March 2006. Brave Companions, by David McCullough. I became hooked on McCullough's writing with this book, which was the first of his work I had read. Its a series of short essays including autobigraphical section where the author tells of his early ambition to become a portrait painter. The first two chapters on the naturalists Alexander von Humboldt and Louis Agassiz were really interesting to me as a scientist. The chapter on Harriet Beecher Stowe was very good. The chapter called "The Builders" was just simply amazing as it described the obstacles in building the Brooklyn Bridge. Finally, the chapter "Washington on the Potomac" is a must-read for anyone traveling to visit Washington DC. Here's a link to David McCullough's website (at Simon and Schuster) that has links historical background and maps. This is a good book for commuters. I found that I could read each of the stories during my morning and evening commute. Back to reading list
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