B.F. Skinner: A Life

This biography is a portrait of the "social inventor" and entrepreneur, B.F. Skinner, whose ideas transformed education, child-rearing and even community life. Published on the third anniversary of his death, it not only traces his life and work through all the controversy and complexity, but also places his contributions within the American tradition of utopian socio-political debate. The book contains various stories: the man reviled for raising his daughter in a box was actually a loving and involved father; the scientist who argued that human behaviour could be conditioned almost like that of rats was once voted Humanist of the Year; and the technological innovator was strangely naive about business and marketing. Daniel Bjork is the author of "William James: The Center of His Vision".