Customer Reviews

Cradles of Eminence: Childhoods of More Than 700 Famous Men and Women

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In grad school, we used to say that a classic is a book that was written in a foreign language and that no one reads. "Cradles of Eminence" is a classic, but it's wonderful. And it's fun. It's even well written. Who would have guessed?

I picked up the new edition because I remember studying the findings in psych classes years ago and because my kids seem to be very bright (no comments about probable paternity, please).

The book is a hoot. Tale after tale of famous folks' childhoods: enough anecdotes to keep one appearing brilliant for a thousand dinner parties. The analyses of what makes a great person great - the substance of the book's look at eminent people's childhoods - are well done (and the lessons of the book)...but they are no where as much fun as the stories and anecdotes. Great stuff on overprotective mothers (including Mao, FDR, Toulouse-Lautrec), hatred of school (almost all), love of learning (most), etc.

For what it's worth, the updates from relatives of the original authors is worthwhile (from a son and a neice -- makes sense given the book's topic: Yes?). I mean who wants to only know about Edison's, Twain's or Tolstoi's upbringing when you can also have juicy bits about the early homes of Oprah, George W, and Hillary.

I guess I could use the analyses of how to raise extraordinary kids...OK, more correctly, analyses of how extraordinary people were raised. In my next life, I'll read more to my kids, make sure their mother is constantly supportive and praising, discuss important political and social stuff at the dinner table, etc. I know I'm doing well on one count: My kids parents are strongly opinionated. That's one of the characteristics of parents of successful kids.

This book is a fascinating look at the family patterns of eminent individuals across many generations. I couldn't put it down. If you like biographies, this is the ultimate collection of interesting stories.

Also available in a hardcover edition (0910707561, $39.95), this newly published, updated, and expanded second edition of Ted Goertzel and Ariel Hanzen's Cradles Of Eminence: Childhoods Of More Than 700 Famous Men And Women features the childhood biographies of more than 700 outstanding personalities. These sketches of the formative years of distinguished individuals reveal amazing insights into factors that can contribute to greatness, particularly in todays demanding and ever-changing world. Fascinating to read in its own right, and a wealth of anecdotal information about the youthful struggles of truly remarkable people including Alfred Hitchcock, Oprah Winfrey, Helen Keller, The Dalai Lama, Pablo Picasso, and many more.

I expected to get excerpts from autobiographies of great people, drawing conclusions of common childhood traits shared by those greats.

Instead, you get a lot of narrative and a mention of a great person. Did not have an index to read a page about each of the greats.

Disappointing. I had hoped to use it to have my 12 year old son read about great people, those he could relate to in his likes/dislikes and type of learning styles.

My interest in this book stemmed from two inclinations: The desire to know the life stories of people who serve, in some respects, as role models and an interest in resilience as a life process. This text does not adequately paint the stories of eminent persons, leaving me wanting more details in order to understand their struggles and triumphs. The matter of resilience is also expressed meagerly and only in terms of the dynamics that did or did not facilitate it, leaving me wanting more in terms of how resiliency manifested in their lives. I wish I could get a refund but will probably donate it to the "exchange shelf" at my fellowship!

Goertzel and Goertzel did an incredible amount of research for this book and their findings are really incredible. Unfortunately, it is difficult to read. I was surprised by the organization. It is organized by experiences: Smothering Mothers, Failure-Prone Fathers, etc. Because they don't go into detail really on the lives of anyone, I often didn't know who they were talking about. I felt like because the people chosen were "eminent" that the authors assumed we would just know them by name. Or maybe we're not supposed to care about the individuals, but about their commonalities. Either way, it is not drawing me in.

I'm halfway through the book and I think I'll stop reading here. It's just too frustrating. I'd rather read biographies of individuals. Too bad, I really thought I'd enjoy this book.

A very good summary of many famous people. However, the book rarely goes into their lives in any depth, and seems sketchy. The original version was more helpful. But this revision is still useful. Just not as much.