Dignifying Science: Stories About Women Scientists [Paperback]

Jim Ottaviani (Author), Donna Barr (Author), Mary Fleener (Author), Ramona Fradon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2003

This original graphic novel features famous women scientists including Marie Curie, Emmy Noether, Lise Meitner, Rosalind Franklin, Barbara McClintock, Birute Galdikas, and Hedy Lamarr. The stories offer a human context often missing when we learn about the discoveries attached to these scientists' names. Readers, drawn in by the compelling anecdotes, will discover intriguing characters. End notes and references will lead them to further information on the scientists they've read about.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A collection of women-drawn comics profiling women scientists should be a great way to celebrate unknown and underappreciated female professionals and inspire young women to go into the scientific fields. But this collection almost entirely misses the mark, failing to tell clear, interesting stories or to impart much useful information about the remarkable scientists it covers. The fault lies in Ottaviani's writing and organization, not in the skillfully executed black and white illustrations. The profiles--of Lise Meitner, Rosalind Franklin, Barbara McClintock, Marie Skladovska, Hedy Lamarr (yes, the actress) and Birute Galdikas--unfold almost entirely through dialogue. Secondary figures are introduced without historical context or explanation of their relationship to the main character. Even the unusual profile of movie star/inventor Lamarr is bewildering (who exactly is Gene Markey?). Ottaviani provides an appendix with panel by panel notes offering historical and biographical context, but the reader will tire of flipping from comics to notes and back again. Both the narrative and notes jump into scientific terminology without sufficient plainspoken explanations. The book leaves one longing for what it originally promised: biographical sketches of significant women's scientific accomplishments in comics form, presented in a manner that the dame on the street can understand. (Jan.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

It's so good, and remarkable how it got so much material across for each woman, so effectively. -- Ruth Lewin Sime, author of Lise Meitner: A Life in Physics

Jim Ottaviani’s comic books do an excellent job of telling scientific stories in a fun and absorbing way. -- Simon Singh, author of The Code Book and Fermat's Enigma

The difficulties faced by women in science come brilliantly to life in this hugely enjoyable book. -- Physics World

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: G.T. Labs; 2nd edition (April 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966010647
• ISBN-13: 978-0966010640
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 6.8 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #961,948 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jim Ottaviani has worked in news agencies and golf courses in the Chicago area, nuclear reactors in the U.S. and Japan, and libraries in Michigan. He still works as a librarian by day, but stays up late writing comics about scientists. When he's not doing these things, he's spraining his ankles and flattening his feet by running on trails. Or he's reading. He reads a lot. Elsewhere on the web you can find him at www.gt-labs.com .

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enlightening Reading, December 1, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Ann Arbor, MI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dignifying Science (Paperback)

Ottaviani's DIGNIFYING SCIENCE is a well illustrated and well written work. It does what a lot of good nonfiction has done recently - it focuses on those often forgotten people and events that were important and influential on the better known ideas and forces that shape our world today. In this instance, Ottaviani has centered his attention on women scientists, inventors and researchers who discovered, researched, and supported major scientific achievements in the last century. He and the women artists who illustrate the book do a superb job of introducing us to the contributions of these people who we never knew or knew little, but to whom we owe a collective, and enormous, debt.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mostly solid facts, comic book format, August 31, 2000

By 

Jane Burch-Pesses (hillsboro, or USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dignifying Science (Paperback)

A single writer partnered with 12 different artists in stories about 6 different women scientists. Some stories obviously succeed better than others.

For young people who like graphic novels and have some interest in science, I recommend it highly. But as a women's history buff and a comic book fan I find it a little disappointing. The comic format is ideal for high drama stories but is not always used at it's full potential here.

For example, in the life of Barbara McClintock, two pages cover the time period from 1951 to 1983. They show her lecturing to men in business suits with their hands over their ears. The crowd thins out in the 60's and then begins to swell with more casually dressed people, both male and female, who don't have their hands over their ears. Then she gets the Nobel prize. The faces in the crowds are consistently expressionless. I think this misses the real drama of McClintock's life. She was so brilliant that her theory was not understood when she first presented it. She chose to continue her research even when it was not reaching a receptive audience and because she documented it for decades, when other researchers later repeated her experiments and discovered her documentation, she received the recognition she deserved.

This was seldom the case with earlier women scientists, for example, Rosalind Franklin. Franklin's fascinating story, unfortunately, is difficult to follow through time and four different artists' styles.

And, in an interesting bit of reverse sexism, Birute Galdikas' story is told without once mentioning (or picturing) her first husband who worked beside her daily for 20 years. OK, so her whole life story had to be told in only 21 pages, but the ghosts of all the women scientists whose husbands' got credit for all their work recognize a kindred spirit when they see one.

In a format that's known for pounding points home, the drama here is often implied and understated. Perhaps less would be missed if the format was full color instead of black and white. Better yet, read some biographies of these women and discuss with your children how you would tell their stories to preserve the real drama.

This is a good introduction to some fascinating women for those who like the graphic novel format. Use it as a starting point.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great place to start, May 9, 2011

By 

Anne-Marie Scholer (Endicott College) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dignifying Science: Stories About Women Scientists (Paperback)

As someone who has taught a college course on women in science several times, I have found this book a nice switch from all of the more ponderous (and sometimes depressing) sources that I use--and yes, I do assign one reading from it. Is the book perfect? No. But I don't find much perfect on this planet.
The story-telling is good, the art is compelling, and a curious person can use the internet or a library if they want to find out more about any of the stories.
I personally found the use of multiple artists for Rosalind Franklin's segment to be rather brilliant, given that she herself was not able to tell her own story. Everything we know about her is from her colleagues or her family, since she died so young. And of course James Watson's hatchet job on her in 'The Double Helix' is often the first contact that many have with a very vibrant woman and excellent scientist. I found the art reflected the varied portrayals quite nicely.