So ... my suggestions are ...
Maybe because it's almost Columbus Day, my thoughts went first to Christopher Columbus. Though we did not discuss him specifically, he certainly falls into the time era that we are looking at!
#1 - Christopher Columbus counted on finding gold and spices when he set sail to discover a new route to the Indies, but all he got was parrots, naked natives in grass huts, and mosquito bites. But that didn't stop him from making more trips across the sea. What he never expected was that he'd discover a whole new world. Jean Fritz makes history accessible once more in this wry biography of a legendary explorer.
The first time I read "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch", I was so fascinated by it, I borrowed my submariner-neighbor's 'Bowditch' (a huge reference book that the Navy still uses today!) It was awesome!
#2 - Readers today are still fascinated by "Nat," an eighteenth-century nautical wonder and mathematical wizard. Nathaniel Bowditch grew up in a sailor"s world—Salem in the early days, when tall-masted ships from foreign ports crowded the wharves. But Nat didn't promise to have the makings of a sailor; he was too physically small. Nat may have been slight of build, but no one guessed that he had the persistence and determination to master sea navigation in the days when men sailed only by "log, lead, and lookout." Nat"s long hours of study and observation, collected in his famous work, The American Practical Navigator (also known as the "Sailors" Bible"), stunned the sailing community and made him a New England hero.
I love these really old biographies...
#3 - Copyrite in 1963, this is a part of the Pathfinder Biographies published by the Praeger Publishers in New York. This book begins in the boyhood of Francis Bacon, takes you through his years at Cambridge and Paris, in Parliament, and his work through to "The Harvest of the Last Five Years". Written as a children's book, this historical book has sufficient fact to have an index at the back of the book!
and now for some newer copyrites:
This book about Gutenberg actually begins with printing in China and Korea, and explains how Gutenberg's books were different.
#4 - While the title indicates that this offering is about Gutenberg, an equal amount of space is allotted to the history of printing, beginning with Chinese papermaking and block-printing and the Korean invention of movable metal type. Koscielniak explains how books were handmade and individually penned to order in 15th-century Europe and presents detailed information about bookbinding, from preparing the vellum to illuminating, assembling, trimming, and decorating the volumes. After this overview, Gutenberg's revolutionary idea for a printing press is introduced and the printer's successes and difficulties are recounted. Written in a straightforward style, the text is filled with facts. Lively line drawings with loose watercolor washes cover double-page spreads. Illustrations of people with short legs and extremely long arms give the artwork a cartoonlike appearance, adding detail and humor to the text.
Since we looked at The Illustrated Longitude: The True Story of the Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time, I figured that this book would be an interesting follow-up:
#5 - In 1707, after nearly 2000 sailors and four ships were lost in one stormy night off England's coast, Parliament passed the Longitude Act guaranteeing 20,000 pounds sterling ($12 million today) for a method to navigate the seas with certitude. It was known that latitude could be measured, but to determine longitude-distance east or west of a point-a method had yet to be devised. In an engaging manner, Lasky relates the mad ideas that were considered, including barking dogs, tiptoeing, and a fire on deck before examining the inventive life and mind of a genius who solved the problem. John Harrison, a village carpenter and a self-taught polymath, elegantly reasoned that the answer lay in a timepiece itself. It would take more than 35 years and five prototypes before Harrison was satisfied, although his very first model barely lost a second on its first voyage. It would take a petition to the king before the inventor's solution won any prize money, and even then, he was refused the prize. Perhaps it is the combination of the elegance of his solution and the injustice of its resolution that has made Harrison's story so popular. With Hawkes's luminous full-color paintings on every page, its clear science, and its compelling social commentary, this title is not to be missed.
After reading Hard Times, I thought a book about the author would be interesitng:
#6 - Opening with Dickens's touring life and final London performance, Rosen then turns to the writer's humble beginnings and nomadic childhood, paying particular attention to the people he met, the sights he saw, and the situations he endured–all of which were to find their way into his writings. The author looks at 1800s London, pointing out the societal changes that were to influence Dickens's progressive thinking. He investigates the writer's best-known works: A Christmas Carol, Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, and Great Expectations. For the first three, Rosen retells the basic plots and clarifies the major characters; he covers the fourth work in greater depth, giving a fairly detailed yet age-appropriate analysis of the characters and of the meaning behind some of Dickens's literary choices. The author excerpts relevant sections from the novels and explores the writer's legacy. Ingpen's marvelous acrylic illustrations, whether small inserts or color spreads, lend a sense of realism to the prose, particularly in the details of period dress. The full-page portraits of some of the major characters give clear insight into their physical attributes and emotional realities.
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