Anne McCaffrey: Science Fiction Storyteller (People to Know) [Library Binding]

Martha P. Trachtenberg (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 6-9-Anyone who reads McCaffrey's novels cannot help but be curious about what influenced her to create such wonderful worlds. Trachtenberg has the answers. In this biography of the first woman to win the Hugo Award, readers are given a tremendous amount of personal insight through quotations, black-and-white photographs, and remembrances from friends and family. McCaffrey began writing science fiction during a time when it was thought that women were unequipped to deal with science. Devoted to her craft, she took courses in physics and consulted with specialists to assure that her science was accurate. This brief, well-organized title will be popular with readers already familiar with her work, and it is sure to encourage those who are not to seek it out. Libraries that already own Todd McCaffrey's book about his mother, Dragonholder (Del Rey, 2001), will want to add this title to their collection as it provides some extra details.

Michele Capozzella, Chappaqua Public Library, NY

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 6-10. The author, a McCaffrey fan, had access to the very popular sf author, her three adult children, and some of her colleagues, which lends credibility to this account and helps give readers a sense of McCaffrey the person as well as McCaffrey the writer. Trachtenberg begins with McCaffrey's 1968 Hugo Award, a first for a woman, then backtracks to reveal the author's childhood, work in music and theater, marriage and divorce, move to Ireland, and prolific writing career, which took off after many rejection notices. A selected list of McCaffrey's works, a list of further reading, and Internet addresses round out this crisp, well-written entry in the People to Know series. Black-and-white photos. Sally Estes
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 11 and up
  
• Library Binding: 112 pages
• Publisher: Enslow Publishers (May 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0766011518
• ISBN-13: 978-0766011519
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,565,980 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Biography of a Great Author, July 19, 2001

By 

Cheryl Miller (Timonium, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Anne McCaffrey: Science Fiction Storyteller (People to Know) (Library Binding)

This is a well-researched detailed biography of the life of Anne McCaffrey, starting with her childhood and following the development of her writing career to the present. It does a good job of presenting the major events in McCaffrey's life and situating what novels she was working on at various times amongst those events. Included are quite a number of interesting photographs, a chronology, a partial list of McCaffrey's works, and sources for further reading including web sites. I really enjoyed reading this biography, and while I was already pretty well informed about McCaffrey's life I did learn new things from this book.

It should be noted that this book is part of series which is aimed at teens, and this is evident as the book stops to explain terms such as magna cum laude. But I think that McCaffrey fans of all ages will find it a very good read, just as they enjoy her own books that were aimed at a younger audience.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pleasant and Fun to Read, but Lacking Somehow, September 24, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Anne McCaffrey: Science Fiction Storyteller (People to Know) (Library Binding)

In the author's acknowledgements she thanks the people without whose help she would not have been able to write a book instead of a long essay. This book is chock full of interesting details and amusing anecdotes, but it reads like the long essay the author originally thought it to be. It is short and very light on description. Some interesting subjects are mentioned but only briefly. Very little was expanded on in a way commensurate with the volume of her subject's life works. In a biography, I like to learn more about the subject's personality. I was fortunate enough to meet Anne McCaffrey once and would have loved to be in a position to get to know her better (once I got over being in awe of her imagination). In a nutshell, this little tome is a gem for die-hard fans; an absolute must have, to round out any McCaffrey collection. It would not do much to entice an unfamiliar reader to read Anne's marvelous works.