Henry Taube, the youngest of four boys, was born on November 30, 1915, in Neudorf, Saskatchewan, Canada. His parents were Ukrainian peasants, who moved from their home near Kiev to Saskatchewan in 1911 to escape the tyranny of the tsar. Although his parents were uneducated and poor, they were very astute and worked hard to develop a farm. Taube himself considered farm work and its lessons of perseverance a valuable part of his education. At the age of thirteen, Taube was sent to a Lutheran boarding school, from where he moved to the University of Saskatchewan. The depression brought difficult times to the Taube family, and as a result of some failed investments, Taube's father was no longer able to support the young boy at school. However, a chemistry teacher took an interest in Taube and arranged for him to help in the laboratory in order to continue his education.

Taube...