Two Fisted Science: Stories About Scientists

Features

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Cover Type: Paperback with 128 pages
• Published by: G.T. Labs
• Edition: 2nd Edition April 1, 2001
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0966010620
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0966010626
• Book Dimensions: 10.1 x 6.8 x 0.3 inches
• Weighs: 8.8 ounces

Product Review
It humanizes science in a badly needed way, it inspires. -- The Comics Journal

The cartoons both intrigue and amuse. An unusual but intelligent introduction to some of the most famous figures in physics. -- Physics World, December 1997

[W]onderfully offbeat and human. This collection illustrates some of science history's more offbeat sides -- FACTSHEET FIVE, March 1998

Product Description
Two-Fisted Science is the first in a series of books in comics form telling true stories about scientists. This 128 page trade paperback features tales of famous physicists including Hans Bethe, Niels Bohr, Albert Einstein, Richard Feynman, Galileo, Werner Heisenberg, Gottfried Leibniz, Isaac Newton, and Robert Oppenheimer, and Wolfgang Pauli. The stories offer a human context often missing when students learn the equations that bear the scientists' names. Readers, drawn to the book by the compelling anecdotes, will discover intriguing characters that lived real lives beyond ink on paper. End notes and references will lead them to further information on the scientists they've read about.

All stories are written by Jim Ottaviani, a former researcher and nuclear engineer -- now a reference librarian at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The illustrators include award-winning comics artists such as Paul Chadwick, Donna Barr, Bernie Mireault, and Colleen Doran.

The trade paperback is self-published with the generous assistance of a grant from the Xeric foundation. Established by Peter Laird (one of the creators of the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles") each year the foundation awards a select group of comics creators money to bring their work to press. I am grateful to the foundation for their support and confident that you will consider this portion of the "Turtle" fortune well-spent! --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Reader Reviews
This review is from: Two-Fisted Science (Paperback) All the stories in this collection of "graphic fiction" were written by Ottaviani, but the artwork was supplied by ten artists, including Bernie Mireault and Scott Saavedra. The stories are based on real events (reportedly real, anyway) about Einstein, Russell, Bohr, Heisenberg, and others - and especially Richard Feynman, who was not only one of 20th century physics's major minds but an amateur locksmith, talented musician, social philosopher, and world-class storyteller as well. Some, like "turtles all the way down," are smile-inducing classics, while others, like Heisenberg's approach to Bohr on behalf on the German nuclear effort in World War II are somber and reflective. Feynman's own recounting of his brief, tragic marriage during the Manhattan Project is especially affecting, and the tale of his safe-cracking activities at Los Alamos and Oak Ridge are a hoot. Oh, and you'll even learn some physics theory along the way, or at least get a taste of how physicists view the world. I hope another volume like this is in the works.