PASACHOFF, Naomi 1947-

PERSONAL: Born January 27, 1947, in New York, NY; daughter of Isaac (in business) and Anna (an economist; maiden name, Jacobson) Schwartz; married Jay M. Pasachoff, March 31, 1974; children: Eloise, Deborah. Education: Harvard University, B.A. (magna cum laude), 1968; Columbia University, M.A. (with highest honors), 1969; Brandeis University, Ph. D., 1974.

ADDRESSES: Home—111 Park St., Williamstown, MA 01267. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Writer. Houghton Mifflin, Boston, MA, editorial assistant, 1970-71; Berkshire Community College, Pittsfield, MA, visiting assistant professor, 1974; Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY, visiting assistant professor, 1974-77; Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, visiting assistant professor, 1977-78; freelance writer, 1978—. Williams College, Williamstown, MA, research associate.

AWARDS, HONORS: "Books for the Teen Age" selection, New York Public Library, 1999, for Links in the Chain: Shapers of the Jewish Tradition; Dr. Matrix Award for Science Excellence on the World-Wide Web, 2000, for an Internet exhibit on Marie Curie; Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12, National Council for the Social Studies/Children's Book Council, 2004, for Niels Bohr: Physicist and Humanitarian.

WRITINGS:

young adult nonfiction

Alexander Graham Bell: Making Connections, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1996.

Marie Curie: And the Science of Radioactivity, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1996.

Links in the Chain: Shapers of the Jewish Tradition, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1997.

Frances Perkins: Champion of the New Deal, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1999.

Niels Bohr: Physicist and Humanitarian, Enslow Publishers (Berkeley Heights, NJ), 2003.

Linus Pauling: Advancing Science, Advocating Peace, Enslow Publishers (Berkeley Heights, NJ), 2004.

textbooks

(With husband, Jay M. Pasachoff, and Timothy Cooney) Earth Science, Scott, Foresman (Glenview, IL), 1983.

(With Jay M. Pasachoff and Timothy Cooney) Physical Science, Scott, Foresman (Glenview, IL), 1983.

Basic Judaism for Young People: Israel, Behrman (New York, NY), 1986.

Basic Judaism for Young People: Torah, Behrman (New York, NY), 1986.

Basic Judaism for Young People: God, Behrman (New York, NY), 1987.

(With Jay M. Pasachoff, Roy W. Clark, and Martine H. Westermann) Physical Science Today, Prentice-Hall (Englewood Cliffs, NJ), 1987.

(Coauthor) Discover Science, Scott, Foresman (Glenview, IL), 1989.

Great Jewish Thinkers: Their Lives and Work, Behrman (West Orange, NJ), 1992.

A Topical Bible, Behrman (West Orange, NJ), 1996.

other

(With Robert J. Littman) Jewish History in OneHundred Nutshells, J. Aronson (Northvale, NJ), 1995.

Contributor to textbooks on history and science. Creator of an Internet exhibit on Marie Curie, for American Institute of Physics, 2000. Creator of a weekly crossword puzzle for a local newspaper, 1989-2001, and of a bimonthly crossword puzzle to Oncampus, a Williams College publication, 2002—. Contributor to encyclopedias and to periodicals. Literary editor of World Religions in America, edited by Jacob Neusner, Westminster/John Knox Press (Louisville, KY), 1994.

SIDELIGHTS: Naomi Pasachoff had written many textbooks—often with her husband, Jay M. Pasachoff—before switching to young-adult nonfiction. Her books are mostly biographies of scientists, inventors, and politicians.

One of Pasachoff's first biographies, Marie Curie: And the Science of Radioactivity is not just a biography of the chemist who won a Nobel Prize for her work with radium but also focuses on the scientific aspects of her life and her discoveries. Written for an older audience, the book also discusses Curie's affair after her husband's death, and the negative treatment she received from the French press. School Library Journal's Todd Morning called the book "a thorough biography, particularly useful for reports," and a contributor to Kirkus Reviews found it "a perceptive and informative biography."

Some of Pasachoff's earlier books were textbooks on Judaism for younger readers. A later book, Links in the Chain: Shapers of the Jewish Tradition is a compilation of more than forty short biographies of well-known and lesser-known figures in Jewish history, covering the four different branches of Judaism: Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist. Book Report reviewer Mary Hofmann called the book "an important addition" to libraries, particularly Jewish libraries. Writing in School Library Journal, Malka Keck thought the book "as a whole" offered "an excellent foundation knowledge of the leaders in Judaism."

Niels Bohr: Physicist and Humanitarian examines the contributions of the Danish scientist and humanitarian. Gillian Engberg of Booklist thought that because of the complex work that Bohr performed, it would be a tough book for young teens. However, she found that "Pasachoff successfully describes both the science and the scientist in admirably clear language," and covers not only his scientific contributions but also his humanitarian efforts against the Nazis during World War II. Vincent N. Lunetta, writing in Science Books and Films, described Niels Bohr as excellent, further commenting that "without complex mathematics, this book explains the Bohr models in ways that are both conceptually valid and understandable."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

periodicals

Booklist, September 1, 1996, Chris Sherman, review of Marie Curie: And the Science of Radioactivity, p. 118; January 1, 1998, George Cohen, review of Links in the Chain: Shapers of the Jewish Tradition, p. 753; February 1, 1998, review of Links in the Chain, p. 938; June 1, 2003, Gillian Engberg, review of Niels Bohr: Physicist and Humanitarian, p. 1792.

Book Report, November-December, 1996, Annette Thibodeaux, review of Alexander Graham Bell: Making Connections, p. 46; May-June, 1998, Mary Hofmann, review of Links in the Chain, p. 42.

Isis, September, 1999, Michael E. Gorman, review of Alexander Graham Bell, p. 611; March, 2000, Sharon Bertsch McGrayne, review of Marie Curie, p. 179.

Kirkus Reviews, May 1, 1996, review of Marie Curie, p. 692.

Kliatt, March, 1998, Paula Rohrlick, review of MarieCurie, p. 25.

Library Journal, January, 1995, Robert A. Silver, review of Jewish History in One Hundred Nutshells, p. 119.

School Library Journal, August, 1996, Todd Morning, review of Marie Curie, p. 174; February, 1997, Melissa Hudak, review of Alexander Graham Bell, p. 122; April, 1998, Malka Keck, review of Links in the Chain, p. 152; January, 2000, Marilyn Long Graham, review of Frances Perkins: Champion of the New Deal, p. 151.

Science Books and Films, July-August, 2003, Vincent N. Lunetta, review of Niels Bohr, p. 165.

Social Studies, March, 2000, review of Frances Perkins, p. 91.