sites on false pretexts, in spite of repeated sensible warnings that the study area is remote & inhospitable Raven shows up without food or camping supplies -and manages to burn down his tent! (Sabbagh has previously suggested that Harrison is being obnoxious by telling Raven to bring supplies, but he automatically forgives his hero when he fails to follow either courtesy or caution). Raven then spends less than three days on an island where the Villain has been working for many field seasons, decides that some specimens of rare plants have been literally "planted" and then leaves to write a report which goes nowhere. Another interpretation of the whole affair is that Harrison was hounded by people who didn't like him, investigated by a talented amateur (Raven may have been a cad, but he was certainly talented) who failed to turn up much serious evidence of fraud (Raven mis-identifies a key species of plant in the course of his investigation). Faced with at best a verdict of "not proven" the establishment does the sensible thing and drops the whole matter. There it would (and should) have remained except for the energies of Mr. Sabbagh. We read this sort of book for the same reason we slow down at car-wrecks or scan the front pages of the tabloids. This is a sick entertainment that ennobles nobody.
Rating: 
Summary: Botany - Not quite as exciting as Stamp Collecting
Review: If this is the greatest excitement in the history of geographic botany, I pity every geographic botanist that is, was, or will be. Geographic botany is the study of the distribution of plant species. In practical terms, a geographic botanist spends her time looking for plant species in new locations.
The Rum Affair is the story of a well known botanist, Heslop Harrison, who supports his theory that ice age plants may have survived on Rum island in the UK by reporting unprecedented discoveries of plants on the island. Rum island is very isloated and Heslop Harrison indirectly controls all access to the island. Isnt that convenient ?
A ametuer with no offical standing as a botanist, but with considerable expertise, gains access to the island. He finds no evidence of any of the reported species in situ. In addition, he finds that the soil, climate and related plants indicate that it would be a virtual impossibility for some of the reported plants to have lived there.
The ametuer confronts Heslop Harrison who is unable to answer any of the accusations. When the findings are made public, the academic community, which didnt believe Heslop Harrison to begin with, is mostly mute. With time, Heslop Harrison's " discoveries " are dropped from offical texts and the incident is forgotten.
I wish there were more to it, but that is it. There is little mystery and no real suspense. A suspected fraud is uncovered and then quietly forgotten. There is no dramatic contfrontation between the rivals who primarily communicate via the post. Heslop Harrison is unable to refute the charges of fraud and primarily goes on about being betrayed. The muted reaction of the academic community to the uncovering of a suspected fraud is typical, even for today. The fraud is an embarrasment to the scientific community and everyone benefits from a quick and quiet end. Only when big money or big law suits are possible to academic frauds make headlines. Can you name the scientist at Texas A&M who " discovered " cold fusion a few years ago ? I can't either, and that was a potentially world altering discovery.
The Rum Affair would make an interesting article in Scientific American or a nice short story. There just isnt enough here to make a book. If you see it at the used book store, buy it, read the two middle chapters, and donate it back to library.
Rating: 
Summary: Of Probative Value
Review: It is inconceivable to me that Professor Harrison transplanted southern flora onto Rum Island -- despite his interest (and a little garden at his home further south)in what then was called the new systematics -- in the Inner Hebrides in order to support a thesis that the island and its environs had remained free ice-free during the last glaciation. The populations seem too few, small and fragile for the hypothesis to be considered robust. What is more convincing is that the island, long a home for a resident population, summer residents, and sporting types has a minor introduced flora resulting from transient visitors, primarily winged and hoofed and whatever they brought with them or deposited along the way. Presence of an unpublished manuscript buried within a university archive serves as the focal point around which evidence for unscholarly chicanery is unearthed; hearsay from survivors of the alleged episode is putative and inconclusive. Professor Harrison had many interests in botany beside the persistence of southern flora on the Inner Hebrides. It is perceived that once he published his thesis based upon a few lesser plants that were found, however, he was "stuck with it," so to speak and attempted to support it more for the probative value of inviting interest in the thesis rather than an unshakable belief in the pre-history of the area. It would remain for other workers either support or disprove the thesis. In the meanwhile a certain measure of recognition would accrue to Professor Harrison as the proponent of the idea. The book is worth reading from the standpoint of determining what is necessary to prove an idea in science; it provides a lesson in determining how much can be learned from the historical record alone.
Rating:
Summary: A promise unfulfilled
Review: Science makes progress by the innovations of individuals. Upon noticing something new, others try to replicate the results. When they do, scientists start to feel confidence that reality has been established. When the results cannot be replicated, doubt begins to build. Sometimes, the innovator made a mistake. Sometimes, the emulators don't quite understand what needs to be done. And occasionally, the innovator made up the results in the first place (like the little boy who cried "wolf"). This book focuses on parts of the career of Professor John Heslop Harrison of Newcastle University, who was a famous botanist in the British Isles during the first half of the 20th century. Over his career, he had discovered or been present when many rare species had been found in new places. While many of these discoveries were replicated by others, many of the ones he made on the private island of Rum (also spelled Rhum) in the Hebrides did not have that replication. Some botanists became suspicious, and encouraged a talented amateur botanist, John Raven, to inveigle an invitation to Rum to see the specimens. What he saw led Mr. Raven to conclude that someone (possibly the good professor) had planted these specimens on Rum, rather than occurring there naturally. Based on these researches and a letter to "Nature," the professor's discoveries that others could not document were gradually withdrawn from the scientific literature. The book looks at the whole problem from our time now. The author interviewed people who were alive and participating in the controversy then, as well as examined the documents and letters involved. He turns up a series of questionable "discoveries" also including butterflies and beetles that suggest a systemmatic pattern. In a final amusing aside, he visits the professor's home and is amazed to discover that the postal address he used for it is false. He chose to pretend he lived on the most fashionable street in town, when he did not. The circumstantial evidence (and it is hard to have more, unless you see someone literally planting the specimen) does get a bit tedious, but the author does a nice job of considering the motives behind scientific frauds. Generally, they are tied to a desire to make a big breakthrough, and the "scientist" is convinced the theory is right . . . even though the evidence don't show it yet. In Professor Heslop Harrison's case, he wanted to build a new theory of the evolution of species and also wanted to change the view about how the last ice age had occurred in Britain. These "discoveries" tended to support those theories. The book's approach is quite a thorough one, and since Mr. Sabbagh is not a botanist he makes the book more understandable to those of us who are not. He also as a wry sense of humor that makes for comic relief throughout the book. On the other hand, reading exhaustively about weeds, beetles, scientific controversies, and whether the samples were received or not is dull. Although well written and fascinating for its broader implications, the writing style left my mind wandering a bit. If the book had been written to about 70 percent of this length, it would have been more appealing. Many of the letters could have been edited down or included in the appendix material. I graded the book down one star for being cumbersome in this way. As to what really happened, no one will ever know for certain. Certainly, the weight of the evidence suggests to me (a nonscientist) that sloppiness at least was involved in some cases, and possibly conscious fraud. If no one ever turns up these specimens again (and they haven't in decades in some cases), the preponderance of the evidence will favor their never having existed naturally in the sites claimed. Where else do we rely on claims that are hard to substantiate? How can we defend against "false" claims occurring? My mind is drawn to SUVs as an example. Many people originally bought these believing that they were safer alternatives to smaller vehicles. No one discouraged that view. Recent statistics suggest that people in SUVs are more likely to be injured than people in some smaller cars. How could a misperception like this have been established, and how could have been allowed to persist? It seems like some people will pay with their lives, as a result. Look for independent information, well verified by others who have no vested interest!
Rating: 
Summary: clearly not for everyone
Review: The merest possibility that a geographic botanist would actually falsify a discovery and violate the sanctity of the British scientific aristocracy is not only enough excitement for one book, but plenty for a sensational story. However, you might have to be an unabashed fan of all things Anglo like myself; also perhaps a talented amateur horticulturist who thrills to the details of the growing conditions necessary for the disputed "discoveries" of J. Heslop Harrison (the names of the characters alone make this a fun read). Sabbagh navigates the touchy territory of real peoples' reputations with great subtlety and renders a fascinating picture of the British universities, their scientists and personalities. Of course there is no silly confrontation scene! All the drama is handled with typical British restraint, which makes the book and this true story all the more enthralling for the right type of reader.
Rating: 
Summary: A Rum Affair is heady stuff!
Review: The mysterious Isle of Rum off the west coast of Scotland is the site of British botanist, John Heslop Harrison's discoveries of rare plant species which helped make him the outstanding scientist of his time. Many botanists, suspicious of the evidence, were unable to prove anything as all investigations were buried deep in a university library. A Rum Affair is not simply an investigation about one particular gentleman in one particular field of science, it is about the history of amateur scientists, the times in which they lived & the clashes of egos in the arcane corridors of British universities during the 100 years in which Charles Darwin's theories shocked the world & scientific hoaxes were the talk of the town. Be prepared for a humorous & learned read. Set a match to the fire, put the kettle on & the cat out, brew a pot & settle back into your highback wing chair because A Rum Affair will take you to one of the most bleak, treeless, monotonous places on earth where a handful of mysterious & rare plants were "discovered" in the 1940s & were never seen again. A Rum Affair is for everyone who loves a good yarn about the humans who trample upon the natural world & the lengths to which they'll go to become immortals in their field! Fascinating! Do visit my site for my full review.
Rating:
Summary: I enjoyed this book.
Review: The topic of the book is: did Professor Heslop Harrison, who was an eminent British botanist during the first half of the 1900s, fake some of his results? This might sound dry, but the book is not. Sabbagh has written an engaging story about the effects of ego on scientific inquiry. As a scientist-in-training myself, I found the story fascinating. Why would someone with an established reputation take such a risk? Or was he merely persecuted by jealous colleagues, as he claimed himself? Why did the scientific community react as it did? As well as detailing the history involved, Sabbagh explores the psychology of the main characters in an attempt to find an answer. The specific scentific issues are explained clearly and concisely. He includes a section briefly discussing other scientific frauds that lends more depth to the analysis of this particular case. This is a good book, funny, and very well written.
Rating:
Summary: Who Cares?
Review: Time was when you could ask three questions of science/nature writing: Is it important? Does it matter? Would anything change if the reverse conclusions were reached? The answer had better be "yes" to at least one question. Of course, the answers to those questions when asked about A Rum Affair are "No," "No," and "No.'
One thing was determined, however, and that was that a book can be written about anything---the spare change in your pocket, the color of dirt, whatever. It seems curiously reversed that I paid money to read this book when someone should have paid me a hefty sum to read it. Just awful.
Rating:
Summary: Who Cares?
Review: Time was when you could ask three questions of science/nature writing: Is it important? Does it matter? Would anything change if the reverse conclusions were reached? The answer had better be "yes" to at least one question. Of course, the answers to those questions when asked about A Rum Affair are "No," "No," and "No.'
One thing was determined, however, and that was that a book can be written about anything---the spare change in your pocket, the color of dirt, whatever. It seems curiously reversed that I paid money to read this book when someone should have paid me a hefty sum to read it. Just awful.
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