Showing posts with label biography published 2009. Show all posts
Showing posts with label biography published 2009. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Harry Houdini for Kids: His Life and Adventures with 21 Magic Tricks and Illusions

Harry Houdini for Kids: His Life and Adventures with 21 Magic Tricks and Illusions by Laurie Carlson
Illusionist, escape artist, movie star, aviator, and spy—Harry Houdini was all these and an international celebrity and the world’s most famous magician. This biography looks at all the facets of Houdini’s amazing life and includes 21 magic tricks and illusions for a hands-on learning experience.

Friday, January 30, 2009

Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker: The Unlikely Friendship of Elizabeth Keckley and Mary Todd Lincoln

Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker: The Unlikely Friendship of Elizabeth Keckley and Mary Todd Lincoln by Lynda Jones
"Sometime in February 1818, on a platation in Dinwiddie County, Virginia, Mammy Aggy gave birth to her daughter, Elizabeth "Lizzie" Hobbs..."
Readers witness Elizabeth Keckley in her many roles: from fashion designer to abolitionist to caretaker. They follow her through the Civil War, the evils of slavery, and the many challenges faced alongside the First Lady. Handsome duotone illustrations include daguerreotypes, photos, paintings, and illustrations of the Lincoln's, Mrs. Keckley, and her masters. The book’s elegant design emphasizes period fashion and the art of dressmaking. Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker tells the remarkable story of a forgotten figure whose influence ran deep and offers a revealing insight into an extraordinary relationship at the very heart of Abraham Lincoln’s presidency. Elizabeth made this quilt with leftover scraps of material that she used to stitch Mary's dresses. It is 85 1/2 inches square.In response to the financial scandal after Mrs. Lincoln left the White House, Elizabeth Keckley wrote her own story, Behind the Scenes, in 1868 to "attempt to place Mrs. Lincoln in a better light before the world" and to "explain the motives" that guided Mrs. Lincoln's decisions regarding the "old clothes" scandal. Elizabeth enlisted the help of a man named James Redpath, an editor from New York and friend of Frederick Douglass to help Keckley edit and publish the book. Contrary to Mrs. Keckley's serious intentions, advertisements labeled the forthcoming book as a 'literary thunderbolt' and the publisher, Carleton & Company joined in by declaring it as a 'great sensational disclosure'.-Wikipedia

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Up Close: Bill Gates

Up Close: Bill Gates by Marc Aronson
Bill Gates is many things: the richest person in the world; the ruthless businessman who co-founded Microsoft and led it to domination of the computer software industry; and now, the leading global philanthropist. When Gates was born in 1955, no one in the world owned a personal computer. A window had a pane of glass. A mouse was a rodent. As a teenager, Gates realized how computers were about to change the world, and made his fortune by riding that wave; modern teens look to him as their model of how technology can be turned into wealth. Marc Aronson's biography is a probing portrait of a man whose name is a household word.

Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith

Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman
Here's the synopsis and starred review from Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. "This rewarding biography of Charles Darwin investigates his marriage to his cousin Emma Wedgwood. Heiligman (the Holidays Around the World series) has good reason for this unusual approach: as deeply as they loved each other, Emma believed in God, and Charles believed in reason. Embracing the paradoxes in her subjects' personalities, the author unfolds a sympathetic and illuminating account, bolstered by quotations from their personal writings as well as significant research into the historical context. We meet Charles as he weighs the pros and cons of wedded life—but then seeks his father's advice (Darwin père urges him to conceal his religious doubts); Emma becomes a more fervent believer after the death of her favorite (and more religious) sister. Heiligman writes for motivated readers, and her style can be discursive (mention of a letter can introduce a few sentences on the British postal system). Her book allows readers not only to understand Darwin's ideas, but to appreciate how Emma's responses tempered them." Bold emphasis is mine. I worked my way through these pages stopping often to search out other resources. The discursive style noted by Elsevier is present throughout the book. Jonathan Weiner notes in the Foreward "The story of Darwin has never been told this way before..." There are many books to inform the curious student about Darwin, the styles and format rich and varied. Here are just a few.