Reluctant Genius: Alexander Graham Bell and the Passion for Invention"Famous while still young for inventing the telephone, which eventually secured his fortune as well as the admiration of the world, he ended his career in the chase to develop the airplane and as the inventor of a hydrofoil. When President Garfield was shot, Bell created a sonar probe to locate the assassin's bullet. He devised a precursor to the iron lung and worked on electric heating, sound communication with beams of light (the idea behind fiber optics), sheep breeding, and tetrahedral construction, now used in bridges and stadium roofs. A prominent figure in deaf education, he became a cherished mentor to Helen Keller, who dedicated her memoir to him. A celebrity in the glittering society of Gilded Age Washington, D.C., who preferred to hobnob with scientists, he also helped found and popularize National Geographic magazine."--BOOK JACKET. |
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LibraryThing Review
User Review - jrcovey - LibraryThingI first encountered this book in the gift shop of the AGB national historic site in Baddeck, and had finished reading it within 24 hours. I can't imagine a more lively and readable account of the life ... Read full review
LibraryThing Review
User Review - LynnB - LibraryThingAt the end of the book, the author says she set out to write a biography not just about Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor, but about the man and his family life. She certainly accomplished her goal ... Read full review
Contents
The Great White Plague 18471870 | 1 |
The Backwoods of Canada 1870 | 21 |
Boston Bound 18711874 | 30 |
Copyright | |
28 other sections not shown
Other editions - View all
Reluctant Genius: Alexander Graham Bell and the Passion for Invention Charlotte Gray Limited preview - 2011 |
Reluctant Genius: Alexander Graham Bell and the Passion for Invention Charlotte Gray Limited preview - 2006 |
Reluctant Genius: Alexander Graham Bell and the Passion for Invention Charlotte Gray No preview available - 2011 |
Common terms and phrases
Aerial Experiment Association Alec and Mabel Alec Bell Alec wrote Alec's Alexander Graham Bell American arrived Baddeck Beinn Bhreagh Bell Telephone Company Bell's Boston boys Brantford Bras d'Or Lake Brattle Street British Cambridge Canada Cape Breton Casey Charles cousin Curtiss Daisy daughters David Fairchild deaf children Edinburgh electric Elisha Gray Eliza Elsie experiments eyes Fairchild father feel felt flying machines friends Gallaudet Gardiner Hubbard Gertrude Hubbard girls Gray Grosvenor hair hear Helen Keller husband hydrofoil idea interest invention inventor kite knew laboratory Langley later letter living looked Mabel Bell Mabel told Mabel wrote McCurdy Melville Bell miles months never once patent photophone scientific sign language sister soon sound speak summer teacher telegraph tetrahedral Thomas Edison tion took Tutelo Tutelo Heights vibrations Visible Speech wanted Washington watched Watson Western Union wife wings wire York young