Distinguished African Americans in Aviation and Space Science: [Hardcover]

Betty Kaplan Gubert (Author), Miriam Sawyer (Author), Caroline M. Fannin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 30, 2001 | ISBN-10: 1573562467 | ISBN-13: 978-1573562461

Distinguished African Americans in Aviation and Space Science offers brief, readable entries that describe the lives and careers of 80 men and 20 women who defied poverty and prejudice to excel in the fields of aviation and space exploration. Each essay begins with birth and death dates, educational institutions attended and degrees earned, positions held, and awards won. A short summary of the individual's contribution to aviation or space science is followed by a biographical narrative divided into three sections: Early Years, Higher Education, and Career Highlights. Often based on the authors' correspondence with the subjects themselves, or with family members, this illustrated volume provides the fullest and most accessible biographical information available for many of these figures.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Every year Black History Month brings the onslaught of requests for biographies of civil rights leaders. Library shelves are quickly depleted, and customers are disappointed when all the material on Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and Harriet Tubman is gone. The accomplishments of these figures are indeed significant, but what a shame that so many other lesser-known African Americans who faced similar obstacles with courage and determination go unknown.

In this title, the third in the Distinguished African Americans Series, the biographies of 80 men and 20 women are recorded. The lives cover 80 years of the twentieth century. There is Eugene Bullard, born in 1895, who flew for the French in World War I, and astronaut Robert Curbeam, born in 1962. The women, too, span the century, from Bessie Coleman, the first black woman to earn a pilot's license, to Apprille Ericsson-Jackson, a NASA aerospace engineer born in 1963.

The stories of their lives have been culled from articles, interviews and research. These sources lend a lively "in-the-moment" tone to the narrative and bring the accomplishments of the biographees into sharp focus.

Each entry gives basic biographical information in the form of a brief summary paragraph highlighting the significance of the person's accomplishments. The essay-length biography discusses childhood, education, and career. A list of sources follows each entry, and a bibliography is included at the end of the book. Some entries are accompanied by photographs. The Internet offers numerous links to African American aviation pioneer sites, and it is hoped that these will be included when the book is updated.

Public and school libraries should not hesitate to add this title to their collections and to suggest to young customers that as important as the civil rights figures are, there are other African Americans who have made history. RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"Librarians Gubert, Sawyer, and Fannin contribute the first biographical dictionary of African Americans in aviation and space science to Oryx's "Distinguished African American Series..,."Highly recommended for all libraries; a great desk reference for individual in aviation and aeronautics."-CHOICE

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Greenwood (October 30, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1573562467
• ISBN-13: 978-1573562461
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #254,169 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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