Dignifying Science - Softcover

Ottaviani, Jim

3.59

173 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0966010612 ISBN 13: 9780966010619

Publisher: Gt Labs, 2000

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Dignifying Science is the newest book from G.T. Labs that tells

true stories about scientists in comics form. This 144 page trade

paperback features famous women scientists including Marie Curie,

Emmy Noether, Lise Meitner, Rosalind Franklin, Barbara McClintock,

Birute Galdikas, and (believe it or not) Hedy Lamarr. Scientists

and non-scientists alike will appreciate the human context this

award-winning anthology gives to some of the most famous names in

the history of discovery.

With stories written by Jim Ottaviani and art by notable illustrators such as Donna Barr, Mary Fleener, Stephanie Gladden,

Roberta Gregory, Lea Hernandez, Carla Speed McNeil, Linda Medley,

Jen Sorensen, Anne Timmons and comics legends Ramona Fradon and

Marie Severin, this handsome trade paperback, complete with a

full-color dust jacket, will please readers of all ages. Notes and

references at the end lead them to discover even more on their

own!

An Eisner nominee (like its companion volume Two-Fisted Science)

and Lulu of the Year nominee for 1999, Dignifying Science has

earned praise from the toughest critics of all: the scientists themselves. Discover Magazine (February, 2000) says "In

Ottaviani's hands, cartooning becomes exciting education. It's a

tribute to Ottaviani's breezy style that one wants to dig into [the] references and learn a little nuclear physics. Now that is a

superheroic achievement." Simon Singh, award-winning author of The

Code Book and Fermat's Enigma writes: "When it comes to

popularising science, Jim Ottaviani's comic books do an excellent

job of telling scientific stories in a fun and absorbing way. His

latest, Dignifying Science, is a beautifully drawn series of

stories about women who made major contributions to science and

technology, but who have been largely forgotten..." (The

Independent - London, 12 December 1999)

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author:

Jim Ottaviani is a nuclear engineer now working as a librarian at the University of Michigan. He has been writing in and about comics for almost 10 years, and his stories have earned him a Xeric Grant and Eisner Award nominations.

The artists featured are Donna Barr, Mary Fleener, Stephanie Gladden, Roberta Gregory, Lea Hernandez, Carla Speed McNeil, Linda Medley, Jen Sorensen, Anne Timmons, and comics legends Ramona Fradon and Marie Severin.

From Publishers Weekly:

A collection of women-drawn comics profiling women scientists should be a great way to celebrate unknown and underappreciated female professionals and inspire young women to go into the scientific fields. But this collection almost entirely misses the mark, failing to tell clear, interesting stories or to impart much useful information about the remarkable scientists it covers. The fault lies in Ottaviani's writing and organization, not in the skillfully executed black and white illustrations. The profiles--of Lise Meitner, Rosalind Franklin, Barbara McClintock, Marie Skladovska, Hedy Lamarr (yes, the actress) and Birute Galdikas--unfold almost entirely through dialogue. Secondary figures are introduced without historical context or explanation of their relationship to the main character. Even the unusual profile of movie star/inventor Lamarr is bewildering (who exactly is Gene Markey?). Ottaviani provides an appendix with panel by panel notes offering historical and biographical context, but the reader will tire of flipping from comics to notes and back again. Both the narrative and notes jump into scientific terminology without sufficient plainspoken explanations. The book leaves one longing for what it originally promised: biographical sketches of significant women's scientific accomplishments in comics form, presented in a manner that the dame on the street can understand. (Jan.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.