rinabeana's comments (member since Jan 04, 2008)

rinabeana's comments from the Our History group.

I hadn't heard of these books, but they sound really good! Thanks for the rec.

Thanks for the LBJ rec. As a temporary Texan, I would like to read it. I've been to the ranch outside Johnson City, and the LBJ Library at UT, but I don't feel I know that much about him. I've added to my list, and hopefully I have a chance to read it before too long.

Surprisingly (though I'm a chemist), I haven't read that many scientific biographies, aside from Madame Curie and various of those involved with the space program. I actually very much want to read Nikola Tesla's autobiography.

I was reminded of this in another community, but I really loved Nancy Milford's biography of Edna St. Vincent Millay, Savage Beauty. It helps that ESVM is my favorite poet, but I think her story, as well as her poetry, is fascinating. I like Milford's bio better than Jean Gould's (The Poet and Her Book) and David Mark Epstein's (What Lips My Lips Have Kissed).

My favorite biography is Madame Curie, about Marie Curie, by her daughter Eve. I'm a chemist, but even if I wasn't, I think that Marie Curie would be one of my hero(in)es. In addition to her great contributions to science, she made great contributions to humanity. Her daughter Irene is also a Nobel Prize-winning scientist, but Eve is not a scientist and as a result the biography is not overly technical. There are certainly descriptions of Marie's work, but the story of her life is also fascinating. I can't recommend this bio highly enough!

One of my other interests is the space program, the Apollo program specifically. I've read a large number of autobiographies of those involved in the space program, as well as a couple biographies and other works of non-fiction.

I have a number of bios on my list of books to read, and I always love getting recs!