Pioneers Of Progress

Reproduction of the original: Pioneers of Progress , Men of Science by Thomas Heath

"Pioneers of Progress: Men of Science: Herschel" by Hector Copland Macpherson. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.

Excerpt from Pioneers of Progress Biography is the life of history. Without it the chronicles of a nation would be of small value. It teaches both by precept and example. If the example is good the lesson is uplifting. The lives of good men and women are practical object lessons; and the history of such lives is a rich inheritance to the world. It constitutes the chief part of a nations wealth. The nineteenth century was a record-breaking period, in the way of producing great men and women. Men and women who have distinguished themselves by their wise words and noble deeds. It was the author's good fortune to be born in the early part of that century, and to live his manhood life during the last half of it, and to enjoy the personal acquaintance of some of those great souls who have been prominent actors in the drama of progress. In this book the author gives his impressions of those headlights of humanity, in the form of brief biographical sketches and personal reminiscences. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

“This is the story of a long and brilliant career in American education... [Johnson] writes with humor, modesty, and what seems to be total recall, a fascinating report of a useful life.” — Bruce Bliven, The New York Times “Alvin Johnson has written a first-rate life history, but by that fact he has also written a good deal more. For he has told his life in a way that shows how it holds in microcosm all the dominant themes of our American history and society... [Johnson] must have been a bewildering paradox for his more solemn academic colleagues — a Nebraska farmer who knew the dead languages and most of the European living ones, an economist who knew literature and anthropology and the ‘new’ psychology, an original thinker who was at ease in the columns of the New Republic, an irreverent man who refused to follow the latest revolutionary dogmas but was merciless in knocking the sawdust out of the stuffy orthodoxies... [Johnson] can believe in other men because he has a quiet fortress of strength in himself. Lytton Strachey remarked that it is harder to write a good life than to lead one. Alvin Johnson has done both.” — Max Lerner, The American Scholar “This autobiography is remarkable for the long and fruitful span of life which it records, for the rich and varied contents, and for the humor which the author plays upon every chapter... every chapter bears witness to the honesty of the author’s statement: ‘Never in all my life have I given a hoot for personal security.’“ — George M. Stephenson, The American Historical Review “This American success story is refreshingly different from the usual rags-to-riches one. Alvin Johnson is the best kind of man that America produces, and his autobiography, both in the writing and the story that is told, is one of the best books of the year.” — The Providence Journal “It is necessary for any thoughtful American to take Pioneer’s Progress in hand. You can pick it up, lay it down, come back to it at any odd moment, even on the subway, with pleasure and profit. It is as various in content as a good meal.” — Dorothy Canfield Fisher “What you will remember is the Nebraska boy applying his farmbred wisdom and his father’s courage to all the questions that fate tossed his way.” — New York Herald Tribune “Alvin Johnson’s biography ought to be required reading, both here and abroad, for anyone who wants to understand American government, and the American spirit.” — Adolf A. Berle, Jr. “A fine and mellow autobiography by the father of adult education in this country... His book is alive with anecdotes on everything from life on a remote Nebraska farm to pioneering in the field of the social sciences... Education’s man of action, in a self-portrait which is permeated with a homespun charm and humor and invigorated by the character of the man and his impressive influence.” — Kirkus Reviews “This book relates the interesting life story of a great American liberal and intellectual leader... The reader of Pioneer’s Progress is constantly amazed at the versatility of a man who is able to cram so many good works into one lifetime. Yet, his book is written with such simplicity, modesty, and self-deprecating humor that one cannot help but like as well as admire him.” — L. S. Curtis, Journal of Negro History “[A] lively story which the more-or-less-retired president of the New School has written about his activities up to now... a man’s record of his own life... Among the causes which this man helped turn into movements were land reclamation, rescue of scholars from destruction (by Hitler, Mussolini, and the Communists), peace, and racial justice. But adult education is his great consuming passion. Of this the New School for Social Research, whose founding president he was, is living testimony... To Alvin Johnson, all causes — racial justice, peace, better farming and better health, what have you — are one with adult education. One learns by reading, by observing, by arguing, by acting, by interacting with other people... And perhaps this is the important thing about the man; he would not be confined... And it is in the story of the New School that we learn what the man Johnson really is... This man is strictly a public entrepreneur.” — Everett C. Hughes, Commentary Magazine “Despite the sophistication of the higher reaches of learning and academic endeavor that form a large part of Johnson’s story, he never completely leaves the soil, or the West. The Nebraska beginnings so charmingly chronicled in the early part of the book seem tied intimately to later chapters that related his adventures in land reclamation and his theories on sugar beets, Danish farmers, even Montana Indian reservations. All these serve to demonstrate convincingly that the western roots of Alvin Johnson grew deep indeed.” — Carl Ubbelohde, Montana: The Magazine of Western History “All through his long years of active life Alvin Johnson has fought against bigotry and pettiness of spirit. He is always the free spirit who puts reasoned enlightenment and imaginative and creative thinking against academic stuffiness and oppressive intolerance. But he is never satisfied with mere verbal expression; he always seeks to concretize his reactions into living institutions. His autobiography is, therefore, not only a moving and inspiring story of his own spiritual development but also a chronicle of American cultural institutions during the past 50 years.” — Koppel S. Pinson, Jewish Social Studies “One’s first response to Dr. Johnson’s autobiography is of pride: that so useful, so various, and, what one ventures to call so American a life should belong to us... this autobiography, with its spontaneous combination of concepts and concerns, offers most interesting materials for the student of our national development in modern times.” — Louis Filler, The Mississippi Valley Historical Review