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Undisputed: A Champion's Life
By Donovan Bailey. 2023
A memoir of Olympic glory, the value of mentorship and the courage to champion your own excellence, from the long-reigning…
world's fastest man, Canadian sprinting legend Donovan Bailey.From the lush fields of his boyhood in Jamaica, to the basketball courts of Oakville, where he came of age in one of Canada’s most thriving cultural mosaics, to his sprint toward double Olympic gold for Canada in Atlanta in 1996, Donovan Bailey got a long way on natural talent. But he also learned that in the bureaucratic world of Canadian sports, an athlete who didn't come up in the system needed to take charge of his fate if he was going to become the world’s best. As he ascended from outsider to dominant athlete, others didn’t always understand the rigour at work behind Bailey’s confident demeanour. He’d learned from watching Muhammad Ali that a champion needed to act like a champion. But media grew fixated on the sprinter’s immodesty, the likes of which they never saw from Canadian athletes, especially track athletes in the wake of the Ben Johnson doping scandal at Seoul in 1988. Bailey was having none of it, and when he called out Canada's subtle racism and contradicted the prevailing idea most Canadians had of their country, he left in his wake a media uproar and cracked wide open the nation’s moral complacency. In addition to his unforgettable 100-metre and 4x100 relay gold-medal sprints in Atlanta, Bailey's track career was a litany of records and rare accomplishments, including his audacious 1997 race in Toronto's SkyDome against American 200-metre Olympic champion Michael Johnson to determine who was really the world’s fastest man. There was no disputing the result. Bailey had been coached in success before he was seriously coached in athletics. Following the lead of his father, a machinist-turned-real estate investor, Bailey became a millionaire by the age of 21, an experience he continues to draw on as an entrepreneur and philanthropist. Frank about his dominance on the track and unapologetic for expecting as much of those around him as he expects of himself, Undisputed is an athlete's story that refuses to settle for second best.All in a drop: how Antony van Leeuwenhoek discovered an invisible world
By Lori Alexander. 2019
Biography of the self-taught scientist known as the father of microbiology. By building his own microscope, Leeuwenhoek advanced humanity's understanding…
of the oft-invisible world around us. Explains that microbes are everywhere: in the soil and oceans, in snow, and inside our bodies. For grades 3-6.The difference engine: Charles Babbage and the quest to build the first computer
By Doron Swade. 2000
London Science Museum director describes the efforts of British mathematician/inventor Charles Babbage (1791-1871) to construct a calculating machine for use…
in navigation, science, engineering, and banking. Chronicles not only his life and times but also the latter-day building of the first working Babbage engine--in time to celebrate his bicentenary. 2000The emperor of scent: a story of perfume, obsession, and the last mystery of the senses
By Chandler Burr. 2002
Explains that Italian scientist Luca Turin's obsession with scent led to his groundbreaking research, developing a new theory of smell,…
in the 1990s. Burr explains the molecular biology behind Turin's discoveries and explores the response of the private sector, perfume industry, and scientific community. 2002On the mound with-- Curt Schilling (Matt Christopher)
By Matt Christopher, Glenn Stout. 2004
Biography of Curt Schilling, the star pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Details his career from school days and the minor…
leagues to a series of teams in the majors, where he learned to work hard to perfect his game. For grades 4-7. 2004Isaac Newton: Die Biografie
By James Gleick. 2003
Author of Genius (RC 36181) crafts a biography of scientific great Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727), highlighting his accomplishments in physics,…
optics, and mathematics. Uses original quotations to describe Newton's invention of calculus and other breakthroughs--including the laws of motion, which led to the shift from a mystical to a rationalist worldview in European science. 2003Ten rings: my championship seasons
By Yogi Berra, Dave Kaplan. 2003
Autobiography by baseball Hall of Fame catcher highlighting his ten championship seasons with the New York Yankees between 1947 and…
1962. Recalls the "golden years" of baseball, his famous contemporaries, and rival teams and relates how the game has changed since the 1950s. 2003How to win the Nobel Prize: an unexpected life in science (Jerusalem-Harvard lectures)
By J. Michael Bishop. 2003
Memoir of Nobel Prize-winning microbiologist. Bishop reflects modestly on his journey to success, from his childhood in rural Pennsylvania to…
his studies at Harvard Medical School and the cancer cell research for which he was recognized in 1989. Also provides background on the prize, the field of microbiology, and modern scientific controversies. 2003Bryson City tales: stories of a doctor's first year of practice in the Smoky Mountains
By Walter L Larimore. 2002
Chronicles a young doctor's passage from Duke University to rural North Carolina, where he establishes a practice, raises his family,…
and expands his spirituality and human understanding. As an emergency physician, coroner, obstetrician, and wilderness search-and-rescue doctor he is shaped in medicine and reinforces his faith. 2002Audubon: the making of an American
By Richard Rhodes. 2004
Biography of the Frenchman who came to America in 1803 at age eighteen determined to paint birds realistically. Discusses his…
marriage and struggle to support his family while pursuing his goal. Records his adventures in the wilderness, evolution as an artist, and eventual publishing success. 2004Obsessive genius: the inner world of Marie Curie
By Barbara Goldsmith. 2005
Account of Marie Curie (1867-1934), the first woman to become a professor at the Sorbonne, and the first woman to…
receive two Nobel Prizes. Using family documents, Goldsmith compares Curie's roles of scientist, wife, and mother, focusing on the social and economic hurdles she had to overcome. 2005Splendid solution: Jonas Salk and the conquest of polio
By Jeffrey Kluger. 2004
This history of the 1950s battle to develop a polio vaccine focuses on Jonas Salk's successful dead-virus inoculation. Discusses social…
effects of infantile paralysis from 1916 to mid century, the controversy over live-virus vaccines, Walter Winchell's public denouncement of Dr. Salk, and Salk's 1954 vindication. 2004A sense of the mysterious: science and the human spirit
By Alan P Lightman. 2005
Essays exploring the emotional life of science by physicist and author of The Diagnosis (BR 13414) and Reunion (BR 15284).…
Reflects on his own scientific journey and his struggles to reconcile the working universe with humanity and truth. Incorporates portraits of influential figures including Albert Einstein and Vera Rubin. 2005Muhammad Ali: Legends In Sports (Legends in sports)
By Glenn Stout. 2005
Biography of the boxer who won the heavyweight world championship in 1964. Relates his subsequent conversion to the Nation of…
Islam and name change from Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali. Discusses his career and reasons for retirement. For grades 4-7. 2005On the bike with-- Lance Armstrong
By Glenn Stout. 2003
Biography of the world-champion cyclist from Texas. Covers his childhood love for bicycles and the battle with cancer that interrupted…
his racing career. Discusses his achievements and inspirational celebrity as an Olympic medalist and a repeat winner of the Tour de France. For grades 4-7. 2003Babe Ruth: Legends In Sports (Matt Christopher)
By Glenn Stout. 2005
Biography of one of the first players to be elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, George Herman "Babe"…
Ruth (1895-1948). Discusses his childhood delinquency, his professional career with the New York Yankees, and his home-run and pitching records. For grades 4-7. 2005Behind the desk with-- Matt Christopher: the #1 sportswriter for kids
By Dale Christopher. 2004
Biography of the author of more than 120 stories about kids and their favorite sports, written by his son. Describes…
how Matt combined his love of baseball and passion for writing in a prolific career. Includes background information about his family and influences on his books. For grades 4-7. 2004On the court with-- Yao Ming
By Glenn Stout. 2004
Biography of the popular seven feet five inches tall basketball player from China. Discusses Ming's upbringing in Shanghai, his sports…
career, and his adjustment to living in the United States for the 2002-2003 season. For grades 4-7. 2004Maimonides (Jewish Encounters Ser.)
By Sherwin B Nuland. 2005
Award-winning author of How We Die (BR 9461) offers an introductory portrait of Rabbi Moses ben Maimon (1135-1204), Spanish-born Jewish…
philosopher and physician. Explores Maimonides' life and work in religious and medical fields, including his treatise The Guide for the Perplexed, which attempted to reconcile science and faith. 2005Einstein's heroes: imagining the world through the language of mathematics
By Robyn Arianrhod. 2005
Combines history, biography, and science to portray the ways in which Einstein's respect for Isaac Newton, Michael Faraday, and James…
Clerk Maxwell helped formulate his theories of relativity. Discusses Maxwell's equations for electricity and magnetism and the relevance of mathematics in building models of physical discovery. 2005