Eric Hoffer 2017 Award-Winning Book

"With superb focus, clarity and organization, Ford pinpoints these

pivotal moments in the lives of seventeen 20th century people,

selected by their universally acknowledged benefit to humanity.

Sports figures and celebrities have no place in this slim volume of

inspirational lives. Nevertheless, young readers will be captivated

by the fact that childhood is the fertile ground where seeds of

greatness are planted. For the Wright brothers, the call was a

childhood book about birds. John F. Kennedy was called to politics

when his older brother, Joe, died. Neil Armstrong knew at age five

that he would fly, dreaming of floating above the ground by simply

holding his breath. 

Young, Internet-raised readers will like the rich abridgement of complicated lives into tasty high-calorie—not empty calorie—nuggets. The “Notable Facts” sections at the end of each chapter

would make excellent reviews for either Jeopardy contestants or

its question writers. (Famous 20th century saint whose father was

poisoned. Who is Mother Teresa?) Chapters flow in easily

absorbed linear and straightforward fashion that deliver the

nucleus of each person’s greatness.

These biographies, organized by occupation, represent thorough

research (see the “Recommended Reading” sections) and

considerable insight to recognize the life-changing event. Ford

inspires by saying that we too can be “called” just by listening to

the music inside us. If a writer is a skilled servant of words who

enables the rest of the world to share others’ greatness, then Ford

is an exceptional servant, wrapping great lives in an alluring

package with this slim volume of seventeen biographies."

- Priscilla Estes, book reviewer from the U.S. Review of Books

“At three years old, Ralph Waldo was a slow reader and didn’t

enjoy learning. Perhaps he didn’t like reciting facts from memory.

He did like blowing bubbles from soap and water with a pipe.”

Most American high school students are required to read a few

pithy selections from Ralph Waldo Emerson. Usually they are

paired with works by his young protégé Henry Thoreau, and often

readers come away with the impression that while the mentor was

rather aloof and stodgy his more free-spirited disciple was “pretty

cool.” But there was much more to Emerson than what is revealed

in his writings, a fact which the author aptly illustrates in her new

biography of one of the nation’s most famous thinkers.

Ford begins her book with a brief look backward at Emerson’s

ancestors in Concord to help describe the environment he was

growing up in. She then goes on to detail in a few short chapters

the life, loves, friendships, and painful losses he experienced as he

journeys from relative obscurity to national prominence. One of the

more interesting parts deals with his interaction with Abraham

Lincoln and how Emerson’s own hatred of slavery possibly helped

influence the President to take a stand with the Emancipation

Proclamation of January 1, 1863.

The author has geared her book for young adults but it should also

appeal to older audiences. Her prose is straightforward and

informative yet engaging enough to keep the reader’s interest.

Possibly the greatest gift this book brings to the study of Emerson

is that it doesn’t so much focus on his writings, as so many other

studies about him do, but instead shows us the man. She has

taken the cold statue of the philosopher from the ivory tower

contemporary thinking has placed him in and transformed him into

flesh and blood."

- John E. Roper, book reviewer from the U.S. Review of Books