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They were unconventional geniuses who loves solving mechanical problems but never graduated from high school. Two brothers with brilliant minds, the ability to build what they envisioned, and the determination to tinker and test until they got something right. Packed with intriguing photos of Wilbur and Orville Wright, their family, and their many experiments, this newest photo-biography reveals the personalities and lives of these extraordinary young men who resolved those problems of flight that stumped the experts and built the first airplane that really could fly!

An insightful and delightful look into the life of a courageous man of faith and science which will delight many readers. It was Galileo's questioning mind which drove him to moonumental breathroughs in astronomy, physics, mechanics, and the natural world. Learn all about this figure in this brand new book packed with many of the author's original pen drawings, pictures and illustrations.

Profiles the life of the Frenchman who is considered the founder of modern chemistry and biochemistry, because of his discovery of oxygen and his work on combustion and respiration.

Antoni van Leeuwenhoek was the first human being to see single-celled life. Author Lisa Yount details the life and work of this cloth merchant who used a microscope he made for himself to peer into a world no one had known existed. His greatest finds are the little animals he discovered that he called “animalcules.” An informative and inspiring story, it is sure to be of interest to science and biography fans.

Part of the Champions of Discovery Series

Up, up, and away!
When Tom Tate hears that Wilbur and Orville Wright are building a flying machine, he can't wait to try it. Tom's dad thinks it's dangerous. Some people think the Wrights are crazy. Can Tom help the brothers get their dream off the ground?

t started with a toy. As boys, Wilbur and Orville Wright loved making their helicopter fly. As adults, the brothers made their living taking things apart and putting them together again: printing presses, bicycles, planes. . . . Through trial and error, these two boys from Dayton, Ohio, built the plane that would change the world forever.
With an inspiring text, original paintings, period photographs, and detailed diagrams, First to Fly recreates the story of the Wright Brothers, from their earliest challenges to their final triumph.

We know about Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine. But we owe nearly as much to Galen, a physician born in 129 A.D. at the height of the Roman Empire. Galen’s acute diagnoses of patients, botanical wisdom, and studies of physiology were recorded in numerous books, handed down through the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Not least, Galen passed on the medical tradition of respect for life. In this fascinating biography for young people, Jeanne Bendick brings Galen’s Roman world to life with the clarity, humor, and outstanding content we enjoyed in Archimedes and the Door to Science. An excellent addition to the home and to the home-education library.

This photobiography of Albert Einstein publishes to coincide with the year that marks the 100th anniversary of what has been described as Einstein's "miraculous year" and the 50th anniversary of his death. In 1905 Einstein published three important papers describing ideas that changed science forever and eventually had an effect on much of modern life. The most famous of these ideas was his theory of relativity, which took a startling new approach to space and time. In signature National Geographic photobiography format, author Marfé Feguson Delano covers the life and times of Einstein from his childhood to his death, with a particular emphasis on his scientific contributions. She draws connections between Einstein's ideas and modern technology, so that kids can see how his theories led to technologies they take for granted. She discusses Einstein's theory on the structure of light, in which he theorized that light behaved not only like a wave but also like a stream of particles, providing the basis for television, lasers, and semiconductors. Einstein's theory of relativity paved the way for the atomic bomb and opened up an understanding of many things, from the Big Bang to black holes. Ferguson Delano discusses the power of Einstein's ideas, and their influence not only on science but on art, music, and even literature and politics. She places Einstein in context as a world figure and discusses the causes he supported, including nuclear disarmament and civil liberties. And she provides the context of world events as they affected Einstein's life, including the rise of Hitler and World War II. Running text, raised quotes, and extraordinary archival photographs all stunningly designed and handsomely produced make this entry in the National Geographic photobiography series one of the most attractive and compelling yet. The publication date will coincide with celebration of Einstein's life and achievements. In recognition of Einstein's ideas and his influence on modern life, the year 2005 has been declared the "World Year of Physics" (WYP) by such organizations as the American Institute of Physics, the American Physical Society, the American Association of Physics Teachers, and the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics. The theme for the WYP celebration in the U.S. is "Einstein in the 21st Century." Organizers are planning large-scale national projects, including a poster contest for elementary school students. Other planned events can be found at http://www.physics2005.org/events.

Nine remarkable men produced inventions that changed the world. The printing press, the telephone, powered flight, recording and others have made the modern world what it is. But who were the men who had these ideas and made reality of them? As David Angus shows, they were very different – quiet, boisterous, confident, withdrawn – but all had a moment of vision allied to single-minded determination to battle through numerous prototypes and produced something that really worked.

How did the great scientists make their remarkable discoveries? And what kind of men were they? This companion volume to Inventors and their Inventions introduces the work of ten men to younger readers, and range from the world of Ancient Greece to the twentieth century discovery of DNA. Among them are the crucial discovery that the earth goes around the sun (Galileo), the principle of gravity (Newton), the evolution of the species (Darwin) and the principle of inherited characteristics or genetics (Mendel).

It is early in the twentieth century, and, to most, the idea of human flight is ludicrous--with good reason. There have been many failed flying attempts. Still, the Wright brothers will not let their dreams die. They brave heavy winds and rain, sandstorms, and tough crashes--all in an effort to build the first successful flying machine. In this engaging and dynamic graphic novel format, award-winning author Bob Burleigh has collaborated with Bill Wylie to re-create a gripping tale of trial, error, and, ultimately, triumph.

What was Isaac Newton like? Secretive, vindictive, withdrawn, obsessive, and, oh, yes, brilliant. His imagination was so large that, just "by thinking on it," he invented calculus and figured out the scientific explanation of gravity.Yet Newton was so small-minded that he set out to destroy other scientists who dared question his findings. Here is a compelling portrait of Newton, contradictions and all, that places him against the backdrop of 17th-century England, a time of plague, the Great Fire of London, and two revolutions.

For thirty years, the whole last half of his life, Leonardo da Vinci was obsessed with unlocking the secrets of nature. His notebooks are the mind-boggling evidence of a fifteenth-century scientist standing at the edge of the modern world, basing his ideas on observation and experimentation. Scrupulously researched, juicily anecdotal, this book will change children’s ideas of who Leonardo was and what it means to be a scientist.

The professional triumphs and personal struggles of a pioneering woman scientist. This account of the remarkable life and astonishing mind of one of the greatest scientists of the century, written by her daughter, it remains a landmark and an inspiration for students, scientists, and young women everywhere.

Examines the life of the scientist Marie Curie, her background, and her discovery of radium.

Talk about a “glowing reputation”! Marie Curie, the woman who coined the term radioactivity, won not just one Nobel prize but two—in physics and in chemistry, both supposedly girl-phobic sciences. As with her previous star-studded biographies of Leonardo da Vinci, Isaac Newton, and Sigmund Freud—all three chosen as ALA Notable Books—Kathleen Krull offers readers a fascinating portrait of this mythic “giant of science” who abhorred publicity. And she also places Curie’s ground-breaking discovery of two elements within the framework of science at that time

Marie Curie's scientific research and discovery of radium in 1902, helped open the door to our modern nuclear age. AGes 6-9.

Provides a look at the lives of Orville and Wilbur Wright, as seen through the eyes of their younger sister, Katharine, who provided support and encouragement while they worked on their many inventions.

Sir Isaac Newton is one of history’s most renowned scientists. He independently developed the mathematical techniques known as Calculus, wrote a treatise on the properties of light and color that is still consulted by scientists, and worked out the mathematical details of the Law of Gravity. What is less well known is the depth of his Christian faith and the amount of writing, speaking, and research that he put into a defense of the tenets of Biblical theology. This book will make Newton come alive for its readers. From the detailed account of the events that led to his conversion, his Christian faith plays a central role in this biography, as it did in his life. Independent reading level is upper elementary (about 5-6th grade).

Before the word "dinosaur" was even coined, a young girl discovered a remarkable skeleton on the rocky beach at Lyme Regis in England. Thus began a lifelong passion for an extraordinary woman who became one of the first commercial fossil collectors. Born in 1799, Mary Anning spent a lifetime teaching herself about fossils and combing the rugged ribbon of shore near her home. Her work yielded an astounding treasure trove: fossils of long-extinct creatures that thrilled customers in her shop and excited early paleontologists. Blind to the dangers of fossil-hunting and to the limitations imposed on women of her era, Mary Anning was a singular scientist who used her sharp eyes and clear mind to compose a picture of ancient life from the bones she unearthed. With his trademark graceful prose and lyrical watercolors, Don Brown distills the life story of this rare treasure of a scientist.

Buzz Aldrin retraces the incredible journey that led him to the Moon!

It didn't begin when I stepped on board Apollo 11 on July 16, 1969. It began the day I was born – Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr., whom everyone called Buzz. Becoming an astronaut took more than education, discipline, and physical strength. It took years of determination and believing that any goal is possible – from riding a bike alone across the George Washington Bridge at age ten to making a footprint on the Moon.

I always knew the Moon was within my reach – and that I was ready to be part of the team that would achieve the first landing. But it was still hard to believe when I took my first step onto the Moon's surface. We all have our own dreams – this is the story of how mine came true. Ages 6+

Sigmund Freud (or "my golden Siggy" as Mama Freud called him) wanted to be "great," "famous"—someone whose statue would stand prominently in parks. And famous he certainly became. But does he qualify as a "Giant of Science"? Kathleen Krull proves Freud deserves a place in her much-lauded series, for essentially creating a brand-new branch of medicine— psychoanalysis—and a whole new vocabulary to go with it. Before Freud, nobody discussed "unconscious" motives, Oedipal complexes, the id and the ego, or Freudian slips. Krull explains Freud and his still-controversial ideas within the context of his time, presenting a fascinating picture of a complicated, often irascible man, as well as the world of 19th-century Vienna where psychoanalysis or "talk therapy" first took root.

Level 3: Reading alone

People have always wanted to fly like birds. Not until the experiments of Orville and Wilbur Wright in the early 1900s did it really happen. They tried and tried, until one day their flying machine lifted them up and away...into history, and so modern flight was born. Read the true story of how it really happened!

"For some years I have been afflicted with the belief that flight is possible to man. My disease has increased in severity and I feel that it will soon cost me an increased amount of money if not my life."

So wrote a quiet young Ohioan in 1900, one in an ancient line of men who had wanted to fly -- men who wanted it passionately, fecklessly, hopelessly. But now, at the turn of the twentieth century, Wilbur Wright and a scattered handful of other adventurers conceived a conviction that the dream lay at last within reach, and in a headlong race across ten years and two continents, they competed to conquer the air. James Tobin, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award in biography, has at last given this inspiring story its definitive telling. For years Wright and his younger brother, Orville, experimented in utter obscurity, supported only by their exceptional family. Meanwhile, the world watched as the imperious Samuel Langley, armed with a rich contract from the U.S. War Department and all the resources of the Smithsonian Institution, sought to scale up his unmanned models to create the first manned flying machine. But while Langley became obsessed with flight as a problem of power, the Wrights grappled with it as a problem of balance. Thus their machines took two very different paths -- his toward oblivion, theirs toward the heavens.

As Tobin relates, the Wrights' 1903 triumph at Kitty Hawk, however hallowed in American lore, was ill-reported and disbelieved. So, while the two brothers struggled to transform their delicate contraption into a practical airplane, others moved to overtake them as the leading pioneers of flight. In France, rivals scoffed at the Wrights even as they rushed to imitate them. At home, the great inventor Alexander Graham Bell seized the fallen banner of his friend Langley and thrust it into the hands of a circle of young daredevils, urging them to get into the air. From this group emerged the motorcyclist Glenn Curtiss, fastest man in the world, whose aerial challenge to Wilbur Wright culminated in an unforgettable showdown over New York harbor.

To Conquer the Air is a hero's tale of overcoming obstacles within and without that plumbs the depths of creativity and character. With a historian's accuracy and a novelist's eye, Tobin has captured the interplay of remarkable personalities at an extraordinary moment in our history. In the centennial year of human flight, To Conquer the Air is itself a heroic achievement.

Orville and Wilbur Wright were a fascinating pair. Not only did they invent, build, and fly the first airplane, they were also idiosyncratic individuals who had a unique relationship, sharing a home, a bank account, and a business throughout their lives. Their story is portrayed here in brief, accessible chapters, beginning with their childhood fascination with flight and love of problem solving, then detailing their early experiments and dangerous trial runs in North Carolina, and ending with their successful flights of 1903. This well-researched and personable biography is illustrated with elegant watercolors by flight enthusiast and noted artist Robert Andrew Parker, and will be published just in time for the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers’ first flight. Timeline, endnotes, bibliography.

Amazon.com's Best of 2001
Oliver Sacks's luminous memoir charts the growth of a mind. Born in 1933 into a family of formidably intelligent London Jews, he discovered the wonders of the physical sciences early from his parents and their flock of brilliant siblings, most notably "Uncle Tungsten" (real name, Dave), who "manufactured lightbulbs with filaments of fine tungsten wire." Metals were the substances that first attracted young Oliver, and his descriptions of their colors, textures, and properties are as sensuous and romantic as an art lover's rhapsodies over an Old Master. Seamlessly interwoven with his personal recollections is a masterful survey of scientific history, with emphasis on the great chemists like Robert Boyle, Antoine Lavoisier, and Humphry Davy (Sacks's personal hero). Yet this is not a dry intellectual autobiography; his parents in particular, both doctors, are vividly sketched. His sociable father loved house calls and "was drawn to medicine because its practice was central in human society," while his shy mother "had an intense feeling for structure ... for her [medicine] was part of natural history and biology." For young Oliver, unhappy at the brutal boarding school he was sent to during the war, and afraid that he would become mentally ill like his older brother, chemistry was a refuge in an uncertain world. He would outgrow his passion for metals and become a neurologist, but as readers of Awakenings and The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat know, he would never leave behind his conviction that science is a profoundly human endeavor. --Wendy Smith

Focuses on the childhood of the Wright Brothers and the inventiveness they displayed from their earliest days.

This activity book tells the amazing true story of how two bicycle-making brothers from Ohio, with no more than high-school educations, accomplished a feat that forever changed the world. At a time when most people still hadn't ridden in an automobile, Wilbur and Orville Wright built the first powered, heavier-than-air flying machine. Woven throughout the heartwarming story of the two brothers are activities that highlight their ingenuity and problem-solving abilities as they overcame many obstacles to achieve controlled flight. The four forces of flight-lift, thrust, gravity, and drag-and how the Wright brothers mastered them are explained in clear, simple text. Activities include making a Chinese flying top, building a kite, bird watching, and designing a paper glider, and culminate with an activity in which readers build a rubber-band-powered flyer. Included are photographs just released from the Wright brothers' personal collection, along with diagrams and illustrations. The history of human flight and its pioneers, a time line, and a complete resource section for students are also provided.

The first powered, sustained, and controlled airplane flight, and the men behind it. A Newbery Honor Book.

Young Orville and Wilbur Wright loved building things. From the fastest sled in town to the highest-flying kite, the Wright brothers’ creations were always a step ahead of everyone else’s. They grew up learning all about mechanics from fixing bicycles and studied math and physics. On December 17, 1903, Orville took off in the world’s first flying machine! The Wright airplane is one of the most amazing–and life-changing–