Cradles of Eminence : Childhoods of More Than Seven Hundred Famous Men and Women: the Complete Original Text

by Goertzel, Victor

• ISBN13: 9780910707565
• ISBN10: 0910707561
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-01-01
• Publisher: Great Potential Pr Inc

Summary

Fascinating findings from Cradles of Eminence, 2nd Edition reveal that eminent adults, in their childhoods: strongly disliked school but had families who valued education; had highly opinionated parents often with a dominating mother; grew up "feeling different" from others. Readers are challenged to consider what factors will foster eminence in today's world of mass media and technological change. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Dr. Victor Goertzel was a psychologist and past president of the National Association for Gifted Children Mildred Goertzel directed a school for emotionally disturbed children Dr. Ted Goertzel is a professor and former chairperson in the sociology department at Rutgers University Ariel Hansen, a recent Haverford College graduate, works in the field of science journalism

Table of Contents

Introduction	vii
Foreword to Second Edition	xvii
Foreword to First Edition	xxiii
Chapter 1. Homes that Respect Learning and Achievement	1	(28)
They Have Hard Driving, Striving Parents	6	(14)
The Love for Learning Can Persist into Parents' Old Age	20	(7)
The Family Value System	27	(2)
Chapter 2. Opinionated Parents	29	(26)
Rebellion in the Homes	31	(2)
Children Who Extend Parental Opinionatedness	33	(4)
Children Who Adopt Related Causes	37	(3)
Father's Boys Among the Opinionated	40	(6)
Parents Who Suffer Death, Prison, or Exile	46	(4)
Status and Opinionatedness	50	(1)
Politics, Religion, Race, and Nationality	51	(4)
Chapter 3. Failure-Prone Fathers	55	(26)
The Alcoholic Fathers	66	(12)
Contributions of the Failure-Prone Father	78	(3)
Chapter 4. Dominating Mothers, but Few Dominating Fathers	81	(24)
Some Homes Are Matriarchal	83	(2)
Children with Special Talents	85	(3)
Dominating Mothers	88	(4)
The Roles of Wives and Mothers	92	(4)
Dominating Fathers	96	(9)
Chapter 5. "Smothering" Mothers	105	(28)
Widows Are Often Overpossessive	120	(4)
Smothering Fathers	124	(9)
Chapter 6. Troubled Homes	133	(24)
Unfaithful Wives and Husbands	148	(9)
Chapter 7. Not-So-Troubled Homes	157	(22)
Chapter 8. Children With Handicaps	179	(36)
Blindness and Poor Sight	179	(8)
To Be Small or Slight Is a Handicap	187	(3)
Crippled Children	190	(8)
Children Who Were Overweight	198	(4)
Sickly Children	202	(6)
Homely Children and Attractive Parents	208	(7)
Chapter 9. Early Agonies	215	(34)
The Intruder Complex	216	(5)
The Orphaned and the Half-Orphaned	221	(2)
Illegitimate Children	223	(6)
The Fearful Boys and the Risk-Takers	229	(2)
Speech Problems	231	(1)
The Delinquents and the Rebels	232	(5)
Psychosis Is Rare in Homes Which Rear Eminent Children	237	(12)
Chapter 10. Dislike of School and Schoolteachers	249	(32)
Children Who Were Thought to Be Dull or Who Were Academic Failures	255	(8)
The Importance of Time-Out	263	(2)
A Minority Do Not Complain	265	(1)
Tutors Are Well Liked	266	(15)
Chapter 11. "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking"	281	(24)
Summarizing the Findings	282	(2)
Comparison with Other Studies	284	(2)
Gender Identification	286	(1)
Creative Children as School Problems	286	(5)
Today's Counterparts of the Four Hundred	291	(14)
Chapter 12. Cradles of Eminence Today	305	(36)
Table One: Eminent Personalities in 1962, 1978, and 2003	310	(7)
Table Two: Biographical Books in Selected Public Libraries	317	(2)
Table Three: Fields of Eminence by Gender in 2003, 1978, 1962	319	(3)
Table Four: Cradles of Eminence 2003 Update Sample	322	(19)
Conclusions	341	(8)
End Notes	349	(12)
Appendix A. Bibliography and Biographical Notes 1962 Cradles of Eminence Sample	361	(60)
Collective Biographies	419	(1)
Professional References Cited	419	(2)
Appendix B. Individuals Discussed in Three Hundred Eminent Personalities: A Psychosocial Analysis of the Famous (1978)	421	(6)
Appendix C. Individuals Discussed in Turncoats and True Believers: The Dynamics of Political Belief and Disillusionment (1992)	427	(2)
Appendix D. Biographical Sources for the Cradles of Eminence, Second Edition 2003 Update Sample	429	(6)
Index	435	(20)
About the Authors	455