Children's Literature - Elizabeth Leis-Newman

Research scientists are often faced with challenging choices related to ethics. This text provides a mixture of career information and character education, providing a look at what research scientists do each day and the requirements of the job, examples of famous scientists who have contributed, and scenarios involving ethics. Readers will be encouraged to think about their values. Examples include situations with genetically modified food, cloning, genetic testing, and taking credit for other people's research. Each chapter begins with a researcher or historical example, such as Sir Alexander Fleming's discovery of penicillin, the researchers who identified the HIV virus, and physician Paul Brand's work on leprosy. While overall it is a reasonable addition to a library collection, some information is slightly misleading. An episode from the life of Richard III is likely more apocryphal than historically correct, and a featured anecdote about a scientist working on synthetic molecules does not make it clear she is at a different university than the one mentioned. A bibliography or a citation list would have been a helpful addition. Features include several sidebars such as "A Framework for Ethical Decision-Making" and a glossary, an index and a "For Further Reading" page. This is part of the "Careers with Character" series from Mason Crest. Series consultants are Ernestine G. Riggs, Ph.D. and Cheryl Gholar, Ph.D. Reviewer: Elizabeth Leis-Newman