Faces of Science: Portraits by Mariana Ruth Cook

by Gerard Piel

An intimate look at the people behind some of the great discoveries of our time.Here a renowned photographer turns her camera on some of the greatest men and women of the scientific community. The seventy-seven extraordinary portraits included in Faces of Science make their subjects accessible to us and less formidable than they may have seemed in the past. Each image is paired with a short autobiographical essay explaining how the scientist became interested in his or her chosen field. The combination of word and image illuminates the individual character of each scientist, from Francis Crick and Richard Leakey to Miriam Rothschild and Mary Eubanks. It also reveals some of what they have in intellectual curiosity, a desire to help mankind, and an ability to work with others to accomplish their tasks. Faces of Science is both an inspiration and a confirmation of the human spirit. 85 duotone photographs.

Genres: Science

Hardcover

First published September 12, 2005

About the author

Piel graduated from Harvard University with a bachelor of arts degree in 1937. He was the science editor of Life Magazine from 1939 to 1945. In 1946 and 1947, he worked at the Henry Kaiser Company as assistant to the president. In 1948, in association with two colleagues, he launched a new version of Scientific American, to promote science literacy for the general public in the postwar era. He held a number of honorary degrees and awards, including the UNESCO Kalinga Prize in 1962.

Reviews

[ateedub · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book features portraits of top scientists of the last half century - both photographs and essays. It's a wonderful record of many of the people who have made incredible contributions to modern human life, but are virtually unknown outside of their field, and certainly unknown outside of the scientific community.