The title serves as a content descriptor. The biographies are short, typically a dozen pages. It seems to be a primer for those just starting to look at history. The subtitle states, “Twenty life stories of outstanding American men and women in the arts, sciences and public life.” Given the space, time of writing and intended audience, one should not expect anything in-depth about the number of subjects chosen or revealing anything beyond a cursory look at each of them. Despite this limited approach, the book is quite helpful at introducing some of the people I personally know little to nothing about.
Some of the chapters seem to be adapted by the various authors from large historical books they’ve published, or perhaps a periodical piece on the same topic. The editor chose different historians for each chapter. Those authors selected are clearly experts on the individual the personal biographical sketches introduce. To wet the curiosity of a potential scholar, the list of subjects include: Roger Williams, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Paul Revere, Daniel Webster, Washington Irving, Stephen Foster, Louis Agassiz, Emily Dickenson, Mark Twain, Thomas Edison, Charles Townsend Copeland, Grant Wood, Carl Sandburg, the Wright Brothers, Marian Anderson, Agnes de Mille, Andrew Carnegie, Henry Thoreau.
If you are like me, you’ve heard of most, but all, of these. Like me, you likely have varying familiarity with either their myth or perhaps have read some of their created works. Despite that, I for one managed to pick up some insights on even those I felt quite familiar with. One potential outcome of a biographical skim like this one is the reader may become more interested in one or more of the people highlighted. That interest could lead the reader down a deeper study, but the shallow pieces in the work can also keep the exploratory investment small.
Some of the chapters seem to be adapted by the various authors from large historical books they’ve published, or perhaps a periodical piece on the same topic. The editor chose different historians for each chapter. Those authors selected are clearly experts on the individual the personal biographical sketches introduce. To wet the curiosity of a potential scholar, the list of subjects include: Roger Williams, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Paul Revere, Daniel Webster, Washington Irving, Stephen Foster, Louis Agassiz, Emily Dickenson, Mark Twain, Thomas Edison, Charles Townsend Copeland, Grant Wood, Carl Sandburg, the Wright Brothers, Marian Anderson, Agnes de Mille, Andrew Carnegie, Henry Thoreau.
If you are like me, you’ve heard of most, but all, of these. Like me, you likely have varying familiarity with either their myth or perhaps have read some of their created works. Despite that, I for one managed to pick up some insights on even those I felt quite familiar with. One potential outcome of a biographical skim like this one is the reader may become more interested in one or more of the people highlighted. That interest could lead the reader down a deeper study, but the shallow pieces in the work can also keep the exploratory investment small.
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