Biographies

Biographies - Melanie Patterson 1. __Great Lives__, compiled by Simon Boughton, Doubleday, 1988. This volume contains short biographies of over 1,000 men and women "who have played an important part in history and have a story worth telling." It is arranged in 3 ways. First, it is set up like a dictionary. People are listed alphabetically and each entry contains date(s) of birth/death, full names, and significant details. Contemporaries are cross-referenced. Second, there is a chronological table of contents from 2800 BC to present (1987). Third, entries are arranged according to subject in the index. So, if you are looking for influential physicists, you would look up "physics" in the index. 2. __The Concise Dictionary of American Biography__, 3rd edition (1980), complete to 1960. This volume contains "concise biographies of more than 17,000 men and women notable in American history." It is arranged alphabetically, according to last name. Each entry is short. It seems like a good go-to reference when looking for a small amount of information about a person. 3. __Something About the Author__, print, 157 volumes This biographical reference series has illustrated profiles of children's authors and artists. It has been printed since 1971 and is currently comprised of over 210 volumes (of which my library has 157). These volumes cover over 12,000 individuals. Entries include information on personal life, career, writings, works in progress, adaptations, and additional sources. My public library has access to __Something Abouth the Author: Online__, which I find much easier to use. The online version has access to all volumes, with the ability to print, e-mail, or download entries. It is a complete archive of the printed content, and additional content added continually. 3 Biographies – Stacia Frederick 1. __ The Doubleday Book of Famous Americans __, First Edition, by Suzanne LeVert, 1989. There are 101 biographies of people from 1600s to 1989, with pictures, and chosen from categories such as history and politics, science and exploration, arts, entertainment, and others. These 101 Americans were chosen based on 2 guidelines: (1) made a distinct contribution to the development of his/her field of endeavor, and (2) has been born or has become a U.S. citizen early in his/her life. Some of the people included are Walt Disney, Helen Keller, Abraham Lincoln, Bruce Springsteen, and Frank Lloyd Wright. Each biography is listed alphabetically and contains 3 pages in length of their major events and accomplishments so it is easy for children to read and they won’t be overwhelmed with information. This is a book for fun or for research information. ====2. __1000 Makers of the Millennium__, Linda Martin, 1999. This biography includes “an international collection of people who tried to improve the world, through words and deeds, as well as those who have proved themselves famous for their misdeeds.” Some of the people are highly recognizable such as William Shakespeare and Mahatma Gandhi, and some are not such as Nell Gwyn and Ethel Smyth. Their professions range from painters to explorers and from presidents to golfers. The book is divided into centuries starting from the Eleventh Century to the Twentieth Century. Within each Century, each person is placed in chronological order by the date of their birth. Within each century, there are some pictures of the people and a timeline of the century at the bottom of the page. A biography consists of one paragraph within a column of print. ====

====3. __People of the Century__, Time/CBS News, 1999. This biography contains 100 most influential leaders, artists, intellects, and heroes who shaped the Twentieth Century. The people were selected by the editors of Time magazine. Each biography is written by influential writers, such as Doris Kearns Goodwin, Salman Rushdie, Gloria Steinem, and Elie Wiesel. A biography consists of photos, a couple of pages, and a “Brief Biography” which details important years of the person such as their birth, death, and important events. ====

Kate Millerick - Biographies
**1. Notable American women, 1607-1950; a biographical dictionary. Edward T. James, editor. Janet Wilson James, associate editor. Paul S. Boyer, assistant editor.** Cambridge**,** Mass.**, Belknap Press of** Harvard University**Press, 1971. Vol 1** This book is full of biographical information of important women throughout history. Each entry is a well documented biography of one of history’s most “exceptional” women that integrates her personal life & professional achievements and comments on the impact each woman had on larger historical developments. “By uncovering and documenting the enormous contributions that women had made--previously overlooked or underappreciated--this important reference work changed the way historians thought and wrote about American history.” This book lists the women in alphabetical order. With few exceptions the women listed in (this volume of) the book all died prior to 1950. Each biography is written by an author with knowledge of the subject or of her field.

** 2. Women of Mystery : the lives and works of notable women crime novelists / Martha Hailey DuBose ; with additional essays by Margaret Caldwell Thomas. ** ** New York : St. Martin's Minotaur, 2000 ** This book is split into three parts – 1: In the Beginning: The Mothers of Detection 2: A Golden Era: The Genteel Puzzlers 3: Modern Motives: Mysteries of the Murderous Mind It features extensive biographical information on many significant female mystery writers such as Agatha Christie, Anna Katharine Green, Sue Grafton and Patricia Cornwell.

This series of bibliographies is a great resource for younger readers. There are 10 volumes covering: Activists, Athletes, Entrepreneurs & Inventors, Explorers, Performance Artists, Political & Military Leaders, Scholars & Educators, Scientists, Visual Artists, and Writers. Each volume is arranged alphabetically and uses large print. This series offers an easy to understand 1-3 page overview of the accomplishments and contributions of each personality it covers.
 * 3.** **// The Grolier Library of North American Biographies. //**** Danbury, CT: Grolier Educational, 1994. Print. **

**Anita Cellucci - Biographies**
**//Encyclopedia of World Biographies//.2nd Edition, Gale Research. 1998.** This set covers over 100,000 notable figures from many cultures through the ages up to current day. It is alphabetically arranged with brief summaries as well as long narratives about each subject. Some parts are written with opposing viewpoints of the person’s life and work. Presents brief biographical sketches which provide vital statistics as well as information on the importance of the person listed.

**//Great women writers: the lives and works of 135 of the world's most important women writers, from antiquity to the present.//** Frank N. Magill, editor ; introduction by Rosemary Canfield Reisman. (Series: A Henry Holt reference book)1994. A single-volume reference guide providing a survey of female authors of poetry, drama, novels, and short stories. The entries, arranged alphabetically, include a list of works, biographical sketch, a critical analysis discussing the author's influences and obstacles, and a bibliography. A diverse cross section of writers from around the world is represented.

// **Heisenberg probably slept here: The lives, times and ideas of the Great Physicists of the 20th Century**. // John Wiley and Sons. 1997.     This biography describes lives and ideas of seven physicists whose work shaped physics in the 20th century, showing their human qualities and explaining their theories and discoveries. This book made a difficult topic more easily understood by adding in information about each of the physicists that the average person could relate to.

This was, by far, my favorite print biographical source in the collection. This work is arranged chronologically, and though it is massive at over 700 pages, it has a visual appeal that would be engaging to middle or high school students. The unique thing about this work is that it uses only brief excerpts from autobiographical writings, but it also provides the introductions and contexts needed to understand the more complex events described by those profiled. The book has a natural flow that makes understanding history easier in many ways that a resource found online. There is a clear reason why this book is shelved with reference: the layout. While it has quite a bit of written prose, this work is rich with tables, indexes, and appendices to quickly find facts about any president and quickly compare them against each other. I believe there is a newer edition coming out to include Barack Obama, but I know this book is handled a lot by my students doing research. This is my strangest, but most interesting, find in the collection. It’s described as a book about “how characters of fiction, myth, legends, television, and movies have shaped our society, changed our behavior, and set the course of history.” I’m thinking of sending it to the high school because it’s way over-the-heads of my elementary/middle school students, but I can see how older students trying to make connections between pop culture and academics would find to be thought-provoking. It discusses characters like Darth Vader and how his profile has similarities to real historical figures and why people are enticed by certain characters and not others. Talk about historical fiction!
 * //The Norton Book of American Autobiography//**, edited by Jay Parini, 1999.
 * //Presidents: A Biographical Dictionary//**, by Neil Hamilton, 2005.
 * //The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived//**, by Dan Karlan, 2006.

Michael Lavieri -- Biographies
Biographies Print: //Shakespeare: The World As Stage//, by Bill Bryson. Harper, 2007. I love this book because it offers a brief and readable account of Shakespeare’s life and times, including how events in his life and in the world at large influenced his work. The book addresses common misconceptions about Shakespeare, and also considers the fact that we know so little about such a famous man. Bryson delves into the catalog of words invented (or at least remembered because of) Shakespeare and explores the paintings that collectively created our image of him.

//Benjamin Franklin: An American Life//, by Walter Isaacson. Simon & Schuster, 2004. I chose this biography because it provides a comprehensive and readable account of one of America’s most important founders, and does so without turning a blind eye to some of his faults. As time goes on, we tend to find out more about historical figures, and it’s important that writers not gloss over the unseemly facts – but also that they don’t create scandalous work that detracts from a true understanding of a significant figure in history. Isaacson spends time on Franklin’s various licentious affairs, but also poignantly documents his many achievements and inventions. As any good biography should, this book provides a well-rounded, full picture of an incredible person.

Online: The Internet Public Library’s POTUS (Presidents of the United States) website offers a wealth of information about all 44 Presidents, including basic biographical information like birthplace, family members, cabinet members, etc. The site also provides links to others sources like whitehouse.gov and americanpresident.org. External links are also offered for historical documents and speeches. This site would be of great use to elementary students learning basic research skills, but could be used as a starting point for older students as well.

** Mary Murphy Wood - **//** Biographies **//
This three volume reference biography is organized alphabetically by last name. The Table of Contents contains a Key to Pronunciation, Complete list of Contents and a List of Sidebars. The volumes contain biographical information on Criminals, Terrorists, War Criminals, Dictators and Political Corruption. There is key information such as their name and “title” (what they are famous for), birth, and death if appropriate, alias, major offense, when they were active, where they were active and their sentence if appropriate. This information is followed up with one to three pages of information including Impact and Further Reading on each notorious person.
 * Bankston, Carl L., ed. //Great Lives from History, Notorious Lives//.** **1st ed.** **Pasadena,** **CA: Salem, 2007. Print**.

I selected this reference biography because of my interest in women in politics. This book has a brief introduction stating its purpose and is simply organized alphabetically by United States Representative. Some of the women have advanced from Representative to United States Senator and that is noted in the biography. Each entry contains a photograph, party affiliation, which congress they served in, and the years in which they served.
 * Office of the Historian, U.S. House of Representatives, ed. //Women in Congress: 1917 - 1990//. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Print. Office, 1991. Print.**

I selected this reference biography because I found it impressive. The book covers 641 biographies of individual black women and another 163 entries on topics and organizations which deal with black women. This two volume set is divided with entries A-L and M-Z. Each entry provides the name of the woman, date of birth and date of death if appropriate and biographical information from one to four pages.. Additional topics i.e. “Abolition Movement” are stated and followed by the text.
 * Hine, Darlene Clark., Elsa Barkley. Brown, and Rosalyn Terborg-Penn, eds. //Black Women in America: an Historical Encyclopedia//. 1st ed. Vol. 1. Brooklyn, NY: Carlson Pub., 1993. Print.**

__Biographies, by Emmy Garr__ -

//Presidents: A Biographical Dictionary, 2nd Edition//, by Neil A. Hamilton, published in 2005. This edition contains all US presidents through George H.W. Bush. This volume is a clearly organized, easy to read and easy to navigate collection of biographical information on US presidents. Each entry contains a narrative about the subject that’s a few pages long, a chronology, and a “Further Reading” bibliography. There is a helpful introduction in the beginning that explains various aspects of the US presidency, like “Presidential Power” and “Presidential Categories.” If a student is looking for fast facts about a president’s administration he or she can look at the Appendix in the back, which is followed by an extensive bibliography about broad topics concerning the US presidency, such as “On the Relationship Between Congress and the Presidency” and “Overviews of the American Presidency.” This is a comprehensive collection of information about this topic, and would make a very helpful reference for any student or teacher of US history (in fact, it would be a great asset to a classroom library).

//Great World Writers: Twentieth Century, Volumes 1-13//, edited by Patrick M. O’Neil, published in 2004. This series is structured like a biographical dictionary or biographical encyclopedia. The best feature of this work is its organization and visual appeal: each writer’s entry is divided into a formula of facts about his/her birth (and death, if applicable), “Identification” (essentially, what this person is famous for), “Significance,” “The Writer’s Life,” “The Writer’s Work” with a bibliography, and “Reader’s Guide to Major Works,” which analyzes the author’s major works in terms in plot, genre, theme, etc. This is an invaluable resource for teachers or students of literature, because it has both biographical information and literary analysis in the same place. The pages are glossy, with pictures and color-coded headings, and each entry is organized in a way that is easy to navigate and read – they are not overly long but still thorough. I could see students enjoying this book because it’s comprehensive but doesn’t look boring or overly intimidating.

//Ladies’ Home Journal’s 100 Most Important Women of the 20th Century//, project editor Lorraine Glennon, published in 1998. At first I was hesitant about this book: because it is affiliated with a magazine I was concerned that it wouldn’t be “academic” enough to be used in a school library. But after searching through the entries I think this is an excellent resource for research or for pleasure reading, especially for a reluctant or below-level reader. The content is appropriate for a high school student and the entries are fairly brief (about a page long) and surrounded by stylish pictures, fonts, and quotes. The writing is breezy and engaging, yet informative. There is also a helpful timeline of important women’s events of the 20th century in the back of the book.

Online - http://www.greatwomen.org/women.php. It features thorough biographies on all 236 women who've been inducted into the Women's Hal of Fame in Seneca Falls, NY. Each biographical entry contains a bibliography of additional resources on that person. This would be a very helpful site for a student because it is straightforward and very easy to use, and its information is accurate and thorough. The rest of the site is also very interesting; users can nominate a woman to the Hall and learn about its history and mission.

Mary Gaeta-

//Ultimate Biography: inside the Lives of the World's 250 Most Influential People.// New York: DK Pub., 2002. Print. I really like the pictures in this book. I like how the information arranged around the pictures. It is a typical DK book that is so visually appealing to me that I could browse through the information for hours.

//Favorite Children’s Authors and Illustrators//, published by Tradition Books (2005). Reading Level Grades 3 -7. This is a 6 volume set of books with a 2-4 page write up on a children’s author or illustrator. It also contains a selected bibliography of each author or illustrator’s work.

Harris, Laurie Lanzen. //Biography Today : Author Series : Vol 5, 1999: Profiles of People of Interest to Young Readers//. Detroit: Omnigraphics, 1999. Reading Level Grade 3 and up. Biography Today is a great series to browse through to select a person to research. It is published yearly and includes many current authors that children may be interested in learning what their favorite author’s life was like. There are also other books in the this series such as **// Biography Today : Profiles of People of Interest to Young //**** Readers. **