Product Details

• Published on: 2004-08-31
• Released on: 2004-08-31
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

Customer Reviews

Biographical tales from the childhood of scientists
Twenty seven scientists discuss how events in their childhood shaped their futures, leading them to become experts in their chosen fields. The result is a collection of short essays revealing how important fleeting meetings, chance comments, peers, parents and role models can be.

Although one cannot help feeling that the lives of some of the contributors were destined to follow a certain course, I could not help but think that the vast majority of them would have succeeded at whatever they had chosen to do. Rather than weakening the tales they tell, the brilliance of these researchers makes their accounts all the more interesting. Perhaps they could have done anything, but the combination of their passion and an inspirational event, comment or series of circumstances motivated them to follow a particular route, and to excel.

The scientists who have contributed to this work come from a wide variety of fields. They have been selected for their ability and desire to communicate their specialist subjects to the world at large and, with just a couple of possible exceptions, all contributors have published their own non-specialist works. My only criticism is that the world represented is almost entirely American. For those of us on this side of the Atlantic seeking inspirational stories to tell our children, this is a slight weakness, a few tales from closer to home would have been welcome.