Speaking Volumes | Celebrating the Nobel Prize
By Undine Shorey and Fran Barba
Special to the Herald
The Nobel Prize has been a way to recognize exceptional achievements in science, literature, medicine, economics and peace since the early 1900s but few may know how the awards originated. Born in Sweden in 1833, Swedish chemist and inventor Alfred Nobel was best known as the inventor of dynamite. When Alfred Nobel's brother, Ludvig, died, a French newspaper mistakenly thought it was Alfred who had passed away and published the obituary as "the merchant of death is dead." Dismayed by the idea that he would be remembered in such a manner, Nobel decided to leave a different legacy by creating the Nobel Prize. The Manatee County Public Library System invites you to take a look at the man and the prize.
Read about Alfred Nobel's life in "Alfred Nobel: the Man behind the Peace Prize" by Kathy-Jo Wargin, an e-book on the library's Hoopla database.
"The Nobel Prize: A History of Genius, Controversy, and Prestige" by Burton Feldman, examines the history and the reputation of the award itself and explains how the winners are chosen. It also details awards that were mistakenly given and
notable people who have been overlooked. The book describes a time when a cure for cancer was awarded in 1926 and why famous authors like Leo Tolstoy, James Joyce, Marcel Proust and Virginia Woolf were never honored with a Prize.
Other notables who never received a Nobel Peace Prize include Pope John Paul II, Eleanor Roosevelt, Vaclav Havel, and amazingly enough, Mahatma Gandhi.
"Genius Talk: Conversations with Nobel Scientists and other Luminaries" by Denis Brian, focuses on the great minds of Linus Pauling, Richard Feynman, and a slew of others you may not have heard of before. Brian explores their lives, accomplishments and hopes for science in the future.
"Champions of Peace: The Story of Alfred Nobel, the Peace Prize and the Laureates" by Tony Gray, provides an in-depth look into the Nobel Peace Prize. Many would agree that the Peace Prize is one of the most recognizable prizes due to the fame of some of its notable winners like Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr., Elie Wiesel and Nelson Mandela. The author breaks down, decade by decade, "the story of mankind's continuing struggle for peace," and includes biographies of the featured peace prize winners.
"Peace Prize Winners: People Who Worked for a Noble Cause" by Vikas Khatri is another e-book available on the hoopla database. Roughly 100 Noble Laureates are showcased with brief biographies and the contributions they have made to further the cause of world peace.
Probably the best-known Peace Prize winner since the 2009 recipient (Barack Obama) is Malala Yousafzai, the 2014 Peace Prize winner. In her 2013 memoir, "I am Malala: The Girl Who Stood up for Education and was shot by the Taliban", Malala recounts her life as a young Pakistani who insisted that she and other girls were entitled to receive an education, thus becoming the target of death threats by the Taliban.
On the afternoon of Oct. 9, 2012, a Taliban gunman boarded her school bus and fired three shots at her, critically wounding her and injuring two others.
Miraculously she survived and was sent to an English hospital for intensive rehabilitation.
Speaking Volumes, written by Manatee County Public Library System staff members, is published each Sunday. You may also access the library via the Internet: www.mymanatee.org/library. Undine Shorey is a former Central Library employee. Fran Barba is a reference librarian at the Central Library.
This story was originally published December 24, 2015 at 2:04 PM with the headline "Speaking Volumes | Celebrating the Nobel Prize ."