bookshelf

WILMA MANKILLER

Name: WILMA MANKILLER
Author: Della A. Yannuzzi
ISBN: 0-89490-498-1

LEADER OF THE CHEROKEE NATION

by Della A. Yannuzzi ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 1994

bookshelf

Chief Wilma Mankiller was born a Tahlequah, Okla., farm girl in 1945. Although they were poor, the Mankillers were happy in the heart of the Cherokee nation until a couple of bad harvests in a row made them seek government aid. Offered help only if they relocated to a big city, they chose San Francisco. In San Francisco, Mankiller faced racial hatred as well as the shocking change from rural to urban life. She was unhappy, but eventually adapted—with the help of a loving grandmother who took her in for a year and a father who believed in maintaining strong ties with the Cherokee culture. Mankiller graduated high school, worked briefly, and then married. She had two children and was a housewife and mother until she decided to go to college. There the women's and Indian rights movements sparked her interest in helping her people. She and her husband eventually divorced, and Mankiller moved with her daughters back to Oklahoma. She worked to help Indian communities and eventually became first deputy chief and finally principal chief of the Cherokees. As chief she has worked hard to promote financial independence and self-determination for her nation. Newcomer Yannuzzi offers a fine biography of an amazing woman who, despite constant health troubles and harsh discrimination, leads the Cherokee nation toward an increasingly hopeful future. (Chronology; notes; further reading; index; b&w photos) (Biography. 11+)

Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1994

ISBN: 0-89490-498-1

Page Count: 104

Publisher: Enslow

Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1994

Categories:

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR

bookshelf

THOMAS ALVA EDISON

by Gene Adair ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1996

bookshelf

The latest entry in the Oxford Portraits in Science series chronicles the life of ``the wizard of Menlo Park'' from his beginnings as a budding telegrapher and troublemaker, through his major inventions, and up to his death in 1931, a wealthy, self-made American hero. Adair also covers innovations in telegraphy and mining in this lively biography, which focuses on Edison's work more than his personal life or character. The author moves quickly from achievement to achievement, including Edison's failures, sidebars on the workings of his most important inventions, and uses others made of his discoveries to create entire industries. This foray into the workshops of a gifted and prolific inventor is fascinating. (b&w photos, reproductions, diagrams, chronology, bibliography, index) (Biography. 12+)

Pub Date: April 1, 1996

ISBN: 0-19-508799-2

Page Count: 141

Publisher: Oxford Univ.

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1996

Categories:

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR

bookshelf

JOSEPH STALIN

RUSSIA'S LAST CZAR

by Steven Otfinoski ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1993

bookshelf

Presented with undisguised condemnation and passion, the incredible story of Stalin's treacherous rise to power, moral degeneration, and miserable end. Otfinoski uses testimony from Khrushchev and other Soviet public figures, as well as from Western diplomats, to illuminate Stalin's methods and successes- -and their brutalizing effects on Soviet society. Particularly curious is the contrast between Stalin's vicious treatment of enemies, real and imagined, and his tender letters to his daughter. Though he quotes numerous secondary sources, Otfinoski attributes to Stalin thoughts and feelings that seem speculative, especially since he notes that Stalin erased the records of many details of his early life. Still, gripping. B&w photos; source notes; chronology; annotated bibliography; index. (Nonfiction. 12+)