From Alexander von Humboldt to Charles and Anne Lindbergh, these are stories of people of great vision and daring whose achievements continue to inspire us today, brilliantly told by master historian David McCullough. The bestselling author of Truman and John Adams, David McCullough has written profiles of exceptional men and women past and present who have not only shaped the course of history or changed how we see the world but whose stories express much that is timeless about the human condition. Here are Alexander von Humboldt, whose epic explorations of South America surpassed the Lewis and Clark expedition; Harriet Beecher Stowe, “the little woman who made the big war”; Frederic Remington; the extraordinary Louis Agassiz of Harvard; Charles and Anne Lindbergh, and their fellow long-distance pilots Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and Beryl Markham; Harry Caudill, the Kentucky lawyer who awakened the nation to the tragedy of Appalachia; and David Plowden, a present-day photographer of vanishing America. Different as they are from each other, McCullough’s subjects have in common a rare vitality and sense of purpose. These are brave companions: to each other, to David McCullough, and to the reader, for with rare storytelling ability McCullough brings us into the times they knew and their very uncommon lives. YA-- McCullough's compendium of fascinating mini-biographies is a sheer delight, and will hold the attention of many history and science students. In this distillation of over 20 years of his shorter essays, the author chose individuals who are distinctive for their contributions to culture. The 17 biographies highlight the fields of social work, etymology, architecture, literature, and history, all of which are interconnected in memorable ways. The book maintains strong reader interest because of an intelligent, practiced, precise style combined with a wise and rich choice of subject. Familiar figures such as Harriet Beecher Stowe, Miriam Rothschild, and Teddy Roosevelt share space with lesser-known individuals--but all are people who merit admiration. Superb storytelling with a unique slant makes this work a strong acquisition for all collections. - Carol Beall, Immanuel Christian School, Springfield, VA Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. Lyrical historical homages--many drawn from magazines such as Life, etc., to both people and events, by eminent historian McCullough (Mornings on Horseback, 1981, etc.). The destinies of McCullough's human subjects unfold from their character and landscape. Enlivened here by the author's lyrical prose, these men and women embody the pioneering spirit in a multitude of pursuits: science (Alexander von Humboldt, Louis Agassiz, Miriam Rothschild); construction (a dual portrait of John Augustus Roebling and Washington Roebling); aviation-writing (a group portrait of Antoine de Saint Exup‚ry, Beryl Markham, Charles and Anne Lindbergh). Not all the pieces, though, encapsulate historical figures: there's an essay on world history since 1936, a speech celebrating the bicentennial of Congress, and a personal reminiscence of novelist Conrad Richter. The quality, meanwhile, varies: Two articles on the Brooklyn Bridge are fascinating footnotes to McCullough's The Great Bridge (1972), but a piece on idiosyncratic naturalist Miriam Rothschild (``My microscope is my marijuana'') begs for more development, while one on the relationship between Theodore Roosevelt and Marquis de MorŠs even rambles. Other subjects are Harriet Beecher Stowe, as unwitting author of the abolitionist manifesto; Frederic Remington, as self- taught artist of the Wild West; Harry Monroe Caudill, as crusader against strip-mining interests; David Plowden, as photographer- historian of vanishing aspects of America; and the history- conscious city of Washington, D.C. Shortcomings apart, a fine gallery of diverse and yet subtly connected companion pieces (``no subject is ever one subject,'' says McCullough) that serve their subjects well. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.