Written straightforwardly, it’s not the most engaging read, but it is an invaluable record of an incredible life.
An encompassing look at Norman Mineta, the first Asian-American to serve as mayor of a major American city, a Congressman, and Secretary of Commerce and Transportation under George W. Bush.
Mineta is a Nisei, a second-generation Japanese-American, born in San Jose, California. Writing efficiently with concise descriptors, Warren narrates in the third person, focusing primarily on the family and social environment of Mineta’s school-age years. Warren starts with Mineta’s father and his immigration to the U.S. for work. He wisely became fluent in English while working in the fields, later establishing his own insurance business, enabling him to give all five children great educational opportunities. Their lives are quickly disrupted by World World II. Mineta now 11, his parents, and most of his much-older siblings are sent to an assembly center in Santa Anita, California. Eventually they end up in Heart Mountain War Relocation Center, Wyoming. The experience drives Mineta to later pursue politics and to introduce the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, offering camp survivors restitution and a formal apology from the government. Warren includes anecdotes of white allies, including a chapter about Alan Simpson, a childhood acquaintance and later a political ally of Mineta in Congress. Pronunciation guides to Japanese are provided in the text. Archival photographs provide visuals, and primary-source quotes—including racial slurs—contribute historical context. No timeline is provided.
Written straightforwardly, it’s not the most engaging read, but it is an invaluable record of an incredible life. (author’s note, bibliography, index) (Biography. 10-15)Pub Date: April 30, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4151-8
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Margaret Ferguson/Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An important, potentially fascinating, topic that falls flat.
Behind the jaunty cover lies a pedestrian account of shopping in America’s past and present.
The first of the five chapters looks briefly at Native American and colonial bartering, peddlers and general stores, and the effect of railroads and manufacturing on shopping. The writing presents facts chronologically with only occasional intriguing details, like the fact that Sears sold more than 75,000 mail-order houses between 1908 and 1940. The next chapters examine the rise and fall of department stores; chain stores from five-and-dimes to big-box stores; the evolution of malls; and online shopping. A handful of sidebars highlights topics like charge cards and mall-related slang, while the attractive design incorporates pullout quotes from books, slogans and celebrities. The many black-and-white photographs, many archival, have useful captions, but most are visually dull. The writing is equally lackluster, with one paragraph starting, “One fun retail trend is the store on wheels,” and the next paragraph, “Another new trend is the small, individually owned specialty shop.” The generally pro-consumerist text touches on credit-card debt and the possible harms of advertising but fails to engage issues like the international labor practices that make goods so cheap or carbon footprints.
An important, potentially fascinating, topic that falls flat. (source notes, bibliography, further resources, index) (Nonfiction. 11-14)Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4677-1017-6
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Twenty-First Century/Lerner
Review Posted Online: Aug. 27, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A solid treatment of a fascinating subject, introducing young readers to cities that rose and fell long before our time.
An intriguing introduction to ancient cities in the Americas and the cultures that supported them.
Young readers will be amazed that a city named Cahokia thrived on the Mississippi River 500 years before Columbus arrived in the New World, a city with 3,000 structures and a great pyramid on a 200-acre plaza. Likewise, underneath modern-day Mexico City lie the ruins of Tenochtitlán, the ancient capital of the Aztec Empire. These cities, along with Cuzco (a 14th-century Incan city) and Copán (a jungle city of the Maya), are the focus of this clear and readable volume, in which Aveni discusses how the cities arose, flourished and fell, noting that “no civilization’s power lasts forever.” Small maps complement the discussion of each city, and a pronunciation guide helps with some (though not all) of the difficult names. The volume is not just about ancient cities, but also about lessons to be learned from them: “If we look closely enough, we can discover where they succeeded and why they failed. That’s the lesson of history.”
A solid treatment of a fascinating subject, introducing young readers to cities that rose and fell long before our time. (source notes) (Nonfiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Nov. 19, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-59643-567-4
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 17, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2013
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
