One of six new volumes considering westward expansion until the early 20th century, focusing on documents, photos, maps, art, etc., in the collections of the Library of Congress. Each book includes an introduction, detailed timelines, and a brief bibliography, with considerable overlapping among them. Since Native Americans are covered in another volume, The Conquest's title is somewhat misleading—though the Mexican War is included, the bulk of the material here concerns diplomacy, treaties, borders, and events leading to statehood in the various territories; ``Manifest Destiny'' is described, but the displaced Indians are barely mentioned. The text here is dry, but the illustrative material is rich and varied and, overall, well reproduced, though there are some cartoons with tiny print; it's also well captioned. Native Americans of the West is more informative as to original sources and dates, however, and is notable for pointing out where many of the historical pictures, in representing the white man's point of view, are inaccurate. Other volumes are Bridging the Continent (trails, wagon trains, transportation); Exploring the Frontier; The Legendary Wild West (Daniel Boone to Teddy Roosevelt; artists and Indians, along with the obvious); and The Riches of the West (natural resources; occupations). In sum: the six make a splendid resource, especially pictorially. Each has an index; for reference use, a general index would be invaluable (publisher, please note!). (Nonfiction. 9+)
Pub Date: March 15, 1992
ISBN: 1-56294-129-1
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Millbrook
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1992
BOOK REVIEW
A remarkable biography.
The story of a flawed, complicated man.
The son of a distant Minnesota congressman and a demanding, well-educated mother, young Charles Lindbergh grew up shuttling among the family farm, his grandfather’s Detroit home, and Washington, D.C. Intelligent but uninterested in school, he began flying at age 19, getting involved in barnstorming and becoming an Air Service Reserve Corps officer. He used a combination of mechanical aptitude and moxie to successfully cross the Atlantic in a 1927 solo nonstop flight and was instantly propelled into worldwide celebrity. Success came at tremendous cost, however, when his infant son was kidnapped and murdered. Lindbergh was also his own enemy: His infatuation with eugenics led him into overt racism, open admiration for Hitler, and public denunciation of Jews. Fallen from grace, he nonetheless flew 50 clandestine combat missions in the South Pacific. He became an advocate for animal conservation but also had three secret families in addition to his acknowledged one. Fleming (Eleanor Roosevelt's in My Garage!, 2018, etc.) expertly sources and clearly details a comprehensive picture of a well-known, controversial man. Her frequent use of diaries allows much of the story to come through in Charles’ and his wife Anne’s own words. The man who emerges is hateable, pitiable, and admirable all at the same time, and this volume measures up to the best Lindbergh biographies for any audience.
A remarkable biography. (bibliography, source notes, picture credits, index) (Biography. 12-adult)Pub Date: Feb. 11, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-525-64654-9
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
From its enticing, dramatic cover to its brown endpapers to a comical Grant Wood–esque final image, this is a worthy...
A graphic-novel account of the science and history that first created and then, theoretically, destroyed the terrifying Dust Bowl storms that raged in the United States during the “dirty thirties.”
“A speck of dust is a tiny thing. Five of them could fit on the period at the end of this sentence.” This white-lettered opening is set against a roiling mass of dark clouds that spills from verso to recto as a cartoon farmer and scores of wildlife flee for their lives. The dialogue balloon for the farmer—“Oh my God! Here it comes!”—is the first of many quotations (most of them more informative) from transcripts of eyewitnesses. These factual accounts are interspersed with eloquently simple explanations of the geology of the Great Plains, the mistake of replacing bison with cattle and other lead-ups to the devastations of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. The comic-book–style characters create relief from the relentlessly grim stories of hardship and loss, set in frames appropriately backgrounded in grays and browns. Although readers learn of how the U.S. government finally intervened to help out, the text does not spare them from accounts of crippling droughts even in the current decade.
From its enticing, dramatic cover to its brown endpapers to a comical Grant Wood–esque final image, this is a worthy contribution to the nonfiction shelves. (bibliography, source notes, photographs) (Graphic nonfiction. 10 & up)Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-81550-3
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2013
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