Cradles of Eminence: Childhoods of More Than 700 Famous Men and Women

What were the common childhood experiences of 700 eminent adults? Among things, they disliked school; their families valued education; they had strong mothers; and they grew up feeling "different" from others. This exciting update of the 1964 classic includes information from "Three Hundred Eminent Personalities" (1978), as well as from new biographies published in the last six years. Key findings include:

-Most had at least one ambitious parent who was striving and driving.

-Their parents were highly opinionated

-Their parents often held unconventional opinions that were shocking, even antagonistic, to others.

-Many of the parents--especially mothers--dominated their children's lives.

-As children, few liked school, and still fewer liked their teachers.

-Nearly all showed the characteristics used today to identify gifted children.