biography – Page 2 – Scott J. Pearson’s Book Review

The Doctors Blackwell: How Two Pioneering Sisters Brought Medicine to Women and Women to Medicine

By Scott J. Pearson | September 21, 2020September 22, 2020 by Scott J. Pearson

Elizabeth Blackwell, MD, is well known as the first woman doctor in America. Less well known is her sister Emily in becoming a physician. Emily followed Elizabeth’s path through the hardships of initially not receiving a degree despite doing the work. They co-founded a women’s hospital in New York City along with a women’s medical college. Today, around half of all medical students are female. Their careers are the Blackwell sisters’ legacies. Florence Nightingale saw…

His Truth is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope

By Scott J. Pearson | September 6, 2020September 24, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

The recently deceased congressman John Lewis has been a public light to the United States for over fifty years. Nicknamed “the conscience of Congress,” he courageously campaigned for civil rights since a college student in Nashville. The author Jon Meacham, surely one of America’s greatest biographers, writes this history of Lewis’ doings in the 1960s. With extreme acuity, gravity, and imagery, he captures what the civil rights movement resembled on the inside. In so doing,…

Biography-Memoir History Religion-Philosophy

Sinner Saint: A Novel of Francis of Assisi

By Scott J. Pearson | September 5, 2020September 5, 2020 by Scott J. Pearson

The twelfth-century monk Francis of Assisi lived one of the most interesting and impactful lives in the history of Christianity. In this novel, Price tells the story of his life using the techniques of historical fiction to bring out Francis’ illustrious personality. Francis attempted to bring out Gospel living in an age of church hypocrisy. In so doing, he shares a tale with us all that lifts our spirit and inspires readers to excel in…

Biography-Memoir History Leadership Society

Grant by Ron Chernow

By Scott J. Pearson | May 25, 2020September 24, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

This Memorial Day is appropriate to celebrate one of our nation’s forgotten saviors. Although Lincoln is often credited with guiding the nation’s rebirth by preserving the Union, none of this would have happened without Ulysses S. Grant’s leadership. Still, Grant is often denigrated as an inept drunk and a butcher of soldiers. This view simply was not shared among his contemporaries who viewed his grace in Confederate surrender at Appomattox Courthouse as foundational in national…

Biography-Memoir Poetry Writing-Communication

T.S. Eliot: A Life by Peter Ackroyd

By Scott J. Pearson | January 26, 2020January 26, 2020 by Scott J. Pearson

T.S. Eliot was one of the great poets in the English language during the twentieth century. He grew up in St. Louis and after graduating from college, moved to England. He loved his new country so much that he eventually became a subject of the English king. He wrote noted poems and plays over his lifespan. He also worked as a banker and as an editor for a publishing firm. The author of this biography…

Biography-Memoir History

Leonardo da Vinci

By Scott J. Pearson | November 23, 2019November 23, 2019 by Scott J. Pearson

With biographies of Steve Jobs, Einstein, and now Leonardo, Walter Isaacson has become America’s foremost biographer of intellectuals. In this work, which tracks the prodigious creative output of a genius, Isaacson tries to piece together a narrative from a series of artistic, scientific, and engineering feats and, of course, from Leonardo’s own diaries. That is a difficult chore to achieve about a man from over 500 years ago. It’s even more difficult to think that…

Biography-Memoir History

Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom

By Scott J. Pearson | October 18, 2019October 18, 2019 by Scott J. Pearson

Why should one read this almost 900-page biography of this American hero? Douglass penned several autobiographies of his own. Why is this work needed and important enough to be read in its entirety? First, the writing and depth of research are marvelous. Blight considers and presents detailed arguments about the finer points of Douglass’ life. Each chapter is replete with scores of endnotes for further reading. Second, the topic is timely, especially to America. Race…

Biography-Memoir History

41: A Portrait of My Father

By Scott J. Pearson | August 25, 2019October 11, 2019 by Scott J. Pearson

The notion of this book is very interesting. A Presidential biography written by a fellow President who is also a son. Parallels to the Adams family abound. George Bush the Elder, possessing a lifetime of experience in government, is like John Adams, also a one-term President. George W. Bush and John Quincy Adams are both sons who became President. Both sons had shortcomings which can be linked to their elite birth. Both sons knew how…

Biography-Memoir

One Matchless Time: A Life of William Faulkner

By Scott J. Pearson | August 19, 2019October 11, 2019 by Scott J. Pearson

The name William Faulkner evokes a great deal of respect (and perhaps fear) from readers. He is known for long sentences that span more than one page. He is inescapably deep – an abyss. He sees into the Southern American male experience as no other and draws out truths that apply to all of humanity. His allure extends from the South into New England, across the Atlantic to France and down the isthmus to Latin…

Biography-Memoir Writing-Communication

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

By Scott J. Pearson | August 15, 2019October 11, 2019 by Scott J. Pearson

Stephen King is one of the most best-selling writers of all-time. In this book, which I read in a tenth-anniversary edition, King shares his insights into the process and lifestyle of writing. Obviously, these insights are of interest to writers who seek to improve their craft. Although I still prefer Strunk and White’s classic more than King’s, I am quite grateful to have spent the time to read this classic. Strunk and White harp on…