New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, (1972) dj. Hardcover first edition - An authoritative biography, well written and thoroughly researched of one the earliest African American men of science in the United States. A free Black tobacco planter in Baltimore County, the son and grandson of a slave and a woman from England who came to the country as an indentured servant, Banneker taught himself mathematics and astronomy late in life. Based on long lost manuscripts and personal papers, this not only recognizes Banneker for his accomplishments, but it is also a history of the economy of 18th-century Maryland, the surveying of the District of Columbia, and the methods used by early almanac makers in their computations. Illustrations and maps. Includes an extensive section of documents, reference notes, bibliography and index. xvii, 434 pp. ISBN: 0-684125749.