In my local library, the biography section is overflowing with huge shelves that threaten to fall over and bury you. There are countless volumes on Darwin's voyages, or the adventures of Lewis and Clark. But none of them concern the lesser-known pioneers, such as Miriam Rothschild, a respected botanist, or Alexander von Humboldt, who climbed the tallest mountain known to mankind. In David McCullough's compilation of his best magazine essays, these people and more are all documented in great detail. The subjects may lie a bit off the beaten path, but that's a good thing in this case. Even Theodore Roosevelt gets a chapter discussing his time in the West that many know nothing about. Although the writing sometimes feels overloaded with details and obscure people, the variety and thoroughness of each mini biography outweighs by far any problems one could have with the book. In short, don't miss this volume if you have a thirst to learn about interesting and prominent (in a roundabout way) figures in history.
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