Spark: How Genius Ignites, From Child Prodigies to Late Bloomers

by Claudia Kalb

Overview

Yo-Yo Ma’s ear for music emerged not long after he learned to walk. By the age of seven, he was performing for President Kennedy; by fifteen he debuted at Carnegie Hall. Maya Angelou, by contrast, didn't write her iconic memoir, I Know Why the Cage Bird Sings, until she was 40. What propels some individuals to reach extraordinary creative heights in the earliest years of life while others discover their passions decades later? Are prodigies imbued with innate talent? How often are midlife inspirations triggered by propitious events, like Julia Child's first French meal at the age of 36? Do late bloomers reveal their talents because their skills require life experience and contemplation?

Through engaging storytelling and intriguing historical and cutting-edge scientific research, best-selling author and acclaimed journalist Claudia Kalb explores these questions to uncover what makes a prodigy and what drives a late bloomer. In this series of linked biographies, Kalb follows the journeys of thirteen remarkable individuals—from Shirley Temple to Alexander Fleming to Eleanor Roosevelt to Bill Gates—to discover the secrets behind their talents. Each possessed a unique arc of inspiration. Each—through science, art, music, theater, and politics—reached extraordinary success at different stages of life. And each offers us a chance to explore the genesis—and experience—of genius.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781426220937
Publisher:	Disney Publishing Group
Publication date:	04/27/2021
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	357,119
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.30(d)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

CLAUDIA KALB is an award-winning author and journalist who reports on a wide variety of health and science topics. She is the author of the New York Times bestseller Andy Warhol Was a Hoarder: Inside the Minds of History's Great Personalities. A former senior writer at Newsweek who has also contributed to Smithsonian and Scientific American, Kalb has written cover stories for National Geographic that explore genius through the lens of biography, history, culture, and science. She lives in Alexandria, Virginia. Twitter: @ClaudiaKalb. www.claudiakalb.com

Table of Contents

Introduction 9

Chapter 1 Pablo Picasso: The Modern Artist (1881-1973) 21

Chapter 2 Shirley Temple: The Child Star (1928-2014) 49

Chapter 3 Yo-Yo Ma: The Cellist (1955-) 73

Chapter 4 Bill Gates: The Software Pioneer (1955-) 97

Chapter 5 Isaac Newton: The Physicist (1642-1727) 125

Chapter 6 Sara Blakely: The Entrepreneur (1971-) 149

Chapter 7 Julia Child: The French Chef (1912-2004) 173

Chapter 8 Maya Angelou: The Memoirist (1928-2014) 197

Chapter 9 Alexander Fleming: The Microbiologist (1881-1955) 219

Chapter 10 Eleanor Roosevelt: The Humanitarian (1884-1962) 243

Chapter 11 Peter Mark Roget: The Wordsmith (1779-1869) 273

Chapter 12 Grandma Moses: The Painter (1860-1961) 297

Epilogue Leonardo da Vinci: Eternal Genius 321

Sources and Notes/Text Credits 333

Acknowledgments 355

Index 361

Editorial Reviews

03/22/2021

Journalist Kalb (Andy Warhol Was a Hoarder) explores what animates geniuses in this entertaining series of vignettes. She asks if successful individuals are born with their talents or are, instead, “lured by passion.” Put another way: ­what, she wonders, “is a genius?” Kalb studies the lives of 13 prominent figures to find out, organizing her subjects “by the age at which genius ignites”: Shirley Temple, for example, earned acclaim in childhood; entrepreneur Sarah Blakley hit her stride in young adulthood; Julia Child is a “mid-lifer”; and Grandma Moses created her “most enduring work” in the final decades of her life. While each of these individuals’ work provides a solid basis for the exploration of creativity, the links between them are tenuous, and though Kalb’s thumbnail biographies are sprightly, she often falls back on cliché—failure is “integral” to success, as are resilience, perseverance, and passion. Instinct, as when Temple used the warmth from studio lights to figure out how to hold her head best, plays a part, as does a large dollop of timing and luck. But in the end, “genius” remains elusive. In the absence of a unified theory of genius or definition of the term, this is best taken as a light series of character studies. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

"Kalb, author of the best seller Andy Warhol Was a Hoarder, brings her award-winning journalistic talent to cover the topic of genius. In Spark, she profiles 12 renowned lives, each of them gifted with intelligence, curiosity, creativity, perseverance, and luck. Intriguingly, the book is organized by the time in the subjects' lives in which genius first stood out.”—Library Journal, starred review

“Spark is an intelligent, condensed history of humanity. In a book that constantly surprises and delights, Claudia Kalb studies brilliantly the origin and nature of creativity—from innate abilities to environmental influences—to provide an overall picture of this fascinating area.”—Diana Widmaier Picasso, art historian and granddaughter of Pablo Picasso

“Claudia Kalb is a masterful storyteller who weaves science with biography to reveal new insights into how passion and purpose emerge. Rigorously and thoroughly readable, Spark is both captivating and enlightening.”—Richard Kogan, concert pianist and psychiatrist, Weill Cornell Medical College

“With insight and fluidity, the great Claudia Kalb plumbs the dimensions and dynamics of genius in a sparkling book that illuminates and inspires. This is a wonderful achievement.”—Jon Meacham, historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer

From the Publisher

★ 03/01/2021

Kalb, author of the best seller Andy Warhol Was a Hoarder, brings her award-winning journalistic talent to cover the topic of genius. In Spark, she profiles 12 renowned lives, each of them gifted with intelligence, curiosity, creativity, perseverance, and luck. Intriguingly, the book is organized by the time in the subjects' lives in which genius first stood out. Some are child prodigies (Pablo Picasso, Shirley Temple, Yo-Yo Ma, Bill Gates). For others, genius arrives in young adulthood or middle age (Isaac Newton, Sara Blakely, Julia Child, Maya Angelou, Alexander Fleming). Three of the profiles are for individuals who achieved their greatest success late in life (Eleanor Roosevelt, Peter Roget, Grandma Moses). One is profiled because echoes of his genius are seen in each of the others' lives (Leonardo da Vinci). Each profile focuses on brilliant attainments but also discusses challenges and times of unhappiness. Kalb uses each brief biography to explore a series of questions: Is genius innate or nurtured? What allows people to excel? What accounts for "aha" moments? VERDICT Kalb's book should have universal appeal for public and academic libraries but may particularly resonate with readers who are comforted by the notion that accomplishment and discovery come at different ages.—Beth Dalton, Littleton, CO

Library Journal