Michael Faraday is an exciting subject for a biography: the nineteenth-century British working-class, religious kid who grew up to change our daily lives with his groundbreaking discoveries in electricity and magnetism. Many teens will be interested in his religion and his synthesis of science and Christianity. Unfortunately, the style here is heavy going; it's laboriously detailed and dry, not only about the physics and chemistry but also about Faraday's life. Give this to good readers who need a fresh biography subject, especially those who want to know about the history of science and technology.
This biography of Gauss, by far the most comprehensive in English, is the work of a professor of German, G. Waldo Dunnington, who devoted most of his scholarly career to studying the life of Germany's greatest mathematician. The author was inspired to pursue this project at the age of twelve when he learned from his teacher in Missouri that no full biography of Gauss existed at the time. His teacher was Gauss's great granddaughter, Minna Waldeck Gauss.
American Biographies are 74 biographical sketches that provide insight into the contributions to America made by people from every era. These sketches are representative of the great diversity of Americans in all walks of life: government, business, and labor leaders; religious, military, and minority leaders; sports, entertainment, and media figures. Each biography includes two types of questions designed to provide students with a basic review of the biography and a critical thinking challenge. Answers to these questions are provided in the back of this booklet.
