3 comments about Julia: A Life in Mathematics (Spectrum).

1. Wonderful book, well written, great photos and it gives an good look into the life of Julia.



2. There have been many occasions to utter the phrase "first woman to __" in the last several decades. This book, an "autobiography" of the first woman president of the American Mathematical Society, describes the life of Julia Bowman Robinson. Set in the first person, but written by her sister, this is a chronicle of mathematics and society.
   It is certain that few females, adolescent through college age, realize that only a few decades ago it was the norm that such a person would be the "only female in her junior and senior math classes." And in most of these cases "and the best student" was also standard. Pioneers come in several shapes, sizes, and genders.
   Beyond this, Julia Bowman Robinson was also a premiere mathematician. However, the focus here is on the personal side more than the professional. It is mentioned that she fit one of the stereotypes of mathematicians, "having only one close friend and no boyfriends" while in high school. However, it is clear that in nearly all other ways she was a typical woman of her times.
   Making herself one of the best despite many major obstacles, Julia Bowman Robinson is an inspiration to all who aspire to greatness, and that is independent of gender and profession. It is a good book for all to read.

   Published in the Journal of Recreational Mathematics, reprinted with permission.




3. Constance Reid has created a gem of a book about her sister. Beginning with the information that all royalties will go for mathematical scholarships at Julia's high school, through to Yuri Matijasevich's slightly technical essay, informed with equal parts of love for Julia and for Hilbert's Tenth Problem, there is a consistency of tone that shows Constance Reid to be a true artist of book creation. The tenacity, reticence, and generosity that Julia brought to her mathematical life are conveyed to the reader in every aspect of the book. Give this to anyone who does not yet understand that the passion for truth makes fine human beings. Although it is consistently played down, the shocking discrimination against women emerges consistently throughout the book. Julia Robinson gave abundantly to the world despite illness, discrimination, and other obstacles. Her very generous spirit shines through the pages of this book. Do yourself a favor, and read this beautiful tribute from Constance Reid, Lisl Gaal, Martin Davis, Yuri Matijasevich, and the Mathematical Association of America to Julia Bowman Robinson.

1 comments about Complexities: Women in Mathematics.

1. While the opportunities for women still lag behind men in some areas, in general there are equal opportunities between the sexes. Most of the women under forty today have no idea how different it was for women thirty years ago. Before the twentieth century, it was even worse. Women such as Sophie Germain had to study mathematics in secret or publish their results under a male byline. This book starts with the biographies of fifteen female mathematicians born before 1920 and chronicles their struggles and achievements. While these biographies are interesting, they are probably too distant to be considered relevant by the modern student. In their other studies, they will have encountered facts such as women lacking the right to vote, so the fifteen women will simply be additional examples of women held in check by the prevailing social and legal norms.
   The real power of the book is in the accounts that are much more recent. Less than fifty years ago, women were rare in mathematics and those who managed to succeed were often considered oddities. Many graduate programs had either formal or informal policies against admitting women and those accepted generally were given little encouragement. Nevertheless, determined women managed to succeed and provide inspiration to future generations of mathematicians. This is their story and they are all to be commended for their success and their willingness to encourage the next generation to succeed. It is largely due to their hard work and occasional suffering that there are now so many opportunities for women in all areas of mathematics. I strongly recommend this book as required reading in any history of mathematics class. It is also suitable as supplemental material for courses in women's studies and the history of education.
   
   Published in Journal of Recreational Mathematics, reprinted with permission.

No comments about Polar Pilot: The Carl Ben Eilson Story.

No comments about The World of Maria Gaetana Agnesi, Mathematician of God.

4 comments about Adventures in the Atomic Age: From Watts to Washington.

1. I liked this book a lot. It reminded me so much of some projects I have worked on in terms of the happenstance and there you are. Seaborg was a kind, sane and good person, and it really comes across in this book.

   Such a contrast to so many today, and the politics have become so impenetrable these days. The UC system was nearly new then, it made me really feel how California was bubbling with new and great possibilities 70-50 years ago.

   I wish I had met the man. I hope I can be somewhere near as good a man as he was.




2. This was a very interesting book. You got to learn about the guy who was first able to separate plutonium not just a small bit at a time but on an industrial scale at Hanford. The story got me interested in Lawerence and the cyclotron and how some of the newer elements were used like the one they use in smoke detectors. He was an interesting character who tried to work within the system. By the end of the story you can see his democratic leanings because none of the Republican seem to know what they were doing but aside from that it is an interesting story which made me want to know more about nuclear power. I never knew about all the peaceful uses they tried that were explained in this book. This book made me want to know more of what actually happened which is why I read the new Rickover book by Frances Ducan. In his book he mentions Seaborg several times. The book has it's funny parts like when he was chancellor of Berkley how the male students council came to him and ask him to turn one of the dorms into a brothel so the guys could stay on campus and still relief some stress. Seaborg wore a lot of hats and his story coinsides with the times that he lived. This is shown by how he felt about working on the bomb during World War II. At the time Germany had taken most of Europe and Japan was all over China and the Pacific and if he didn't do something to stop them, they would rule the world. It made it seem less of a moral choice than one of survival.



3. Adventures in the Atomic Age is a remarkably friendly book. It is Glenn Seaborg's autobiography (completed after his death by his son). He helped develop the atom bomb, won the Nobel Prize and had an element named after him and those are only a few of his many achievements. He also chaired the Atomic Energy Commission, was chancellor of the University of California at Berkeley and was a professor whenever there was a lull in his career. He worked to make science interesting and accessible to the public, especially to students. An idea of how well he succeeded is shown by the fact that this book actually makes the science of the atom bomb intelligible. This is a book that can be read on many levels. It can be simply a history of the atomic age for he was there at the very beginning. It can be a history of the changing political scene during his life. It can also be read simply as the history of a thoroughly decent person. Glenn Seaborg comes across as a nice guy, the sort of person you would want as a next door neighbor, and would definitely want as a teacher.



4. To have an element named for you while you are still alive is the rarest of honors and Adventures In The Atomic Age: From Watts To Washington by Glenn T. Seaborg is the story of a life worthy of that honor. Glenn T. Seaborg takes you on a trip through his life, starting with his boyhood in Michigan and his teen years in South Gate, California. Hard work gets Seaborg to UCLA and continued hard work gets him to UC Berkeley, the place where most of his academic life will take place. Seaborg was student, teacher, researcher, the Golden Bear's biggest fan, and chancellor. Seaborg quietly affected all of our lives as the head of the AEC, and, for the most part, we are better off for his rational leadership of that organization. He served on the committee that wrote the educational report 'A Nation At Risk' and served on the committee that recently reformed California's science curriculum. He is proof that a public education can be excellent and that you get out of your education what you put into it. The people who have heard of Professor Seaborg usually know him as one of the co-discoverers of the element plutonium, but this book should give anyone who reads it a wider view of a rich life. Glenn T. Seaborg is not the household name like J. Robert Oppenheimer or Edward Teller, but hopefully this excellent autobiography will be a step towards making this wonderful scientist and human being more widely known.

5 comments about Stealing God's Thunder: Benjamin Franklin's Lightning Rod and the Invention of America.

1. One of the best books I have ever read and I recommend it. The book came out clean and prompt. Thanks!



2. 
   A recently published book may be of some interest to the intellectual property community. "Stealing God's Thunder" details the history of Benjamin Franklin's invention of the lightning rod, and goes on to sketch Ben's role in the invention of the United States' system of government.
   
   In a few places, the book touches on subjects which are of particular interest to the intellectual property professional.
   
   Eschewing a patent, Franklin published a complete description of his lightning rod invention in "Poor Richard's Almanac" in November 1753. Much to our delight, the author includes the entire text of the article in his book, on page 91. The Poor Richard article is entitled, "How to Secure Houses, etc., from Lightning."
   
   In his "Epilogue," the author makes the following statement:
   "Benjamin Franklin's refusal to patent his `instrument so new' likely contributed to the competitive free-for-all that began to characterize lightening rod design, manufacture, and sales within a few decades of his death."
   This is so wrong on so many levels I hardly know where to begin. Dray seems to say that because Franklin did not obtain a patent on his invention, the market forces did not apply to Franklin's invention. Why is this the case? Also, why "a few decades" when a patent's term was generally limited at the time to 14 years. And what does his death have do with it when the rod was published in 1753 and Franklin lived until 1790?
   
   However, Dray does not confine himself to the lightning rod. He also discusses the invention of the famous "Franklin stove." In discussing the stove the author describes Franklin's philosophy toward patents: "As he would with all his inventions, Franklin, although he stood to profit from the sales of the stove, did not apply for a patent. He believed that products of the human imagination belonged to no one person, and should be shared by all."
   
   In this we are reminded of the comments of Rosalyn Yalow, a physicist who, together with Soloman A. Berson, a physician, developed radioimmunassay (RIA). On receiving the Nobel Prize, Yalow said, "In my day scientists did not always think of things as being patentable. We made a scientific discovery. Once it was published it was open to the world." Fortunately, today's scientists may take advantage of the statutory invention
   Registration (SIR). For further details, see, "Rosalyn Yalow's Patent and H.R. 1127" in "The Law Works," January, 1996, at page 17 (the predecessor to the present publication.)
   
   Page 1
   
   
   
   One further aspect of the book may be of particular interest to the intellectual property community, and that is the aspect of the patents of the colonies and the States. Remember, Franklin's rod was published in 1753 and the United States Constitution was not ratified until 1789 and the first federal patent law was not enacted until 1790. As Dray notes about Franklin's refusal to patent his inventions, on page 37 "Besides its commendable altruism, this philosophy probably saved him from a tremendous amount of aggravation. Anyone seeking to patent a new mechanical innovation in the New World would need to secure it in each colony individually..."
   
   This is further complicated by the fact that after the Revolution and before the adoption of the Constitution the government took the form of the Confederation, turning the colonies into States. A number of patents were issued both by the colonies and the States. Some examples of these appear in the Twelfth Census of the United States in 1900 Vol. X, Part IV, page 75 and is quoted in Deller's Walker on Patent's 2nd Ed at pages 53 through 58:
   
   
   Year Inventor Invention Term
   
   CONNECTICUT
   1717 Edward Hinman Making molasses from cornstalks 10 years
   1783 Benjamin Hanks Self-winding clock 14 years
   
   NEW YORK
   1787 John Fitch Steam Boat
   
   NEW HAMPSHIRE
   1786 Benj. Dearborn Printing Press 14 years
   1789 Oliver Evans Elevator 7 years
   
   PENNSYLVANIA
   1717 Thomas Masters Cleaning, curing, and refining Indian corn 14 years
   
   MARYLAND
   1787 Oliver Evans Steam Carriage 14 years
   
   
   In conclusion, "Stealing God's Thunder" is an interesting light read for the technically and historically minded intellectual property professional.



3. Stealing God's Thunder by Philip Dray is extremely well-written. Unlike many biographies of Franklin, it focuses on his science first and his role as a founding father second. This way of characterizing Franklin's life was more interesting than writing about him as a politician first and scientist second. What is most interesting is the influence that Franklin's science had on his politics and on his philosophy. Dray wrote about complex subjects without ever becoming too wordy and overall the book was extremely readable.
   Some of Franklin's most interesting work was put into small inventions rather than large ideas. Franklin said that the armonica, a device that spun glass to make music, was his favorite invention. Although Franklin did important work linking lightning and electricity, and as a proponent of lightning rods, his small inventions were extremely interesting as well. Franklin learned a great deal about electricity during his life and this allowed the next generation of scientists to build on his discoveries. He also challenged the views of Christianity, while still believing in God and remaining religious throughout his life. Franklin believed in the power of reason and he thought that this did not conflict with belief in God. Franklin is one of the most interesting characters of the American Revolution and the Enlightenment.



4. I am a registered patent agent and a retired patent attorney, so this review is slanted from the view of the patent professional. "Stealing God's Thunder" details the history of Benjamin Franklin's invention of the lightning rod, and goes on to sketch Ben's role in the invention of the United States' system of government.
   
   In a few places, the book touches on subjects which are of particular interest to the intellectual property professional.
   
   Eschewing a patent, Franklin published a complete description of his lightning rod invention in "Poor Richard's Almanac" in November 1753. Much to our delight, the author includes the entire text of the article in his book, on page 91. The Poor Richard article is entitled, "How to Secure Houses, etc., from Lightning."
   
   Further, in his "Epilogue," the author makes the following statement: "Benjamin Franklin's refusal to patent his `instrument so new' likely contributed to the competitive free-for-all that began to characterize lightening rod design, manufacture, and sales within a few decades of his death."
   This is so wrong on so many levels I hardly know where to begin. Dray seems to say that because Franklin did not obtain a patent on his invention, the market forces did not apply to Franklin's invention. Why is this the case? Also, why "a few decades" when a patent's term was generally limited at the time to 14 years. You will see evidence of this later on in the review. And what does his death have do with it when the rod was published in 1753 and Franklin lived until 1790?
   
   However, Dray does not confine himself to the lightning rod. He also discusses the invention of the famous "Franklin stove," inter alia. In discussing the stove the author describes Franklin's philosophy toward patents: "As he would with all his inventions, Franklin, although he stood to profit from the sales of the stove, did not apply for a patent. He believed that products of the human imagination belonged to no one person, and should be shared by all."
   
   In this we are reminded of the comments of Rosalyn Yalow, a physicist who, together with Soloman A. Berson, a physician, developed radioimmunassay (RIA). On receiving the Nobel Prize, Yalow said, "In my day scientists did not always think of things as being patentable. We made a scientific discovery. Once it was published it was open to the world." Fortunately, today's scientists may take advantage of the Statutory Invention
   Registration (SIR). For further details, see, "Rosalyn Yalow's Patent and H.R. 1127" in "The Law Works," January, 1996, at page 17.
   One further aspect of the book may be of particular interest to the intellectual property community, and that is the aspect of the patents of the colonies and the States. Remember, Franklin's rod was published in 1753 and the United States Constitution was not ratified until 1789 and the first federal patent law was not enacted until 1790. As Dray notes about Franklin's refusal to patent his inventions, on page 37 "Besides its commendable altruism, this philosophy probably saved him from a tremendous amount of aggravation. Anyone seeking to patent a new mechanical innovation in the New World would need to secure it in each colony individually..."
   
   This is further complicated by the fact that after the Revolution and before the adoption of the Constitution the government took the form of the Confederation, turning the colonies into States. A number of patents were issued both by the colonies and the States. Some examples of these appear in the Twelfth Census of the United States in 1900 Vol. X, Part IV, page 75 and is quoted in Deller's Walker on Patent's 2nd Ed at pages 53 through 58:
   
   
   Year Inventor Invention Term
   
   CONNECTICUT
   1717 Edward Hinman Making molasses from cornstalks 10 years
   1783 Benjamin Hanks Self-winding clock 14 years
   
   NEW YORK
   1787 John Fitch Steam Boat
   
   NEW HAMPSHIRE
   1786 Benj. Dearborn Printing Press 14 years
   1789 Oliver Evans Elevator 7 years
   
   PENNSYLVANIA
   1717 Thomas Masters Cleaning, curing, and refining Indian corn 14 years
   
   MARYLAND
   1787 Oliver Evans Steam Carriage 14 years
   
   
   In conclusion, "Stealing God's Thunder" is an interesting light read for the technically and historically minded intellectual property professional.



5. From 1760 to 1766, Ben Franklin lived in England as a gentleman scholar with his son, William, who studied law. While there, he invented "a homespun musical instrument" he called 'armonica.' which he always claimed to be his favorite invention. It was a stand-alone contraption in which glass disks were turned in a treadle and rubbed gently with the performer's fingers, which he kept moistened with a damp sponge. "The musical method of rubbing fingers on the rims of glasses or bowls filled with water appeared in Europe in the late Middle Ages; Galileo, himself the son of a musician, experimented with it."
   
   This era also produced the piano. The armonica could be the primitive precursor to the organ (a drawing of which is shown in this book); it had such soft, subtle tones it could not compete with the piano and was never used in an orchestra. "Its haunting tone and deep sustain did have a numbing effect on listeners, so much so that it was later used by Franz Mesmer and other healers to put patients into a trance." Mozart wrote an armonica composition called "Adagio for Glass Harmonica, Flute, Oboe, Viola and Cello' which he even performed in Vienna, playing the Viola. Franklin wrote one musical composition, "Quartet in F Major" (also known as "The Open String Quarter") for the violin.
   
   He was a music enthusiast with a music room at his Philadelphia home which held his daughter's harpsichord. "He and Sally played duets [he on the armonica], some classical pieces, but mostly the Scottish folk ballads Franklin liked." Thousands of armonicas were built and sold, but its popularity was of brief duration. Thomas Penn, one of William Penn's sons who had control over the state of Pennsylvania at that time, was heard to complain that Franklin was wasting his time on "philosophical matters and musical performances on glasses."
   
   Not only was he famous for his "revolutionary scientific work, especially his experiments with lightning rods and electricity," he stirred up a controvrsy about evolution. "In Franklin's time, the study of the earth's oldest living things, later known as paleontology, was just emerging as an area of scientific inquiry" when he became involved in 1764 concerning a salt marsh called Big Bone Lick on the Ohio River, forty miles south of present-day Cincinnati. Bones were found there of "mastodons, elephant-like creatures with heavy coats and huge upward-curving tusks that are said to have appeared anywhere between about 20 million and 3.5 million years ago, and survived until as recently as 10,000 years ago." This new curiosity raised the question of extinction, "the most disturbing discovery which upset even the "Newtonian universe."
   
   He explains the legacy of the mythical creatures, the cyclops and the unicorn. 'The cyclops' solitary eye was suggested by the gaping proboscis cavity of extinct dwarf elephants; the unicorn legend arose from the fossilized tusks of elephants and rhinoceroses, which, prized for their magical and medicinal virtues, were traded both by the ancients and in medieval Europe."
   
   Franklin was involved in this scientific debate "that was one of the most stimulating of the Enlightenment" the question of the age of earth and of living things, including man. Like the arguments about lightning rods "presumption," this inquiry challenged long-received ideas about the relationship between God and man, and went so far as to call into question the biblical version of Genesis and Creation." Extinction was a heavy concept "and to pursue it brought one square against not only prevailing views of God's kingdom but the accepted wisdom about the age of earth itself."
   
   Franklin published in his 'Poor Richard's Almanac' "some excerpts from a popular chronology of the history of commerce that dated the [Biblical] Flood at 2348 B.C.,...likely reprinted the material chiefly for its comical fastidiousness about a number of pseudo-momentous dates in human history, such as the invention of playing cards (1391) and the first silk stockings worn by a king (1547).
   
   In 1712, Cotton Mather reported to the Royal Society that a tooth weighing more than four pounds and a thigh bone seventeen feet in length had been unearthed near Albany, New York; he asssumed that the remains were those of a giant man who had perished in the Great Flood. African slaves in America were likely the first to point out that the bones unearthed at sites in New York and Virginia resembled those of the elephant." In the nineteenth century Georges Cuvier would lay the formal groundwork for paleontology, and Charles Darwin's therories of evolution and natural selection. "America's first museum of fossils and paleontological curiosities, including mastodon relics, would be operated by the Philadelphia artist Charles Willson Peale, in conjunction with the American Philosophical Society."
   
   In 1774, Franklin was publicly accused of revealing to his contacts in Boston that "Britain would likely need to dispatch troops to North America" and was stripped of his office of postmaster general of the colonies. His reputation tarnished, and his usefulness in London, now weakened, he sailed home in March 1775.
   
   In 1806, Thomas Jefferson (then President of the United States), "upon the return of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark from exploring the Louisiana Territory ...dispatched Clark to Big Bone Lick to collect additional relics, which he then stored in the East Room of the White House."
   
   Philip Dray previously wrote the multi-award winning AT THE HANDS OF PERSONS UNKNOWN: THE LYNCHING OF BLACK AMERICA which also was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.

No comments about Bill Gates - Software Billionaire (Biography).

5 comments about Stephen Hawking's Universe.

1. I was fullly please with my order... My expectations have been met in every angle.



2. Stephen Hawking's Universe by John Boslough is an introduction to the life and works of one of the most remarkable scientists of our time, Stephen Hawking. Boslough, whom has delved deep into his life, depicts Stephen Hawking in the book as a man, and not as a brilliant scientist. This depiction also sets the tone for the rest of the book as Boslough uses his own personal, creative flair to explain scientific theories surrounding such topics as quasars, quarks, black holes, the Big Bang, and the universe into easily understandable terms. For the large task given, Boslough's attempt is quite admirable as he uses a series of everyday examples to simplify the technical jargon for the half-enthused readers, such as myself. Boslough's explanations give the readers truly wonderful insights into the subject of cosmology, a subject that was otherwise likely never to be comprehendible to me. Boslough has created a biography that is both humble and flattering of Stephen Hawkings for his discoveries are always connected to the forbearers of the field such as Galileo Galilei, Isaac Newton, and Albert Einstein, whose contributions are all discussed within the book. After reading the book, it is not hard to tell why John Boslough was compelled to recount the story of Stephen Hawking. The scientific breakthroughs that have come from a man confined to his wheelchair will alter anyone's ignorant perception of the universe and isolated thinking of the world. I recommend this book to anyone who is not already an expert on cosmology and looking to indulge one's mind into the intricacies of the universe without overly complex reasoning. Plus, a reader may come across a very interesting individual in doing so.



3. This is one of those very FEW books that I have actually read more than half a dozen times (yes, call me crazy)! A good book is difficult to put down, but a great book is difficult to not re-read!

   I have always had an interest in Physics, particularly cosmology, black holes, and the Big Bang theory. This is one of the first books I've ever read on such topics. Boslough has a way of presenting his material in a concise, enjoyable, interesting way. This is one of the best science/physics books (for the layperons) I've ever read! This is THE book that got me hooked on further and continued readings about physics, cosmology, the Big Bang, quantum theory, and so on. Were it not for this book, I'd still be dreading the physics classes I took in college more than 15 years ago!

   This book also laid a lot of the foundation work for my research into black holes in preparation for the writing of my science fiction novel "Temporal Armageddon".




4. This small book, originally written in 1984, was and is still revealing.
   Firstly, on a personal level, Hawking admitted already at that time that "As far as theoretical physics are concerned, I'm already ... quite far over the hill'.
   Secondly, it gives an excellent explanation of Hawking's contribution to theoretical physics (black holes and their similarities to the beginning of time).
   Thirdly, Hawking has outspoken opinions about the anthropic principle (against), the universe of Eastern mysticism (an illusion), the many universes theory (not meaningful) or determinism ('Even if we do achieve a complete unified theory, we shall not be able to make detailed predictions in any but the simplest situations').

   This booklet offers also excellent examples for the theories of relativity and quantum mechanics and contains Hawking's Inaugural Lecture 'Is the End in Sight for Theoretical Physics?'

   Although this book is, from a theoretical point of view, out of date (no superstrings), it should not be missed.




5. As a non-science-type-person I read this book with the sense of shame and guilt that was customarily heaped upon purchasers of "Cliff Notes" by our school English teachers. This is a layman's guide to Hawking for people who are too intimidated to read Hawking, but as such it is a very good piece of work, and the discussion of the Big Bang, black holes, pulsars and quasars are well interspersed with aphoristic comments by Hawking himself.

3 comments about Einstein: A Hundred Years of Relativity.

1. Very well planned, full of meaningfull illustrations, accurately written and revised,this book deserves special attention of everyone interested in Einsteins's personal life and scientific production. Recommended with enthusiasm.



2. This beautiful, hardcover coffee-table book, whose text is as delightful as its scores of photographs, retails for $29.95--not the $35 that Amazon advertises. It is an amazing value in this day when trade paperbacks often retail for $24.95 and higher.



3. This is a review of "Einstein: A Hundred Years of Relativity," by Andrew Robinson.
   
   For the last three or four years, I have both actively and passively searched for a good introductory book on Einstein, something that is accessible to me as an intelligent non-scientist, but that is broader in scope than I take most of his biographies to be. I want a good, clear explanation of special and general relativity, but I also want to know more about the pacificist and cultural icon, about Einstein as a humanist. No one book has filled the niche. Either you find good discussions of his physics, or you find books on his love life, or you find books that are beautifully produced but have very little substance.
   
   As the centennial of the "miraculous year" of 1905, 2005 has seen a bumper crop of books on Einstein, many of them poorly conceived and some richly priced. But this book is just what I've been looking for for the last few years.
   
   The Editorial Review is wrong in stating that all entries are new except for Einstein's last interview. In fact, a few pages from Einstein's autobiography are also included--and that indicates one reason why this book is so well done. It is divided into two parts; the first has seven chapters on "The Physicist"; the second has eight chapters on "The Man." All of these are written by Andrew Robinson. But interspersed with this biographical-chronological-topical layout are essays by other authors. Einstein contributes a few pages to Part One and a few to Part Two. But there are also four essays by others in Part One and five essays by others in Part Two. It's thrilling to read Stephen Hawking on the history of relativity and Philip Glass on his operatic take on Einstein. The book is not hagiographical. Freeman Dyson's preface mainly discusses the embarrassing (for Einstein) peculiarity that Einstein did not believe in black holes.
   
   The book is full of other goodies. Though the text is more than one finds in a typical coffee-table book, the illustrations are of that beauty and quantity. It's an illustrated book with well-chosen pictures, always with captions. There are notes in the back, a detailed chronology of his life, and a (non-annotated) bibliography. The whole is made authoritative not only by the caliber of its contributors, but by its use of Einstein's archives housed at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
   
   The only way this book could be better is if there were more of it; sometimes the discussions feel rushed and compressed. Also, despite Robinson's literary credentials, I'm not partial to his somewhat awkward, hypertactic writing style.

2 comments about Black Inventors in the Age of Segregation: Granville T. Woods, Lewis H. Latimer, and Shelby J. Davidson.

1. Rayvon Fouche's Black Inventors In The Age Of Segregation: Granville T. Woods, Lewis H. Latimer, And Shelby J. Davidson refutes the common notion that inventors were lone geniuses who worked in relative isolation in the late 19th-early 20th century world. Most indeed developed their ideas within industrial organizations that supported their experiments: for blacks, this meant real challenges in working on innovative designs while breaking social barriers. Fouche here uses the lives and works of Granville Woods, Lewis Latimer and Shelby Davidson to detail the social frustrations underlying their research.



2. Professor Fouche has written a fabulous book! Black Inventors in the Age of Segregation is clearly the most thoroughly researched book on black inventors to date. He provides a detailed account of how difficult it was for black inventors to succeed in a segregated society. His book describes the experiences of three black inventors and explains their importance to African American people in the twentieth century. This is a must read for anyone wanting to know more about black inventors, their inventions, and their lives, as well as those interested in African American history and the history of invention.