Invention and Technology (Great Lives (Scribner))
Grade 5-8-- This collective biography reads like a conglomeration of the biographies in the old Landmark series (Random), but bound together as one book. The bias seems to be toward 19th-century male inventors--the Thomas Edisons and Alexander Graham Bells that have become cliches of western ingenuity. This makes the inclusion of men such as Galileo and Guttenberg seem somewhat of an anomaly. Sadly, no women are included (although Lomask cites the excellent Mothers of Invention Morrow, 1988 by Vare and Ptacek in his bibliography). Minorities, save George Washington Carver, are similarly scarce. In short, these profiles tread safe ground; Lomask is diligent about quoting sources, such as original biographers, but he doesn't formulate his own interpretations. A useful source for reports, but so are encyclopedias. --Cathryn A. Camper, Minneapolis Public LibraryCopyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.