I bought his book on Maxwell so I can read it on a long flight our to California.
PERSONAL:
Born May 26, 1937, in Malta; married Ann Hardwick (a teacher of chemistry), April 1, 1961; children: Tim, Sara, Danny. Education: Attended Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, 1955-57; Royal Military College of Science, B.Sc., 1960; Birkbeck College, London, M.Sc., 1971.
Check out his career:
British Army, career officer, serving with Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers in Germany, Aden, and United Kingdom, 1955-74, retiring as major; Government Statistical Office, civil servant, 1974-96. Consultant and trainer on censuses and statistics, including work for clients in Russia, Estonia, Croatia, and Republic of Georgia.
And his thoughts on writing:
Basil Mahon on writing: "To me, the joy of writing is simply the chance to give readers the joy of reading—to share one's thoughts and passions with them, hoping to leave them with a feeling of pleasure and well-being. By the time I came to write The Man Who Changed Everything: The Life of James Clerk Maxwell, careers in the army and the civil service had given me plenty of practice in writing instructions—where crispness and clarity were the cardinal virtues—so the big test was to try to hold fast to these qualities and to entertain the reader at the same time."
From the Netherlands, Manu Joseph explains why he loves Mahon and Forbes' book on Faraday and Maxwell:
Thank you Armand, and thank you Basil Mahon.