Sunday, March 4, 2018

Review of "The Real McCoy: The Life of an African-American Inventor," by Wendy Towle ISBN 0590435965



Review of
The Real McCoy: The Life of an African-American Inventor, by Wendy Towle ISBN 0590435965

Five out of five stars
 Elijah McCoy was the son of fugitive slaves that lived in Canada. He was born in 1844 in Ontario, Canada, which was fortunate for his career aspirations and achievements. As a free person in Canada, he was free to pursue his education, had his parents remained slaves in Kentucky, it would have been illegal for Elijah to have received an education.
 Like so many young people that became engineers, Elijah loved to take things apart and then put them back together again. His aptitude and interest were so great that his parents sent him to Edinburgh, Scotland to study engineering. When he returned to the United States, the only job he could get was as a fireman on the locomotives. Yet, he never stopped thinking and as he oiled the train parts during stops, Elijah thought of a way that the oil could be applied automatically. He created and patented an automatic oil cup that worked so well, the trains could go much further without having to stop for oiling.
 Other people created similar devices, but McCoy’s was superior. With so many pretenders, when buyers for train lines went looking for automatic oil cups, they asked for the genuine article designed by McCoy. Therefore, it is reasonable that the expression, “the real McCoy” originated with people asking for the oil cup designed by McCoy.
 McCoy went on to invent and patent many other new devices and techniques. It is unfortunate that he never achieved fame and fortune, he was living in a home for poor, elderly people when he died. McCoy is an African-American that achieved a great deal, yet fame, fortune or a significant place in the history books were not part of it.
 Therefore, this book fills a significant historical hole, giving McCoy some of the recognition that he deserves. Earned, yet a result of being educated because of his parent’s flight from slavery.

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