Books published by publisher Hawthorn Books

Fall, 1970. At the start of eighth grade, Peter Selgin fell in love with the young teacher who’d arrived from Oxford in Frye boots, with long hair, and a passion for his students that was intense and unorthodox. The son of an emotionally remote inventor, Peter was also a twin with a burning need to feel unique.The teacher supplied that need. They spent hours in the teacher’s cottage, discussing books, playing chess, drinking tea, and wrestling. They were inseparable, until the teacher “resigned.” Over the next decade they met occasionally and corresponded constantly, their last meeting a disaster. Only after he died did Peter learn that the teacher had completely fabricated his past.As for Peter’s father, the British-accented genius inventor, he turned out to be the son of prominent Italian Jews. Paul Selgin and the teacher were both “self-inventors,” enigmatic men whose lies and denials betrayed the boy who idolized them.The Inventors is the story of how these men shaped the author’s journey to manhood, a story of promises fulfilled and broken as he uncovers the truth about both men, and about himself.For like them—like all of us —Peter Selgin, too, is his own inventor.

Gregor Mendel: The First Geneticist presents a lively, authoritative introduction to the man who discovered the laws of heredity and pioneered the study of genetics. Written by world-renowned Mendel scholar Vitezslav Orel, the book brilliantly traces Mendel's intellectual development, focusing in particular on his 1865 plant crossing experiments that revolutionized modern science. Throughout, Orel considers Mendel's contributions and personality in the unique social context in which he flourished. He also offers fascinating accounts of Mendel's fight for recognition, and the subsequent misuse of his theories by the Soviets and Nazis. Gregor Mendel offers the definitive systematic account of the great scientist's life and work. It will be enjoyed by interested general readers as well as students and researchers in biology and science history.

Brooke and Mary Rose are best friends. Brooke is the mother of a six-month-old. Mary Rose is pregnant. Brooke is married to Lyle, though, at times, she wonders why. Mary Rose would be married if Ward, the father of her child, weren’t already. Ward and Brooke are cousins A comedy of manners and biology, Karbo gives a laugh-out-loud look at the wonders of pregnancy and motherhood. It is a world where the women are fierce and strong and the men duck and cover; a world that is turned upside down when the expecting mother turns out a most unexpected child. Motherhood Made a Man Out of Me celebrates the courage and strength of women and the bonds that join them “in the motherhood.”