Most readers will recognize the faces on the cover of Mercer Island author and speaker Rev. Wayne Perryman’s new book. Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, Albert Einstein. The book, “Teens And Young People Who Impacted The World,” contains short biographies of famous individuals who started making a difference in the world or becoming successful while in their youth.

“There has always been a false assumption that much of the technology and many of the inventions and social improvements that we enjoy today were produced and/or developed by adult men and women,” Perryman writes in the introduction. He concludes with, “Throughout the ages our young people have given us so much, from sacrificing their lives as soldiers to secure our freedom, to creating a multitude of products and services that made our world a better place in which to live.”

Fifteen individuals are highlighted, from biblical times to the modern era — from Jesus and Mary to Mother Teresa, Mozart, Martin Luther King Jr. The least known individual is perhaps Jan Matzeliger, an African-American who invented the ‘Shoe Lasting Machine’ for the mass production of shoes.

Perryman, a minister at Mt. Calvary Christian Center Church of God in Christ, is a former newspaper publisher and radio talk-show host. His other books include “Unveiling the Whole Truth,” “The Drama of Obama,” and “Unfounded Loyalty,” to name a few. Two of his children’s books about baseball All-Stars Ken Griffey Jr. and Harold Reynolds were the first children’s storybooks to be part of the National Baseball Hall of Fame Library.

For more information, go to www.wayneperryman.com.