Add to the genre of books on the sociology of women in science this first-rate compendium of bios of women who got the Big One— and a few who came close. Some are familiar (Marie Curie, who got it twice) and some have been covered in recent books (Rita Levi- Montalcini—In Praise of Imperfection, 1988). What's gratifying is that Bertsch (physics writer-editor for the Encyclopaedia Brittanica) neither preaches nor screeches but allows the facts- -documented in interviews with and in records of the women—to speak for themselves. The stories begin in Europe with the Curies in France and with Lise Meitner and Emmy Noether (probably the most distinguished woman mathematician in history) in Germany, the latter two suffering the double blow of being Jews as well as women. Bertsch then reviews a second generation of greats, including Gerty Cori (enzymology), Irene Curie, Maria Goeppert-Mayer (nuclear shell theory), Dorothy Hodgkin (X-ray crystallography), Chien-Shiung Wu (nuclear physics), Levi-Montalcini, and Rosalyn Yallow (inventor of the radioimmunoassay). The younger generation is represented by Jocelyn Bell (pulsars), who, in contrast to the others, changed careers. The common struggles are with male prejudice; barriers prohibiting women from attending university; prohibitions against hiring, nepotism, whatever—conditions that left many of these women spending their lives as unpaid volunteers or lowly associates. But the other commonalities are passion, energy, a conviction of intellectual strength, and sheer joy in doing science. Many of the women were strongly encouraged by their fathers or by a strong belief in learning. And no stereotypes prevail: Female genius can be accompanied by good looks, gourmet tastes, and wealth—or by a single-minded devotion to science with not a care about appearance or worldly goods, just as with men. Gratifying reading for women of all ages—and would that men would read it as well. (Twelve pages of photographs—not seen.)
Pub Date: Dec. 1, 1992
ISBN: 1-55972-146-4
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Birch Lane Press
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1992
BOOK REVIEW
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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