We have met the hoaxsters, and they are us: family stories, human progress, and often enough the pinball nature of our...
Hoaxes are a lot of fun, tell us much about ourselves, and sometimes, just sometimes, change the course of history.
As part of the History in 50 Series, which seeks to present history through thematically linked, chronological stories about people and events, Eaton links hoaxes to ambition. To do this so intimately may be stretching the point, but the meat of the stories here lies in revealing what peopled believed and how they tested its truth (or didn’t). History is best told through stories, the more chromatic the better. The hoaxes here—and some lie outside that definition, including the Trojan Horse, the travels of Marco Polo, and the nature of the Voynich manuscript—are colorful by far. Eaton doesn’t sensationalize them; the melodrama has been mellowed and the stories allowed to speak for themselves, and they display great grip. Some instances should spark further investigation—the Potemkin villages, art forgers by the name of Michelangelo and van Meegeren—and more than a handful of the 50 ought to be new to readers, including scientific high jinks and the Walam Olum (which purported to tell 3,600 years of Leni-Lenape history). There is a hoax for every mood: cheat, propaganda, assault, cruelty, inventions of merit, a more nuanced appreciation of art, and marvel.
We have met the hoaxsters, and they are us: family stories, human progress, and often enough the pinball nature of our history . (Nonfiction. 10-16)Pub Date: June 10, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-88448-465-3
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Tilbury House
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
A refreshed version of a classic that doesn’t hold up to more recent works.
A new edition of late author Zinn’s 2007 work, which was adapted for young readers by Stefoff and based on Zinn’s groundbreaking 1980 original for adults.
This updated version, also adapted by Stefoff, a writer for children and teens, contains new material by journalist Morales. The work opens with the arrival of Christopher Columbus and concludes with a chapter by Morales on social and political issues from 2006 through the election of President Joe Biden seen through the lens of Latinx identity. Zinn’s work famously takes a radically different perspective from that of most mainstream history books, viewing conflicts as driven by rich people taking advantage of poorer ones. Zinn professed his own point of view as being “critical of war, racism, and economic injustice,” an approach that felt fresh among popular works of the time. Unfortunately, despite upgrades that include Morales’ perspective, “a couple of insights into Native American history,” and “a look at the Asian American activism that flourished alongside other social movements in the 1960s and 1970s,” the book feels dated. It entirely lacks footnotes, endnotes, or references, so readers cannot verify facts or further investigate material, and the black-and-white images lack credits. Although the work seeks to be inclusive, readers may wonder about the omission of many subjects relating to race, gender, and sexuality, such as the Chinese Exclusion Act, Indian boarding schools, the Tulsa Race Massacre, Loving v. Virginia, the Stonewall Uprising, Roe v. Wade, Title IX, the AIDS crisis, and the struggle for marriage equality.
A refreshed version of a classic that doesn’t hold up to more recent works. (glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 10-16)Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2023
ISBN: 9781644212516
Page Count: 544
Publisher: Triangle Square Books for Young Readers
Review Posted Online: Jan. 9, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The author of Alexander the Great Rocks the World (2006) offers a lively, informative and aggressively informal portrait of Egypt’s last and most famous pharaoh. Shecter effectively makes the case that Cleopatra was a far more capable and powerful ruler than she has been depicted in art, film and literature. Ascending to the throne at 17, Cleopatra proved herself a brilliant negotiator who used her considerable intelligence and charisma to forge alliances that kept her in power and in control of her kingdom. Describing Julius Caesar as a “dude [with] a reputation for being a player” and calling Marc Antony a “Roman redneck” are examples of Shecter’s relentlessly flippant style, which seems more appropriate for a gossip magazine than a biography. Young readers are likely, however, to appreciate the irreverent approach and goofy puns. Attractively designed, the book is abundantly illustrated throughout with color representations of art works, maps and photographs of artifacts. (source notes, chronology, glossary, bibliography, index) (Biography. 11-15)
Pub Date: Aug. 15, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-59078-718-2
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: June 2, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2010
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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