Mireya Mayor

This is a personal account by Mireya Mayor about how she became a scientist and then one of National Geographic's explorers. It's filled with interesting tidbits from her various adventures as well as reflections on how she's handled and overcome people's "you don't look like a scientist" reactions. The book is a little disjointed in its approach but it's still informative and entertaining. While there are a few instances of swear words included, it's generally a clean read and I think would be great for teen girls who could benefit from thinking about their career choices and being inspired by someone who has challenged stereotypes.… (mehr)

It took me a long time to get into this book, though it's ostensibly the sort of book I adore. Mayor's book suffers from the lack of a competent editor, I think. There are wildly discursive stories and internal inconsistencies. I enjoyed the parts about animals very much while the parts about breaking a nail in the wilderness made me roll my eyes- just as Wendy predicted, no doubt.

By the time I was a little over halfway through, though, I was interested enough to overlook the choppy and conversational writing style and focus on the actual meat of the book. I liked, especially, Mayor's unapologetic stance regarding continuing her adventurous life despite being a mother. I didn't at all enjoy the reality TV show portion of the book, which recounted a dreadful, dreary modern bit of show business and could have been left out entirely.

My heart still belongs to Gerald Durrell when it comes to adventures in the wilderness, though.… (mehr)