# Herbert Zim

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American naturalist

Herbert Zim Born (1909-07-12)July 12, 1909 New York City, U.S. Died December 5, 1994(1994-12-05) (aged 85) Plantation Key, Florida, U.S. Alma mater Columbia University Occupations naturalist, author, editor, and educator Known for Golden Guides Spouse(s) Sonia Bleeker Grace Showe

**Herbert Spencer Zim** (July 12, 1909 – December 5, 1994) was an American [naturalist](/source/Natural_history), author, editor and educator best known as the founder (1945) and [editor-in-chief](/source/Editor-in-chief) of the [Golden Guides](/source/Golden_Guide) series of nature books.

## Biography

Zim was born 1909 to Marco and Minnie (Orlo) Zim in [New York City](/source/New_York_City), but spent his childhood years in southern [California](/source/California). At the age of fourteen he returned to the east. He took his degrees (B.S. biologia, M.S. biologia, Ph.D. botanica) at [Columbia University](/source/Columbia_University).

Zim wrote or edited more than one hundred books on science, and in a thirty-year career teaching in the [public schools](/source/Public_school_(government_funded)) introduced laboratory instruction into elementary school science. He is best known as the founder in 1945 (and, for twenty-five years, editor in chief) of the [Golden Guides](/source/Golden_Guide), pocket-size introductions for children to such subjects as [fossils](/source/Fossils), [zoology](/source/Zoology), [microscopy](/source/Microscopy), [rocks](/source/Rock_(geology)) and [minerals](/source/Minerals), [trees](/source/Trees), [wildflowers](/source/Wildflowers), [dinosaurs](/source/Dinosaur), [navigation](/source/Navigation) and more. He was the sole or co-author for many of the books, which were valued for their clarity, accuracy and attractive presentation—helped by the illustrations of [James Gordon Irving](/source/James_Gordon_Irving) and Zim's friend Raymond Perlman. Zim taught Science Education at the [University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign](/source/University_of_Illinois_Urbana-Champaign) in the 1950s.

He moved to [Florida](/source/Florida) with his wife, the Russian-born anthropologist Sonia (Sonnie) Bleeker (who donated her substantial collection of anthropological artifacts to the [Logan Museum of Anthropology](/source/Logan_Museum_of_Anthropology)). Zim continued to work on the Golden Guides series until [Alzheimer's disease](/source/Alzheimer's_disease) forced him to slow down in the 1990s. He died in 1994 at [Plantation Key](/source/Plantation_Key), survived by his second wife, Grace Showe, and two sons, Aldwin and Roger.[1]

## See also

- The Legend of [Wan Hu](/source/Wan_Hu)

- [Golden Field Guide](/source/Golden_Field_Guide)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [Perez-Pena, Richard](/source/Richard_P%C3%A9rez-Pe%C3%B1a) (12 December 1994). ["Herbert S. Zim Is Dead at 85; Wrote Children's Science Books"](https://www.nytimes.com/1994/12/12/obituaries/herbert-s-zim-is-dead-at-85-wrote-children-s-science-books.html). *The New York Times*. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0362-4331](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0362-4331). Retrieved 23 August 2015.

## External links

- [The Herbert S. Zim papers at the de Grummond Children's Literature Collection, The University of Southern Mississippi](http://www.lib.usm.edu/~degrum/html/research/findaids/DG1086f.html?DG1086b.html~mainFrame)

- [Guide to the Herbert Zim papers at the University of Oregon.](http://nwda-db.wsulibs.wsu.edu/findaid/ark:/80444/xv50293)

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