Alexander Graham Bell: Inventor of the Telephone

Dianne Taylor-Harding is a librarian in St. John’s, Newfoundland.

These books provide brief biographies of two well-known Canadian
inventors. They will be useful in elementary or junior high schools for
teaching Canadian history, especially Canadian advances in technology.
Unfortunately, neither volume emphasizes the social changes in Canada
that resulted from Bell’s and Bombardier’s innovations in
communications or transportation.

The Bombardier biography is well done, giving details of his life and
the invention of the snowmobile. This concise volume includes color
photographs of Bombardier, his family, and his early machines, and a
glossary. As curriculum material, it would be improved by the inclusion
of a map showing locations mentioned in the text and line drawings
showing operating details. As well, suggested activities designed to
shed light on some of the snowmobile’s mechanical principles would
have been helpful.

The Bell biography is less successful. Bell had a long, varied career.
This volume attempts to cover too much. The focus on the telephone was
lost when several pages covered the people he met and his later
inventions. A second volume dealing with Bell’s aerial experiments
should be considered; the inclusion of limited details about these
experiments here make the book confusing. A map, detailed drawings of
the telephone, and experiments illuminating the principles of the
telephone would be welcome additions.