his latest book was a biography of eight new zealand physicist ernest rutherford. he describes as a labor of love designed to show his fellow engineering graduates he was not as dumb as they thought he was. [laughter] to begin, i invited each fan us to offer some opening thoughts we're here today stock of biography and history through the development of characters do you want to go first as the award winner? [laughter] >> i think the greatest challenge it took me a long time to write this book. for many reasons. the course lots of new research not only have a full-time job as long -- as well as rating but also had to learn about biographies specific way. i had written about history but not biography. so so many of the first drafts i got the narrative rather than the story so it to to -- took me if you know, very much about 87 such an exciting%. she refuses to leave a first-class ladies car in 1883. the at some of the house founder and embroiled in all kinds of controversy because she's a very transgress of woman coming up in a victorian period. was all of that come

his latest book, however, was a biography of new zealand physicist ernest rutherford in which he repeated the experiments that lead to the atom. he describes that as a labor of love designed to show his graduates that he was not as dumb as he thought he was. [laughter] >> so to begin, i wanted to invite each of our panelists to make some -- to offer some opening thoughts. and sort of thought we'd start with the question of, you know -- we're here today to talk about biography and history and i wonder if you would each talk about some of the challenges of telling history through the development of characters. paula, you're award winner. you want to go first? >> thanks a lot. [laughter] >> well, i think the greatest challenge -- it took me a long time to write this book. and for many reasons, of course, lots to do with research and the fact that you have to have a full-time job as well write. but also i had to learn about biography specifically. i'd written books about history before. but not a biography before. and so so many of my first drafts were really the history of ida wells' life ra

sec and come with the perception is that the public cannot follow this with post mccann ago ernest rutherford was really the transition figure. but when we grew up all of us in this room if you owned the automobile you could open the hood and try to fix it. you worked on a typewriter could be broken fixed with a paper clip nazi open the hood and you have no idea god knows inside a computer. [laughter] so we have not developed the cadres of people who can write about the new science and most publishers figure unless it is abraham lincoln or the atomic bomb no one is interested. [laughter] >> good afternoon i almost feel as if i know you personally per or have been keeping up with you over the years i first saw umc on college student at the time. you are very welcome. [laughter] you did a great job on that by the way. also said documentary of debbie bd ball which is excellent. i want to ask you, had you feel about ida b. wells being the precursor of the generation of the 1960's that believed in bearing arms cracks there's a tendency to jump from slavery to the 60s and it skipped over which is a

ernest rutherford was a great, was really the transition figure of that but we grew up all of us in thism i think, where he could own an automobile and if it broke down you could open the hood and figure out what was wrong and try to fix it. you worked on a typewriter, which if it broke you could fix it with a paper clip. now you don't have the faiz then god knows what goes on inside a computer. so that we really have not developed the cadre of people who can write about this new science, and most publishers start with the prejudice that unless it is abraham lincoln and the atomic bomb, no one is interested. >> who is next? >> good afternoon. first of all want to say that i almost feel like i know you personally. i have been keeping up with a whole bunch of stuff over the years. i was a young college student at the time. >> thank you. >> you are very welcome. [laughter] you did a great job on that by the way and also in the documentary w.e.b. dubois, in my personal opinion is an excellent. i wanted to ask you how would you feel one of about ida b. wells and bishop henry, of being the pre