Book Description

In a story that is both of its time and timeless, Evan I. Schwartz tells a tale of genius and greed, innocence and deceit, and corporate arrogance versus independent brilliance. In other words, the very qualities that have made this country -- for better or for worse -- what it is.

Many men have laid claim to the title "The Father of Television" but Philo T. Farnsworth is the true genius behind what may be the most influential invention of our time. Farnsworth may have ended up a footnote in history, yet he was the first to demonstrate an electronic process for scanning, transmitting and receiving moving images, a discovery that changed the way we live.

Growing up on a small farm in Idaho, Farnsworth was fascinated by anything scientific, especially the newest thing on the market -- radio. Wouldn't it be even more miraculous to project images along with the sound? Driven by his obsession, Farnsworth found a local philanthropist willing to fund his dream. By the age of twenty, in 1926, Farnsworth was operating his own laboratory above a garage in San Francisco and filing his first patent applications. The resulting publicity brought him to the attention of David Sarnoff, the celebrated founder of the NBC radio network, whose own RCA laboratories soon began investigating -- without much success -- a way to transmit a moving image. Determined to control television the way he monopolized radio -- by owning all the royalty producing patents--Sarnoff, from the lofty heights of his office in a New York skyscraper, devised a plan to steal credit for Farnsworth's designs.

Vividly written, and based on original research, including interviews with surviving members of the Farnsworth family The Last Lone Inventor is the story of the epic struggle between two equally passionate adversaries and how their clash symbolized a turning point in the culture of creativity.

Reviews (9)

Great story, but misses a few important relevancies
I loved this book, the story of yet another unsung hero, the lone wolf pioneer, oblivious to the world's thieves, fighting to realize a dream, then getting ripped off for it at the moment of success. Ask yourself: who invented the lightbulb, the telephone, the radio, the airplane? You know the answer. (It might not actually be fully correct, but you can certainly come up with an appropriate name.) Now, who invented television? That is, the means of converting a moving image into a stream of electrons. Stumped? Some people know the names of Vladimir Zworykin and Philo Farnsworth, but not many. This book is the extremely fascinating story of Philo T. Farnsworth (what a name!) and how one man, David Sarnoff, succeeded in placing in the mind of the public the idea that television was created by him, as the leader of RCA/NBC. Zworykin worked for Sarnoff, and between the two totally ripped off the ideas and even the patents behind the creation of TV. While Farnsworth did receive a minimal amount of credit and some money during his life, in the end his name was buried as far as the public was concerned.

Unfortunately, the author seems oblivious to the fact of similar rip-offs occurring right amongst some of the minor characters of the story, in particular Edison AND Marconi stealing, and trying to keep Tesla from receiving, the credit he deserved for lighting and radio discoveries. Everyone has their own axe to grind, but the fact is if you dig deep enough, there are probably stories like this surrounding every great technological advance.

Anyway, if you at all like the genre, this book is bound to become a classic for you. It's also a great cautionary tale regarding the weaknesses of the patent system as practiced in the USA.

An engaging, quick, entertaining read
More party conversation facts that you can expect to collect from 99/100 other books. A great story, well told. Professionally and rigorously researched. Fun to read.

Quick read, and honest about the prospects of invention
Evan Schwartz has done an excellent job in creating a fast read without the depth of A Beautiful Mind, but interesting nonetheless. His subject is after all a more straightforward individual than John Nash, although Schwartz, like Sylvia Nasar, does explore some of the darker corners of Farnsworth's personality.

Schwartz refreshingly does not engage in positivistic technological whoop-de-doo about the possibility of reviving the status of the lone inventor. During the dot.com boom there was some loose talk about the possibility of the better mousetrap but it is clear that the administered world, that Farnsworth's nemesis in the book (David Sarnoff of RCA) helped to install in the 1920s, makes technological innovation, by the lone inventor, the exception and not the rule.

Schwartz also does an excellent job of balancing the two very different (yet strangely alike) personalities of Philo T. Farnsworth versus "General" Sarnoff, who more or less browbeat Dwight Eisenhower into making him a General for Sarnoff's admirable war record.

For Philo T. Farnsworth belonged more to the 1890s than the administered, corporate world of the 1920s. His name is somewhat odd in that (like Edward G. Nilges) it confesses an unbroken attachment to a family-of-origin, and a need to at one and the same time identify with a clan, yet precisely identify oneself as an individual within the clan.

Sarnoff's name is cooler-sounding and more down-to-business to the modern and indeed the administered ear, and far more than old Philo, Sarnoff was "skilled" (if that is indeed the word) in manipulating, not technical and scientific realities but his relations with his fellow men.

Farnsworth was of course no slouch in the PR department, but Sarnoff was more aware that the effect of illusion could be self-reinforcing, and that Sarnoff could USE the technology (and let others tinker with the technology), as in Schwartz' example of Sarnoff's dog and pony show at the 1939 World's Fair.

Technicians may cry foul, but the unavoidable fact that one technology builds upon another MEANS that the administered world (in Farnsworth's time, of cheap radio buff magazines, in ours, of cheap personal computers) was brought into being by social engineers *malgre lui* like Sarnoff.

But one cannot give old-fashioned credit to the Sarnoffs and the Gates when one admits this fact, and the reason for this is the inseperability of the social illusion they created, and the feeling the rest of us that we have been subtly horn-swoggled.

At the 1939 World's Fair, young David Gerlenter was very impressed by what in fact had little relationship to reality but the illusion created by the Fair urged him not only to participate in the creation of the world of "tomorrow", it also made them enthusiastically not question its ideological presumptions.

Missing, of necessity, in Evan Schwartz' quick read is another (indirect) employee of David Sarnoff, and this is my cherubic but rather gloomy old pal Theodore Adorno.

[The frequency of mention of Adorno may indicate to the unwashed a stalker-like obsession although Adorno died in 1970, or it may indicate that I am on to something Big.]

Adorno was indirectly retained at the Princeton Radio Research project in the 1930s by an RCA funded group that was charged, by Sarnoff, with making radio more high-class, and Schwartz describes Sarnoff's own tastes, which were in the lingo of the day, high-brow.

Walter Damrosch, not "Damrouch" as it is in the book, was a popular classical conductor of the 1930s and performed, as Schwartz recounts, at an RCA celebration. Sarnoff hoped that Adorno, et al., would show him how to market, over radio and possibly television, "quality" programming.

Being an intellectual cousin of Farnsworth in the very different but in fact equally demanding field of sociology, Adorno seems to have disruptively wanted to first theorize the impact of Edison's, Marconi's, and Farnsworth's creations on the listener. Adorno, in a truly pragmatic spirit, wanted to take the material basis into account, but was forestalled from doing so.

Adorno was aware, ten years before the appearance of McLuhan, that the medium, in particular its necessary limitations, might become the message. He theorized that the limitations might be necessary using, not the Aristotelean or Boolean logic familiar to a Farnsworth, but a 'dialectic' call and response logic in which we might actually demand, in the case of music reproduction, the very experience that denies, excludes, an older, and possibly richer, experience.

Of course, the engineer then and now is engaged in finding ways to satisfy demands, and not prove their mutual exclusion, which is why theoretical sociologists are scorned by engineers. But Boolean logic's possibility happens to rest on the bare possibility of knowledge, and one of Farnsworth's limitations was that this blinded him to the importance of PR over and above valid patents.

But rare indeed is the engineer with this range of vision, and as a result, engineers, in reading this book, might be subtly encouraged to POLARIZE the urban and cosmopolite world of Sarnoff versus the more down-to-earth, nuts and bolts, ham and ham sandwich world of an Edison or Farnsworth. With the result that such men grow old without grace, and the ultimate justification of the technology is biased towards destruction.

Fascinating and well-executed
For science and invention-history buffs, this is a no-brainer, but even the non-technoid layperson will find this a fascinating and fast-paced read. The author does an excellent job of presenting the key characters' development and motiviation, interspersing very fluidly the important biographical details of both Farnsworth and Sarnoff with appropriate and necessary background information on the technological evolution that eventually drew their lives together.

Schwartz achieves an entertaining balance between the social history of television and radio, the scientific minutae of the early growth of these technologies, and the personal lives of the individuals involved. Without becoming self-righteous or dogmatic, he lets the reader know where he stands on the issue of scientific integrity versus commercial exploitation, and succeeds in proving his underlying thesis that Farnsworth was truly one of the last of his breed. Finely researched and tightly written, this is a thoroughly enjoyable book.

Why can't we learn from the past?
Looking for precedence in the desktop PC operating system wars? The battle for television standard supremacy is exhibit ABC!

Similar to Microsoft's grab for OS hegemony in the 1980s and 1990s, RCA outmaneuvered archrivals AT&T, Westinghouse, Philco to capture the hearts, minds and pocketbooks of the American public. And while the battle was fought by the best minds Corporate America could muster, it was a lone inventor by the name of Philo T Farnsworth who gave RCA all it could handle on the innovation front, but was eventually outgunned by RCA honcho and master marketeer David Sarnoff, who perfectly played the courts to outlast the brilliant but business-challenged entrepreneur.

In fact, the story is reminiscent of IBM's early 1980s investigation for a PC operating system. Computer geeks might remember that at that time Digital Research's CP/M was considered the best of breed PC operating system, and Big Blue was desperate to have it power its fledgling IBM PC. IBM execs, however, couldn't get a meeting with CP/M's inventor Gary Kildall (IBM had arranged to meet him at home, but Kildall was off flying his plane, leaving his wife Dorothy to negotiate a deal but she wouldn't sign a non-disclosure agreement.). So Big Blue sought alternatives, eventually striking a deal with Microsoft for an operating system the then infant company didn't yet have rights to (which was eventually called MS-DOS). And the rest, as they say ... is history!

Sarnoff bluffed, licensed and marketed his way into the television space. Farnsworth like Kildall, was almost too bright for his own good. He thought the game would be decided by the technical merits of his product. That wasn't the case then -- nor is it now. It's not who invents the better mousetrap that wins; it's who defines, controls and spins the battle to suit his ends. It's marketing muscle not technological superiority -- as Microsoft has proven time and again.

Kildall died battered and bruised (physically and emotionally) not unlike Farnsworth who passed on as a penniless and forgotten man.

I could easily see this book turned into a major motion picture: Johnnie Depp in the Farnsworth role; Bob Hoskins as Sarnoff. But don't wait for the movie. This book is a page-turner -- you won't be disappointed. Farnsworth, like Kildall, can't be forgotten. It's books like this that guarantee he won't. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

The "Indiana Jones" of Evolution
This book was recommended by a friend. It's a great read, and would make a great action movie. I dimly remembered someone simultaneously developing a theory of evolution with Darwin. After reading this book, I don't know why Wallace isn't more famous than Darwin. He was certainly more interesting. He was self-made, from London's lower classes; trecked around the jungles of South America and the Pacific islands; was involved in a shipwreck; was recognized by England's most prestigious scientific societies; got involved in unpopular social causes and ended up going to seances and visiting mediums. This cost him him his hard-won scientific standing in Victorian London, but that didn't seem to phase him; he had moved on intellectually. He is a fascinating and colorful character. The author doesn't try to explain away the contradictions, but lets Wallace emerge as what he is -- a complexs and enigmatic, and ultimately very sympathetic figure. The book is also a fascinating study of Victorian England. It also contains a very lucid discussion of the thought process that led to the theory of evolution, which becomes almost a sub-plot, with its own heros and villains. This author writes in a clear, lucid prose, and lets his opinion occasionally show through, but generally plays it straight. The scholarship is impressive, but you aren't overwhelmed by it. The author keeps a critical distance from the character, so the portrayal feels ultimately balanced. If you are looking for a good biography, this is a book you should relish. ... Read more

Book Description

In January 1999, Sarah Flannery, a sports-loving teenager from Blarney in County Cork, Ireland, was awarded Ireland's Young Scientist of the Year for her extraordinary research and discoveries in Internet cryptography. The following day, her story began appearing in Irish papers and soon after was splashed across the front page of the London Times, complete with a photo of Sarah and a caption calling her "brilliant." Just sixteen, she was a mathematician with an international reputation.

IN CODE is a heartwarming story that will have readers cheering Sarah on. Originally published in England and cowritten with her mathematician father, David Flannery, IN CODE is "a wonderfully moving story about the thrill of the mathematical chase" (Nature) and "a paean to intellectual adventure" (Times Educational Supplement). A memoir in mathematics, it is all about how a girl next door, nurtured by her family, moved from the simple math puzzles that were the staple of dinnertime conversation to prime numbers, the Sieve of Eratosthenes, Fermat's Little Theorem, googols-and finally into her breathtaking algorithm. Parallel with each step is a modest girl's own self-discovery-her values, her burning curiosity, the joy of persistence, and, above all, her love for her family. ... Read more

Reviews (23)

Very interesting and very readable.
Sarah Flannery is a most remarkable young woman. The story of how she approached her mathematics project and how she was able to discover the Cayley-Purser algorithm is fascinating.

Instead of giving the Reader's Digest version of the book, I will just say that she wrote the book in the same manner in which she approached her work, with a lot of vim and vigor. One can not but get excited with her as she felt her way through the mathematics and learn as she did, step by step the methods of cryptography. Not being one who is familiar with crytography per se but an amateurish afficionado of Number Theory, I found her explanations of the pertinent mathematics charming, refreshing and stimulating. Her intermittent puzzles were fun and illustrative. I recommend this for anyone wishing to inspire curious youngsters with mathematics.

The only quibble anyone could have with this book is the honesty and naivete exhibited by young Sarah, but then again, that is what is so attractive about this gem of a book that stands out amongst the jaded sea of mathematics book being cranked out by authors too cynical to be excited by the mathematical ideas they are writing about.

Be forewarned however, you must be atleast a bit amused by mathematics or you won't get the maximum pleasure out of this book.

Inspiring and Entertaining!
Sarah Flannery is a young girl who overcame all the odds and won international recognition at a young age through her amazing research in cryptography. This book, In Code, is not really about her research project (although I can see how some would be misled by the title). Instead, it serves as a charming account of her childhood and young adult life: some of the puzzles and problems she worked on, the things she was thinking while working on her research project, her reaction to success, and more. After finishing the book I felt as if I'd known Sarah Flannery personally.

I found the riddles and puzzles sprinkled throughout the book to be very entertaining, and I learned a few things about mathematics I didn't already know while reading. The problems each served to show that even things that seem difficult can be very simple if you change your way of thinking. For me, the toughest part of working through the puzzles was resisting the urge to peek at the answers in the back of the book.

What I most liked about this book is the positive role model it provides for aspiring young mathemticians, particularly girls (who have historically been underrepresented in the field.)

Overall, I highly recommend this book to everyone who has any appreciation for a good puzzle. This book would also be good for parents of young children and older children who are interested in mathematics.

An inspiring and encouraging book
This is an inspiring book, telling the story of a young woman's introduction to, and enamourment with, of all things, mathematics. In an era where enthusiasm for the sciences is often seen as "uncool", it is delightfully encouraging to read the story of a family, and in particular the author herself, who understand both the value and the pleasure of such interests.

The book balances two quite separate elements. On the one hand there's the story of how Sarah became interested in mathematics, did an interesting science project, and got a lot of attention when as a seventeen year old Irish girl she nearly invented a powerful new cryptographic system. On the other hand there's a very clear introduction to the mathematics underlying modern cryptography, presented using a range of interesting examples, puzzles and clear explanations.

After an introduction to Sarah, her family, and the intellectual training methods of her parents, the first two thirds of the book focus mainly on the mathematical background, interspersed with regular anecdotes explaining how Sarah came to understand and use different skills and areas of knowledge. If you want an introduction to this area of mathematics you could do a lot worse than this book.

The last third of the book focuses on how she did her science project, and what happened when she won a major prize in the annual Irish Young Scientist competition, including how she and her family dealt with quite unexpected fame and media attention. What is interesting is how seriously the Irish establishment and media seem to take these things.

Finally a couple of appendixes present answers to the puzzles, and a few key pieces of mathematical background in more detail.
The book is co-written by Sarah's father David. He's a mathematics lecturer, and on the evidence of both the explanations in the book, and the way he inspired his children it appears he's a very good one. Between the father's very strong skills in presenting mathematics, and the daughter's refreshing simplicity and honesty about all that's happened to her, they make a very powerful team.

I would definitely recommend this book to any youngster interested in the sciences, or any sort of academic endeavour. I'd also recommend it to older readers, an encouraging proof that such interests have not been entirely abandoned.

the true story
I remember the media blitz of a few years ago about the teenaged Irish genius girl. It's good to hear in her own words how the whole thing unfolded. She says so herself, she's not some mathematical genius, she's just a smart kid that did a lot of hard work.
She relates everything in the book, from the start of her early interest in math thanks to her father's frequent puzzle challenges, to her hitting on the idea of the winning project, to how she made it come to fruition. It's a good example of how parental involvement in education, and not just sending the kids to school, can help the kids immensely.
There's a good amount of instructional math in the book for those who would like to learn a little about the base knowledge she had to learn to work with cryptography. You can also read her project paper in the back of the book.

Engaging Mathematical Adventure
In 1999, at the age of 16, Sarah Flannery won Ireland's prestigious Young Scientist of the Year Award and a first place in the European Union's Young Scientist Contest for her science project "Cryptography -A New Algorithm Versus the RSA". The RSA is a public key algorithm that is widely used to encrypt data in our high-tech world. Sarah's work in trying to find a faster alternative to the RSA led, not only to a host of awards, but, unexpectedly, to worldwide acclaim and opportunities which she could not have imagined. She was invited to speak at conferences and in classrooms as far away from her native Ireland as Singapore and Milan. She was even a guest speaker at an IBM leadership conference for women when she was only 17 years old. And, at 18, she published "In Code", which is the story of her mathematical life up to that point. Sarah's Father, David Flannery, who writes the introduction to this book, is a mathematician himself and so integrates mathematics into his home life that his five children became accustomed to solving math and logic puzzles from a very young age. Sarah talks about growing up in this environment and includes a smattering of mind-bending puzzles, taken from her Father's collection, for the reader to solve. Then she goes on to explain the basic formulas and concepts behind modern cryptography. Although no math beyond algebra is needed to understand these mathematical chapters, I found that a good deal of effort and persistence is needed. I have a background in calculus, and I found it difficult to grasp the notations involved in cryptography, in particular. Of course, this is probably because I have no discernible talent at number theory. Sarah's explanations of the mathematics of cryptography are as clear as they could be, and her enthusiasm for her subject is infectious. After the mathematical chapters, she tells us how she came to choose and research her science project, her quest for an alternative algorithm, and of her experiences in showcasing her discoveries around the world. Sarah Flannery is, somewhat surprisingly, an engaging and fluid writer. To write such a readable book about mathematics is no mean feat. "In Code" is an interesting and engaging story of discovery. It is perfect for anyone seeking a basic understanding of the cryptography that we encounter in almost every home and workplace today. And it's a winning scientific adventure story that is bound to capture the interest of all the budding young scientists out there. ... Read more

Book Description

This eminently readable book focuses on the people of mathematics and draws the reader into their fascinating world. In a monumental address, given to the International Congress of Mathematicians in Paris in 1900, David Hilbert, perhaps the most respected mathematician of his time developed a blueprint for mathematical research in the new century. Jokingly called a natural introduction to thesis writing with examples, this collection of problems has indeed become a guiding inspiration to many mathematicians, and those who succeeded in solving or advancing their solutions form an Honors Class among research mathematicians of this century. In a remarkable labor of love and with the support of many of the major players in the field, Ben Yandell has written a fascinating account of the achievements of this Honors Class, covering mathematical substance and biographical aspects. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

A great work
Due to rapid development of mathemtics in the last century, now one cannot master all subfects of mathematics. This is also true for those historians. Most of the boods of " History of Mathematics " end in the beginning of 20th century. So we know very little about the conteporary mathematicians. This book can be described as a gap for it. After readiming this book, not only you have a knowledge about the life of the great mathemaitcians, you also get the period in World War II how Nazis forced those mathematicians out of Germany and the reason why U. S. A. is now the leading centre of mathematics.

Useful and insightful
The book is well written with the right mix of anecdote and theory. What I do like about it is the fact that we find out a little more about the lives of mathematicians, and they are portrayed as people rather than idols.

Where the book falls down is that it goes into a little too much detail of the theorems, something which the non-mathematician will undoubtedly find hard to follow.

A page turner
Fascinating historical comments, lively portraits of mathematicians, and their times. While the narrative is about the lives of some great mathematicians, it sucessfully outlines main ideas in the subject,--the personal and scientific context. The author does a great job in sharing his fascination with the rest of us. The book covers roughly the past hundred years. It is a great service to the mathematics community,-- and especially, it is an enjoyment for everyone.
It reads like a novel, fast paced, and it is hard to put down. I meant to look at it before going to sleep, but instead read it to the end, finishing in the morning. As a professional mathematician, I am often saddened by how little our work is perhaps understood and appreciated. Books like this can do a lot of good. I can now tell my children that dad does stuff like that.
The author brings the events and the mathematical people to life, and he has a story to tell. This book is and will be a success for a long time to come.

Best since "Fermat's Enigma"
In 1900, David Hilbert gave an address to the International Congress of Mathematicians that outlined the twenty three most important unsolved problems of mathematics, as he saw them. In "The Honors Class", Benjamin Yandell describes the problems and the very remarkable people who worked on them. More than a century later, there are still a few that remain unsolved, and some of those that have been successfully attacked withstood assault for many decades. I was familiar with many of the names in book because they are associated with equations that I have used and that I teach my students about. It was not until reading this attractive and well-written history that I was able to put those names and their contributions into context. This is the best popular book about mathematics that I have read since "Fermat's Enigma" by Simon Singh.

Almost a biography of math itself
The "Honors Class" is the set of mathematicians who have solved, or heftily contributed to solving, one of the famous 23 problems proposed by David Hilbert a hundred years ago.

Energetically researched, Yandell's book naturally presents numerous morsels of biography, spotlighting the eccentricities, the sobrieties, the childhoods, travails, philosophies (he got me to understand, finally, why the intuitionists cared so much about their program), and politics of the members of the Honors Class. But from all these snippets, what emerges is a biography of mathematics itself in the 20th century; a sense for the marvelous, moving, growing organism that has been the mathematical quest.

Many bright men and women, many geniuses, populate these pages. But with two exceptions (Georg Cantor, the mystical grandfather of modern logic and set theory; and the remarkable Teiji Takagi, who built Japanese mathematical culture, and the class field theory that led to solutions for three of Hilbert's 23, all seemingly with his bare hands) they didn't wield their chalk in solitary splendor. They formed a web made of learning, mentoring, competing, collaborating, inspiring; a web that converged on and spread out from two tumultuous epicenters of the century's math activity: Goettingen in Germany (until Hitler drove out all its best minds), and Princeton's Institute for Advanced Studies.

There are four parts biography to one part math here. That should make the book as approachable for laymen as it is delightful for the math sophisticates who'll get to put faces on all those familiar old names. The address in which Hilbert set out his problems is given in full as an appendix; and those who wish to pursue the technical topics further get a bibliography rich enough to keep them occupied for years.

You'll get only tantalizing tastes, best in the earliest and latest chapters, of the nitty-gritty content of 20th century mathematics. But you will get a doubleplusgood, full-length portrait of what it became as a social and cultural enterprise. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Great Reference Book
This book is invaluable as a reference for me in writing college history of science lectures, and in reading historical works, as so much of the information that I need is right at my fingertips. While not as comprehensive as the complete edition, the biographies are substantial enough, and the historical range vast enough, so that this work stands as an excellent source for putting the individuals in science into perspective.

The Greatest Scientists, as Fragile as the Rest of Us
Even the most diligent search of the world literature on biography will typically reveal little information about the personality and delicate human traits of some of the greatest thinkers in history.This book stands essentially alone as a complete but manageable compendium of the people who throughout time advanced mankind through creative thought, perseverance, and determination.Perhaps its greatest strength is in the brief but insightful histories of each scientist's life experiences as ordinary human beings who sought personal fulfillment and happiness first in relationships, love, and family.It is fascinating and exciting to discover how much in common the average person shares with the human frailties and emotions of Newton, Edison or Oppenheimer.The extensive illustrations and photographs further enhance the sense that these individuals who we imagine as larger than life were very much like the rest of us at heart.Each of the many hundreds of entries is well written, concise, and tightly focused.The authors' efforts at keeping the biographies limited in length are successful, but unfortunately this restricts the extent of information one might wish to have available for the most significant scientists, or those whose lives included particularly fascinating details. There are some surprising exlcusions of biography, such as Stephen Hawking and Jane Goodall, but the book includes so many other biographies that it would not be fair to quibble. In summary, this is a wonderful book to have in one's home reference library, particularly with children at home. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Tesla better at inventing than writing
Mr. Tesla should have let someone else write his biography. Granted he was at his peak in the early 1900's, but much of the information he gives out about his life, especially his childhood years, is truly unbelievable - not in a good way.

Very Personal
This is a very personal look at this inventor's life. Unlike many other biographies this autobiography tells us specifically what Tesla's reason were. Tesla also tells many very personal and insightful stories about himself. Many other works site this one because of its invaluable reference. Tells much about the inventor in abridged way.

Look Into Tesla's Mind
In this book, Tesla himslef explains the inner workings of his mind. To me, knowing how he actually came up with his inventions is the best any Tesla book could possibly get.

The title describes it - Not My Life - My Inventions
The introduction material in this book written by Ben Johnston is well prepared, informative, and brief. It is a good introduction to the rest of the book which is Tesla's writing.

Tesla's own words can be tedious, but hey the language has changed a bit in the last 100 years. He takes a few rabbit trails and talks much of his inventions not what he thinks and feels. I would really like to know why he liked pigeons so much but he never says. What Tesla doesn't say, gives us insights to what is important to him. No serious study of Tesla can neglect this work.

For a more in-depth historical biography of the man see, Margaret Cheney's "Tesla, Man out of Time". ISBN 0-88029-419-1

The real Tesla.
Mr. Johnston's introduction does more to explain Nikola Tesla than anything I've seen to date. In freeing him from much of the popular myth, Johnston allows Tesla's genius to reveal itself. ... Read more

Book Description

From the author of the acclaimed The Man Who Loved Only Numberscomes a book that is at once the biography of an eccentric Brazilian aviator and thestory of the thrilling early days of flight.

On the eve of the centennial of the Wright brothers' historic flights at Kitty Hawk, anew generation will learn about the other man who was once hailed worldwide as theconqueror of the air -- Alberto Santos Dumont. Because the Wright brothers worked insecrecy, word of their first flights had not reached Europe when Santos Dumont took tothe skies in 1906. The dashing, impeccably dressed inventor entertained Paris with hisairborne antics -- barhopping in a little dirigible that he tied to lampposts, circlingabove crowds around the Eiffel Tower, and crashing into rooftops. A man celebrated,even pursued by the press in Paris, London, and New York, Santos Dumont dined regularlywith the Cartiers, the Rothschilds, and the Roosevelts.

But beneath his lively public exterior, Santos Dumont was a frenzied genius tortured bythe weight of his own creation.

Wings of Madness chronicles the science and history of early aviation and offersa fascinating glimpse into the mind of an extraordinary and tormented man, vividlydepicting the sights and sounds of turn-of-the-century Paris. It is a book that will dofor aviation what The Man Who Loved Only Numbers did for mathematics. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Marvelous!
Largely unknown outside of his native Brazil where he is nothing short of a national icon, Alberto Santos-Dumont was a pioneer in both lighter and heavier than air flight. Paul Hoffman tells Santos-Dumont's story from his earliest days as a child experimenting with paper balloons to his final sad days, broken by the fact that the world credited the Wright Brothers with the first flight of a plane and the use of that invention in war. A lot of research clearly went into Wings of Madness and Hoffman has done a marvelous job of reporting on a nearly forgotten chapter and pioneer of aviation history.

Fascinating invocation of a lost world
Alberto Santos-Dumont, a Brazilian who emigrated to Paris at the age of 19, was perhaps the most celebrated man in France in the early 20th century. An effete eccentric with a genius for mechanical invention, Santos designed and regularly flew about Paris a series of airships. Most of these were powered, lighter-than-air vessels--hydrogen balloons to which he had attached a motor. But later in his career Santos also experimented with heavier-than-air flying machines--though not, to his great disappointment, before the Wright brothers had themselves achieved sustained flight. Among the aviator's airships was the world's first, and only, personal flying machine. Santos hopped around Paris in his "Baladeuse," or "Wanderer," alighting to order an aperitif at some sidewalk café, or dropping anchor at a club where, upon disembarking, he would hand the reins of his machine to a valet.

Paul Hoffman's seamless account of Santos-Dumont's life and career follows the aviator from his childhood on his father's coffee plantation to his sad death in 1932. Always somewhat tormented--Santos craved the adoration his pioneering exploits won for him--he ended his days apparently guilt-ridden over the lethal use to which airplanes--which were to his mind his own invention--were being put.

Hoffman's well-written book is fascinating for its invocation of a lost world. The author is to be applauded, too, for bringing the flamboyant, troubled Santos-Dumont once again to the attention of the public.

Santos Dumont a Brazilian Indiana Jones
The beauty of this book is that reading it, you will feel going back in time, participating in the life and adventures of Mr. Santos Dumont.

The author did a very good work in presenting not only history, but recreating the personality of Alberto Santos Dumont, a man that is totally focused on his inventions.

As I read the book I found many reasons to think that Mr. Steven Spielberg would have material for a very good film....Santos Dumont was quite a man, great imagination, and a truly courageous person.

Hoffman descriptions of the way inventors in the end of the XIX century risked their lives, to develop and use the new technologies of their time, provides a good framework to understand Santos Dumont behavior, risking his life on many experiments for the good of mankind.

My perspective as to where Santos Dumont should be placed in aviation history differs from most Brazilians. The airplane was the product of several inventions done by different people, each one contributing with a piece of the puzzle. There is room for the accomplishments of many inovators, like Otto Lillienthal, the Wright Brothers, Alberto Santos Dumont, Glenn Curtiss... and many others.

I think Hoffman gives a balanced view of aviation history and Santos Dumont accomplishments.

The book is worth reading and you will enjoy it.

"Wings of Madness" good review
Alberto Santos-Dumont was a great man with good ideas. He met with the President of the USA in the white house when he was making Zeppelin. He was the creator of an Airplane that is heavier than air and a Wrist Watch which we still using it today. Like in the book it is saying that he flew a longer distance than the Wrights.
England asked Dumont and the Wrights for a long distance test flight, and the Wrights turned it down, because they were concerned about the airplane not being strong enough. It is sad that a great creator like Dumont doesn't receive the credit he deserves, but he receive critics from others. This is a great book in commemorating Santos Dumont for his ideas and his life.

rkrb is crazy!!!!!!
This is an excellent book. First of all, I would probably recommend that "rkrb" read the book again. Santos Dumont is truly the "Father of Aviation", the main purpose of his discoveries was to provide a different way of transportation. Santos Dumont was focused on the advance of transportation to humans, and not to make money, he did not care about patente or anything like that. And Second, he did not kill himself after seen a airplane throwing bombs, there was never a bombing in Brazil. Santos Dumonts died due to health problems, and not because of mental problems.

Santos Dumonts was a great man, and not only to Brazilians, but to most of europeans, who just like Brazilians do not even know the wright brothers.

Over all, the book is fantastic. ... Read more

Book Description

Deep in the volcano country of central Africa live some of the rarest, most intriguing animals on earth -- the mountain gorillas. Here, in the mist-shrouded forests, Dian Fossey courageously dedicated her life to studying them. Here she patiently waited until the luminous-eyed gorillas accepted her presence, hugged her, and loved her...while she fought for their survival against poachers, callous researchers, zoo collectors, and local bureaucrats. And here, surrounded by these enemies, she died, mysteriously and brutally murdered.

Now, one of the world's most respected naturalist writers draws for the first time ever on Dian Fossey's personal writings to reveal the true story of a magnificent obsession...one woman's enormous empathy for a highly intelligent, desperately endangered animal -- and how it ruled her life, her work, and her heart. ... Read more

Book Description

"The first book to belong permanently to literature. It created a man."
-- From the Introduction

Few men could compare to Benjamin Franklin. Virtually self-taught, he excelled as an athlete, a man of letters, a printer, a scientist, a wit, an inventor, an editor, and a writer, and he was probably the most successful diplomat in American history. David Hume hailed him as the first great philosopher and great man of letters in the New World.

Written initially to guide his son, Franklin's autobiography is a lively, spellbinding account of his unique and eventful life. Stylistically his best work, it has become a classic in world literature, one to inspire and delight readers everywhere. ... Read more

Book Description

LORD KELVIN. In 1840, a precocious 16-year-old by the name of William Thomson spent his summer vacation studying an extraordinarily sophisticated mathematical controversy. His brilliant analysis inspired lavish praise and made the boy an instant intellectual celebrity.

As a young scholar William dazzled a Victorian society enthralled with the seductive authority and powerful beauty of scientific discovery. At a time when no one really understood heat, light, electricity, or magnetism, Thomson found key connections between them, laying the groundwork for two of the cornerstones of 19th century science -- the theories of electromagnetism and thermodynamics.

Charismatic, confident, and boyishly handsome, Thomson was not a scientist who labored quietly in a lab, plying his trade in monkish isolation. When scores of able tinkerers were flummoxed by their inability to adapt overland telegraphic cables to underwater, intercontinental use, Thomson took to the high seas with new equipment that was to change the face of modern communications. And as the world’s navies were transitioning from wooden to iron ships, they looked to Thomson to devise a compass that would hold true even when surrounded by steel.

Gaining fame and wealth through his inventive genius, Thomson was elevated to the peerage by Queen Victoria for his many achievements. He was the first scientist ever to be so honored. Indeed, his name survives in the designation of degrees Kelvin, the temperature scale that begins with absolute zero, the point at which atomic motion ceases and there is a complete absence of heat. Sir William Thomson, Lord Kelvin, was Great Britain's unrivaled scientific hero.

But as the century drew to a close and Queen Victoria's reign ended, this legendary scientific mind began to weaken. He grudgingly gave way to others with a keener, more modern vision. But the great physicist did not go quietly. With a ready pulpit at his disposal, he publicly proclaimed his doubts over the existence of atoms. He refused to believe that radioactivity involved the transmutation of elements. And believing that the origin of life was a matter beyond the expertise of science and better left to theologians, he vehemently opposed the doctrines of evolution, repeatedly railing against Charles Darwin. Sadly, this pioneer of modern science spent his waning years arguing that the Earth and the Sun could not be more than 100 million years old. And although his early mathematical prowess had transformed our understanding of the forces of nature, he would never truly accept the revolutionary changes he had helped bring about, and it was others who took his ideas to their logical conclusion.

In the end Thomson came to stand for all that was old and complacent in the world of 19th century science. Once a scientific force to be reckoned with, a leader to whom others eagerly looked for answers, his peers in the end left him behind -- and then meted out the ultimate punishment for not being able to keep step with them. For while they were content to bury him in Westminster Abbey alongside Isaac Newton, they used his death as an opportunity to write him out of the scientific record, effectively denying him his place in history. Kelvin’s name soon faded from the headlines, his seminal ideas forgotten, his crucial contributions overshadowed.

Destined to become the definitive biography of one of the most important figures in modern science, Degrees Kelvin unravels the mystery of a life composed of equal parts triumph and tragedy, hubris and humility, yielding a surprising and compelling portrait of a complex and enigmatic man. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Degrees Kelvin: A Tale of Genius, Invention, and Tragedy
Having achieved some acclaim for The End of Physics, Where Does the Weirdness Go?, The Science of Jurassic Park, and Boltzmann's Atom, Lindley-an astrophysicist by training-will certainly receive more with this latest effort. He takes us into the delightful world of mid-19th-century British academia to the scientific circles of Joule, Stokes, Maxwell, Helmholtz, and, in the middle of it all, Thomson, Lord Kelvin of Largs. William Thomson, whose name (Kelvin) would be assigned as a unit of the absolute temperature scale, investigated thermodynamics, physics, electromagnetism, and mathematics. An innovative instructor (he introduced the hands-on physics lab for students), inventor, researcher, and author of over 600 scientific papers, he was also crucial to the success of the first transatlantic cable, for which he was knighted. Nearly every honor available at the time was bestowed on Lord Kelvin, including his burial beside Sir Isaac Newton in Westminster Abbey. Understandable to the informed reader, this work will deepen science students' appreciation of the individual behind the science they are learning. Suitable for public, school, and academic collections

Reads with the smooth expertise of a well crafted novel
Degrees Kelvin: A Tale Of Genius, Invention, And Tragedy by David Lindley is the remarkable biography of Lord Kelven, a revolutionary thinker who made breakthrough discoveries in the 1800's. Lord Kelven earned immortality for his name when it was adopted for the temperature scale that begins at absolute zero. Yet in Lord Kelven's senior years, he was outspoken against new ideas to such an extent as to be a detriment to the scientific community, publicly proclaiming his doubt of the existence of atoms, vehemently opposing the discussion of Charles Darwin's theories of evolution, and more. Degrees Kelvin is a striking portrayal of human greatness and human limitations, all in one man's lifetime -- and reads with the smooth expertise of a well crafted novel.

19th Century Einstein
The author has done a fine job in bringing this man, William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) to life. He was one of the primary movers of the scientific world of the Victorian era, and much can be learned of the development of the physical sciences through a study of his methods, personal interactions, and achievements.

Thomson was one of the dozen or so illustrious men, almost entirely British, Scottish, German and French, who developed the central ideas of thermodynamics and electromagnetism in the middle of the 19th century. His particular contribution, among many, was to popularize and further develop the ideas of the Frenchman, Carnot, of the famous reversible heat engine. This was to lead ultimately to the discovery of the absolute temperature scale, now named for him, and to entropy. In electromagnetism, he stood between the non-mathematical insights of Faraday, and the highly mathematical formulation of Maxwell and Heaviside, which has changed little in its fundamental approach, and is still taught to sophomores today. In fact, he and a friend wrote the first recognizable classical physics textbook for undergraduates. And he played a big role as a consultant/inventor for the first transatlantic telegraph cable, a story well told here and in Gordon's recent "Thread Across the Ocean."

Thomson was something of a prodigy, gathering honors and publications at a very young age, but later in life his productivity fell off into an idosyncratic crankiness. His required approach to problems was to devise mechanical analogs for phenomena, which turned out to be too limited to arrive at a full field theory of electromagnetism and atomism, neither of which he ever accepted fully. He was a true believer in the ether, but was never able to use it to produce a fruitful alternative to Maxwell's E&M or kinetic theory.

It was interesting for me to note the obvious parallels between his life-arc and that of Einstein. Einstein was also unable to fully participate in the later scientific developments in quantum mechanics because of a prejudice or block similar to Thomson's requirement for a mechanical model. And then Kelvin spent an inordinate amount of energy in developing an improved ship's compass (a profitable success), while Einstein tried mightily (but unsuccessfully) to improve the refrigerator. Einstein killed Kelvin's ether by ignoring it, but was in turn killed by his insistence that "God doesn't play with dice."

Lindley has written a well-researched but entertaining and well written book. The illustrations are a good addition, not seen before by me. A scientist himself, he is well equipped to understand the science of the times, and is unerring and enthusiastic for his subject. Well done! ... Read more

Book Description

Translated into a dozen languages, printed in hundreds of editions, and read by millions of people, Franklin’s autobiography has had an influence perhaps unequaled by any other book by an American writer. Written ostensibly as a letter to his son William, the autobiography offers Franklin’s reflections on philosophy and religion, politics, war, education, material success, and the status of women. This edition of the autobiography, prepared by the editors of The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, is drawn with scrupulous care from the original manuscript in Franklin’s handwriting now in the Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery. The introduction by Leonard W. Labaree places the autobiography in literary and historical contexts.In a new foreword, Edmund S. Morgan writes about Franklin’s dual allegiance as an American and a subject of an English king—and his emergence as a leader of the American Revolution.This edition also includes biographical notes, a chronology of Franklin’s life, and an updated bibliography. ... Read more

Book Description

"A fascinating history--. Literate and authoritative--.Marvelously exciting." --The New York Times Book Review

Jonathan Weiner, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for The Beak of the Finch, brings his brilliant reporting skills to the story of Seymour Benzer, the Brooklyn-born maverick scientist whose study of genetics and experiments with fruit fly genes has helped revolutionize or knowledge of the connections between DNA and behavior both animal and human.

How much of our fate is decided before we are born?Which of our characteristics is inscribed in our DNA? Weiner brings us into Benzer's Fly Rooms at the California Institute of Technology, where Benzer, and his asssociates are in the process of finding answers, often astonishing ones, to these questions. Part biography, part thrilling scientific detective story, Time, Love, Memory forcefully demonstrates how Benzer's studies are changing our world view--and even our lives. ... Read more

Reviews (16)

The best book I've read all year.
This book is a work of art. It has everything! It is not just a great book about an unsung hero in science. It is a suspenseful story (will they or won't they discover the genes for time, love, and memory?), a touching story (Seymour Benzer is a character--a real character that is--you will remember forever), and an important story (all the headlines of a gene for this kind of behavior, a gene for that kind of behavior: This is the real story, the science behind the headlines). You might not think a serious book about science is a good summer book, but it is! Take it to the beach, the mountains, wherever you go--or read it at home. You will not be sorry. Your life will be greatly enriched. I loved The Beak of the Finch (which won the Pulitzer). I love this book even more.

The story behind the headlines
There is so much about genes in the news these days, especially how they affect our behavior, our personality, etc. A lot of the headlines are overblown--"popularizations" of the science. If you want to really know the connection between genes and behavior--and the remarkable scientists who are figuring it out, read Time, Love, Memory. It explains it all so simply and clearly that you can actually explain it to others (a feat for me since I did not take any science courses beyond the requirements Freshman year of college!). Plus Mr. Weiner is obviously an incredibly well-read person because he pulls in all kinds of things from literature, poetry, and myth. These references illuminate the science, bringing it home, so to speak, so that you can really draw the parallels between flies and human beings, between science and literature. I loved The Beak of the Finch and I adore this book. Time, Love, Memory just won the National Book Critics Circle Award, I understand. It deserved it, and it deserves to be read--and enjoyed--by all. Bravo! I can't wait for the next one by this talented writer.

Timeless
An evocative and wholely compelling portrait of one man that illiminates some of the most significant insights in 20th century biology. Marvelously done. An excellent introduction to molecular genetics. Literary, insightful, witty and precise.

Looking at little people with wings
Far, far back in time, a group of molecules, tangled in crystals of clay, learned the trick of replication. Over time, joined by other molecules of similar talent, they grew complex, finally forming organisms. Seeking food, needing rest, hiding from hungry fellows, developing sex as an offshoot of replication skills, patterns of activity emerged - behaviour. The molecules altered form as external environment changed. Successful changes were kept, while others were left inert in storage. None were discarded, and those controlling basic body structure and fundamental behaviour patterns remained intact across the wide span of living things. After over 3 billion years of life traversing this path, one of the organisms set out to determine how it all worked.

Jonathan Weiner's relation of a century of research teasing into view DNA's mechanisms for guiding behaviour is a brilliant piece of science writing. His focus is Seymour Benzer and his research team studied flies, recording how changing conditions modified conduct. It became clear that 'dumb' animals could adapt through learning. Not only adapt, but retain memories to repeat the new behaviour when needed. By the end of the 20th Century, the research began to identify where along the structure of DNA the operational level of these behaviour codes resided. As often as not a single 'letter' change in the gene was found to trigger the change. More immediately, the information revealed in fruit flies was repeated in other animals. Duplicating the finds in mammals has overwhelming implications for humans.

Weiner's account is forcefully presented in a clear, direct style. This book is a supreme example science writing at its very summit. He offer no judgements of his own. It isn't necessary for him to flaunt the victory Benzer's research grants E. O. Wilson's sociobiology. In fact, Weiner's account of Richard Lewontin's objections to relating genetic bases of behaviour to humans simply lets Lewontin hang himself out to dry. Weiner clearly values the effort invested in the research by Benzer, Tim Tully, Chip Quinn, and, of course, the paramount figure of all, Thomas Hunt Morgan who, with Alfred Sturtevant, initiated the work so long ago.

If you wish to gain insight into your place in the natural universe, this book is a must read. If you adhere to the idea that evolution is a progressive path to humans as the ultimate goal, this book is a must read. If you feel that some divinity has plunked you on this planet with a special role, read this book. Whoever you are, read this book.

Flies Ahead of Time
Weiner's biography of Seymore Benzer is a well written history of modern genetics/politics. A loner, a genius, Benzer was clearly years ahead of his time and changed career directions several times to explore areas that fascinated him. Inspite of derision from colleagues, he believed that behaviors are genetically determined traits, not a popular theory. The clever, simple experiments conducted in flies are well described. Would the NIH would have funded his novel theories? It is not stated, yet Benzer appeared to have a successful career spanning many decades. The tale was inspirational, a joy to read, and funny - with flies dancing in conga lines. It induced hope and courage to continue onward - Thanks to Weiner and Benzer! ... Read more

Book Description

Here is the classic, much-read introduction to the craft and history of mathematics by E.T. Bell, a leading figure in mathematics in America for half a century. Men of Mathematics accessibly explains the major mathematics, from the geometry of the Greeks through Newton's calculus and on to the laws of probability, symbolic logic, and the fourth dimension. In addition, the book goes beyond pure mathematics to present a series of engrossing biographies of the great mathematicians -- an extraordinary number of whom lived bizarre or unusual lives. Finally, Men of Mathematics is also a history of ideas, tracing the majestic development of mathematical thought from ancient times to the twentieth century. This enduring work's clear, often humorous way of dealing with complex ideas makes it an ideal book for the non-mathematician. ... Read more

Reviews (19)

An excellent read, for all people
This book is a collection of dozens of (short) biographies of mathematicians ranging from the ancient Greeks to leading 19th century mathematicians, like Cantor or Weierstrass. His writing is charming, to say the least, and he puts forth his personal opinion numerous times throughout the text. While the work contains some mathematics, it is at a level simple enough for most people to understand, and in any case, those parts can be skipped through without too much loss in content.

We learn that mathematicians really are like the rest of the world, not nerds or ivory-tower type academicians. The types of people here span the whole gamut, and as their lives were intertwined with historical events of the time, we learn a bit about general history in this book as well.

Bell's writing is also excellent. He keeps the style varied, and as his material spans almost 2500 years, the book is never boring. My personal favorites were the biographies about Galois and Abel, and as their lives were tragically cut short by lots of unlucky circumstances, Bell writes wonderfully about their lives and how mathematics touched them, and in return was blessed by them. It is perhaps Galois' story which can ring true with younger readers - like many teenagers, he was full of ambition, dreams, and hopes, but, well, he had an incredible gift for mathematics and also a whole lot of bad luck - but you'll have to read the book to see for yourself!

This book is definitely not to be missed. Although the book is long, you'll enjoy every minute of it, and also come away wiser about a group of people not many people in this world know much about.

A must-read for math lovers!
This is a superbly written collection of biographies. Mr. Bell was obviously a great writer--his ability shows in how he brings each mathematician to life, as well as in his witty sense of sarcasm. Each chapter is dedicated mainly to the life and career of the mathematician in question, and to a lesser extent to the substance of his mathematical work.

I decided to give the book four stars instead of five because I felt that it tackled too much in too little space. Not having any mathematical education beyond high school calculus (which I've completely forgotten), I found it very difficult at times to follow the technical discussions, despite Mr. Bell's assurance to the contrary in the Introduction. This is most likely, however, not something that the author could have remedied with a clearer explanation--let's face it, squeezing a mathematical genius's life work into three pages that a non-mathematician can (almost) comprehend is quite a challenge.

Overall, this book is well worth reading for anyone with an interest in mathematics and/or the sciences in general--keeping in mind, of course, that the focus of the book is the lives of great mathematicians and not an in-depth study of their work.

Big on inspiration (for boys), short on facts
This is unlikely to be a review that will garner much praise from fans of the book, but it is an honest one.

Bell's book has been an inspiration to several generations of mathematicians, encouraging them to pursue the creative discipline of mathematics. For that, he has done a great service to mathematics.

Unfortunately, that is the only good thing I can say about this book. E.T. Bell was a respected Caltech mathematician, who dabbled in writing books about mathematical history. He was a great writer with style, which has led many to believe he was also an eminent scholar of history of mathematics. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Bell manages to perpetrate fiction in almost every other line, mangling known facts, making unwarranted judgments and characterizations of personalities and motives. Whatever he needs to do to construct an entertaining story, he does. His name is universally cursed by historians of mathematicians.

Making up stuff for a good story might not ordinarily be bad. After all, a lot of people do it, and certainly encouraging youngsters to study mathematics is not a bad goal. But there are several ways in which this book is insidious. One is the negative potrayal of women mathematicians. As the astute reader will have noted, the title is *Men* of Mathematics. (On my paperpack edition, the word "men" is even set off by a different color than the rest of the title!) The forgiving reader may be willing to forgive this; after all, the book was written in less politically correct times, and certainly most of the famous and well-documented mathematicians are men. Gauss? A man. Euler? A man also. Etc. On the other hand, there are notable examples of great mathematicians who happened to be women. Emmy Noether and Sonja Kowalewski, for example. Women who are mentioned in Bell's book, but are either paid little attention to or treated rather badly, in a way that clearly highlights Bell's own prejudices. Some readers will be struck by sentences like "Sonja's sex had got the better of her ambitions and she had been living happily with her husband." Rather than list more examples, let me stop by adding that this kind of sentence is typical of Bell, and doesn't stand out much. What is perhaps the most revealing is that Chapter 22, "Master and Pupil", which is about Weierstrass and Kowalewski, spends undue amount of time discussing Kowalewski's sexual attributes and their effect on her mathematical colleagues and teachers, and little explaining her contributions to mathematics.

Bell also shows prejudice when he explains that the dispute between Cantor and Kronecker was due, in part, because:

"Rightly or wrongly, Cantor blamed Kronecker for his failure to obtain the coveted position at Berlin. The aggressive clannishness of Jews has often been remarked, sometimes as an argument against employing them in academic work, but it has not been so generally observed that there is no more vicious academic hatred than that of one Jew for another when they disagree on purely scientific matters or when one is jealous or afraid of another. Gentiles either laugh these hatreds off or go at them in an efficient, underhand way which often enables them to accomplish their spiteful ends under the guise of sincere friendship. When two intellectual Jews fall out they disagree all over, throw reserve to the dogs, and do everything in their power to cut one anothers' throats or stab one another in the back."

This quote was later modified (I think it might have been after Bell's death) to be about styles of academic infighting, rather than a commentary about Jews and Gentiles.

Bell typically exaggerates or just plain makes things up in order to make mathematicians look more bizarre than they really are. As I've said, this makes for a good story, but I think such a false negative potrayal of mathematicians cannot be good.

Many people have also relied on this book, because of its fame, as one of their few sources of mathematical history and biography. This includes mathematicians. I feel that getting the historical facts wrong oftentimes gives these mathematicians a distorted view of their subject and helps perpetrates certain myths of the mathematical culture.

This book is certainly inspirational for some, but especially for today's audience, I think it'll be glaringly biased and I doubt very inspiring for young girls in particular. The worst thing you can do is give this book to your child to read. There have been many books since then that are more accurate and less prejudiced in flavor.

the lives and the math behind each mathematician
This book is a wonderfully detailed account of all the men who made mathematics - from their personal biographies to the math they invented or took a step further. Definitely a classic, Bell elegantly explores the lives from birth to death of each mathematician paralleled by their proofs and conjectures.

It is also a great resource for classic proofs and their derivations. In this way, Men of Mathematics may also be read like an encyclopaedia, by turning to any page that catches your interest. Highly recommended for anyone (even 10 year olds) who show unsatiable interest in mathematics.

Never read this book before...so please ignore the rating.
I just wanted to mention that this was the book that mathematical genius John Nash read in highschool. In case you didn't know, John Nash was the winner of the 1994 Nobel Prize in Economics for his development of the Nash Equillibrium he discovered for Non-cooperative games. There is a famous biographical movie about his life, which, apparently like the lives of the mathematicians in this book, is quite eccentric. The movie is "A Beautiful Mind". Check it out. ... Read more

Book Description

We take it for granted today that babies need love. But less than a century ago, psychologists warned women against showing their children "too much affection"-predicting dire consequences ranging from deadly disease to sexual dysfunction in adulthood. The story of how this conventional wisdom was finally shattered takes us into the life and the laboratory of Harry Harlow-workaholic, alcoholic, brilliant and brave, capable of caustic wit and cruelty-and into an era in which the scientific establishment was just beginning to understand the power of human emotion. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Looking at love
"Love At Goon Park" is a fascinating look at a man and his work. Deborah Blum provides the reader with an extensive and sobering background before exploring Harry Harlow's research. Did you know that as recently as the 1950s, psychologists were trying to convince parents that too much cuddling and "love" were bad for their children? Harlow, with his revolutionary experiments on baby monkeys, was bucking the conventional wisdom of his time. He was trying to say that mother's love mattered, that touch mattered, that affection mattered. His peers didn't want to hear this, but Harlow's research finally forced the profession to listen.

Blum's writing is never dry, never boring. She writes with amazing flair and humanity. You'll feel that you are getting to know this person, Harry Harlow. Even more, you'll feel you are there in the lab with Harlow and his graduate students, waiting to see how the baby monkeys will react to the latest experiment. What will we learn? Will anyone listen? Blum cares, and you'll care too.

You can't help but feel for the monkeys when you read this book. And Blum doesn't gloss over the issue of abuse, especially mental, that was visited on our primate cousins in the name of science. "Goon Park" takes an unflinching look at Harry Harlow, warts and all. I think her treatment of all the issues was fair and balanced.

I highly recommend "Love At Goon Park." It's well-written, interesting and important.

This book provided reassurance for me as a mother
Love at Goon Park is about Harry Harlow, a scientist who uses monkeys to prove that feeling loved is very, very important to children from the minute they are born and to us all. I was curious about such a scientific project but was totally surprised at how much I enjoyed the book. It's a very good read on every page. The author explains it all clearly and simply, letting her own feeling for both the animals and the people come through. My own children are adults now, but mothers have the hardest job on earth, and we need constant reassurance that we provide a good environment for our family. Reading Love at Goon Park gave me reassurance, and I highly recommend it. You don't have to have a background in science to benefit from its words.

Review update
This book has a whole new meaning now that the debate over stem cell research has reached the forefront. Harry Harlow's research cause a plethora of laws to be passed limiting researchers to more ethical, humane treatment of animal subjects. Now, homo sapien babies are the target of the debate over individual rights and the greater good of society. We've saved the rats and the monkeys from murderous research, but the future doesn't look so good for humans. I know the argument: Like African-Americans, women, and Jews of the past, "not quite human enough" for human rights is the classification unborn children receive today. At least other animals are somewhat safe from our selfish desire to live in perfect health forever. Deborah Blum, thank you. You are one of the few who understands Harlow's work.

All teachers should read this, too.
I am one of the millions of people in the USA with an education degree who are not teachers. Behavior theory is the rule of the school today. I couldn't figure out why we treat children like guinea pigs instead of like the human beings that they are. This book opened my eyes. There IS more to life than rewards and consequences. I think science has backed itself into a corner, though, because religion has a corner on the love and respect market and science has repeatedly assured us that all that spiritual stuff is nonsense. This book is a must read for anyone with an accessible heart.

Good Historical Perspective
Like many others, I never forgot the pictures in my intro psych text of Hary Harlow's baby monkies and their surrogate mothers. Blum's very readable book reviews Harlow's work and places it in the historical context of psychology and the social perspectives the middle part of the 1900's.

Although the descriptions of Harlow's experiments