Profiles of Nationally Distinguished Nebraskans

Profiles of Nationally Distinguished Nebraskans
by Elmer A. Kral and Jean Sanders [920.078 Kra] [Gage County Historical Society]

This book provides short biographies of Nebraskans who have distinguished themselves in many fields, including the arts, business, education, public affairs, science and sports, to name a few. All areas of the state are covered with biographies of nationally-known representatives, as described in the Foreword -"from western Nebraska with Frank Cyr, father of the yellow school bus, to central Nebraska with Jay Forrester, co-pioneer of the modern computer, and the eastern area with Hollywood film star Robert Taylor." I was impressed with the fact that many people were included that I had never heard of, such as Charlotte Buettenback Johnson, co-designer of the first Barbie doll, and Charles Purcell, chief engineer of the SanFrancisco-Oakland bay Bridge. There are also biographies of more well-known Nebraskans such as Joyce C. Hall, founder of Hallmark Cards, and Charles E. Taylor, the mechanic who built the engines for the Wright brother's airplanes. This book does not attempt to provide information about every famous Nebraskan, but it does help fill in the gaps by providing sketches of Nebraskans who are not as well represented in past publications. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in famous Nebraskans or in historical research. -- recommended by Kim J. - Bennett Martin Public Library

[ official Gage County Museum web site ]
Have you read this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide web site. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month.