The Man Who Changed How Boys and Toys Were Made: The Life and Times of A.C. Gilbert, the Man Who Saved Christmas, Bruce Watson. Penguin, 2003.
A.C. Gilbert invented the Erector set, and made a big business out of “learning” toys. Gilbert was a track star and magician as well as a toy inventor. This biography takes you through his whole life. The end is a little sad, though: the world has moved on. (Reviewed June, ’05)