Earl Warren, attorney general of Alameda County, California, and later of the State of California, then Governor of California, and finally Chief Justice of the United States, changed the judicial system and expanded civil rights and liberties. In his lifetime, he made one gross error, permitting the internment of Japanese-Americans in concentration camps during WWII. In a public apology after the war, he stated that he was wrong. A Republican by party registration and appointed to the Supreme Court by a Republican president (Eisenhower), he was at heart a Democrat. Even today (or perhaps especially today) he is regarded by some conservative voices as the Chief Justice who sabotaged and changed the course of the Court towards a position of interpretation rather than hewing to a presumption of what the makers of the Constitution intended. Some of the most far-reaching cases he adjudicated were Brown v. Board of Education, Miranda v. Arizona, Gideon v. Wainwright, and a full briefcase of others. Compston details the political shenanigans that propelled him to the position of Chief Justice and provides fulsome information about Warren. But the work is somewhat dull, due, perhaps, to a lack of personal anecdotes and the seriousness of the subject. A knowledgeable reader might wonder what transformed Warren in his judicial philosophy and wonder about the current Supreme Court. But this is an adequate start. (chronology, further reading by and about Warren, index, picture credits, text credits) (Nonfiction. 12-15)
Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2002
ISBN: 0-19-513001-4
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Oxford Univ.
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
In a sequel to the well-received I Have Lived a Thousand Years (1997, not reviewed), Bitton-Jackson writes of her life as Elli Friedmann in 1945, when she, her brother, and mother were liberated from Auschwitz and sent back to their former home in Czechoslovakia. Finding only a shell of the place they had known, they struggled to rebuild some semblance of life and waited for the return of Elli’s father. When they realized he was gone for good, their only hope through all their efforts was the prospect of obtaining papers that would allow them to emigrate to America. Through the long years that they waited, Elli found work teaching, and helping other Jews escape to Palestine, a dangerous and illegal undertaking. When they finally arrived in New York City, relatives welcomed them; an epilogue collapses most of the author’s adult life into a few paragraphs so readers will know the directions her life took. Interesting and inspiring, this story makes painfully clear how the fight to survive extended well beyond the war years; the discomforts and obstacles the author faced and articulates in such riveting detail will make readers squirm at the security and ease of their own lives. (Memoir. 12-14)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-689-82026-7
Page Count: 258
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
Marguerite Henry died barely two years ago, after living the life of which most writers dream: She wrote from the time she was young, her parents encouraged her, she published early and often, and her books were honored and loved in her lifetime. Her hobby, she said, was words, but it was also her life and livelihood. Her research skills were honed by working in her local library, doing book repair. Her husband Sidney supported and encouraged her work, and they traveled widely as she carefully researched the horses on Chincoteague and the burros in the Grand Canyon. She worked in great harmony with her usual illustrator, Wesley Dennis, and was writing up until she died. Collins is a bit overwrought in his prose, but Henry comes across as strong and engaging as she must have been in person. Researchers will be delighted to find her Newbery acceptance speech included in its entirety. (b&w photos, bibliography, index) (Biography. 9-12)
Pub Date: March 10, 1999
ISBN: 1-883846-39-0
Page Count: 112
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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