Opening with an overview of dictators through history, Giblin (The Amazing Life of Benjamin Franklin, 2000, etc.), always a graceful, unemotional stylist, traces the life and actions of the leader of “the thousand year Reich” in a straightforward and lucid manner. His narrative explores three basic questions: “What sort of man could plan and carry out such horrendous schemes? How was he able to win support for his deadly ventures? And why did no one try to stop him until it was almost too late?” Citing Adolf’s middle-class childhood, he looks beyond the standard labels of barbarian, savage, or mad man. (These qualities might provide excuse for his political acts: crimes against humanity, genocide, and a world destroyed.) Completing the history of the rise and fall of Germany, the Nazis, Hitler, and his cronies, Giblin follows with information about modern Nazi followers: skinheads, white power groups, Aryan nation members, and the like. The study cries out for much better maps; places like the Rhineland, Sudentenland, the Ruhr, to name a few, are mentioned in the text but not set in their geography—necessary in a time when young people seem to have little knowledge of the globe and its places and peoples. The rest of the illustrations are well chosen in this exemplary twin biography of a man and modern history. In a time when people, young and old, are unaware or have forgotten that people like Hitler, his nation of followers, and his high command existed, Giblin’s carefully researched account is more important than ever. It is so readable that it should hold younger readers and educate older ones who may need their brains refilled with the facts of history. An essential purchase. (Nonfiction. 11-15)
Pub Date: April 22, 2002
ISBN: 0-395-90371-8
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
In tedious, anecdotal fashion, Lyttle delivers a broadside against Hemingway's Tough Guy image rather than discussing the relationship between his life and work. In Lyttle's view, Hemingway was undeniably courageous— actively seeking out dangerous situations as sportsman and war correspondent—but also brutal, vain, petty and physically awkward. His narrative is one long digest of names, hunting and fishing tallies (``They saw deer, flushed many flocks of partridge, and even scared up a bear...they caught 64 trout...he crept to within 350 yards before killing the oldest animal with one shot,'' etc., etc.), repetitious travelogues, illnesses, clumsy accidents, and Papa's cutting comments about wives, friends, and fellow authors. Some incidents have a slapstick element—Hemingway once reached for a toilet chain and pulled a skylight down on his head—and Lyttle makes occasional wry comments (``Ernest...entertained...with elaborate stories of past adventures which were often partly true''); but readers will bog down in details, getting little sense of what Hemingway's books are like, or even what they're about. Wait for a more balanced student biography, or steer readers to Anthony Burgess's Ernest Hemingway and His World (1978) or to Rovit and Brenner's Ernest Hemingway (1986). Bibliography; b&w photos and index not seen. (Biography. 12-15)
Pub Date: April 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-689-31670-4
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1992
BOOK REVIEW
Brimming with hero worship, the Doherty's account of ``the most well-known celebrity in the world,'' ``living proof that the American Dream [is] still alive...'' has an Algeresque flavor. Product of a small Austrian town, his competitive instincts honed by a demanding father, Arnold cast about for something at which he could be The Best and settled on bodybuilding (which he revolutionized), and films (for which he now commands eight-figure salaries). The authors cover the high spots of his career and business ventures, focus on his association with the Special Olympics and other causes, and dwell at length on his courtship and wedding (want to know how long Maria Shriver's train was?). Though mentioning his talent for self-promotion, they dismiss the ruthless Arnold of Wendy Leigh's ``unauthorized'' biography, offering instead a portrait of a giant with a sense of purpose, a heart of gold, and an impish sense of humor. Lipsyte gives a more evenhanded view in Arnold Schwarzenegger: Hercules in America (p. 1463). Source notes; appendices; bibliography; b&w photo insert and index not seen. (Biography. 11-13)
Pub Date: Dec. 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-8027-8236-1
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Walker
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1993
BOOK REVIEW
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