by Jeffrey Kluger ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 10, 2020
Cogent reminders that armed rebellion isn’t the only answer to social injustice.
In tribute to this country’s long tradition of grassroots protests, a dozen significant clashes.
Opening with a claim that we humans are “hardwired” to respond with disgust to anything seen as “fundamentally unfair,” Kluger offers a roster of flash points—most of which marked change rather than directly causing it but all milestones in the annals of American social discourse and attitudes. Some, such as Stonewall, were more or less spontaneous uprisings; others, from the March on Washington in 1963 to the 2017 Women’s March, were carefully (if sometimes hastily) orchestrated. Likewise, if the Seneca Falls convention and 1982’s immense anti-nuke rally in New York were (relatively) peaceful, aggressive police responses made the demonstrations outside the Democratic National Convention in 1968 and the Dakota Access uprising in 2016-17 anything but. Unfortunately, Kluger never explains that in framing his account of the Dakota Access Pipeline resistance as one battle in a centurieslong struggle of the “Great Sioux Nation” against a mythic “black snake,” he is not contriving a metaphor but paraphrasing Native American protesters’ statements. Nevertheless, in every case he expertly brushes in historical contexts and properly notes that not every proud “liberation tale” here resulted in unqualified, or even partial, success. Photos at each chapter head not seen.
Cogent reminders that armed rebellion isn’t the only answer to social injustice. (source note, index) (Nonfiction. 10-16)Pub Date: March 10, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-525-51830-3
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Oct. 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2019
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by Melvin Berger & Gilda Berger ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2001
An introduction to ancient Egypt and the Pharaohs buried in the Valley of the Kings. The authors begin with how archaeologist Howard Carter found the tomb of King Tut, then move back 3,000 years to the time of Thutmosis I, who built the first tomb in the Valley of the Kings. Finally they describe the building of the tomb of a later Pharaoh, Ramses II. The backward-forward narration is not always easy to follow, and the authors attribute emotions to the Pharaohs without citation. For example, “Thutmosis III was furious [with Hatshepsut]. He was especially annoyed that she planned to be buried in KV 20, the tomb of her father.” Since both these people lived 3,500 years ago, speculation on who was furious or annoyed should be used with extreme caution. And the tangled intrigue of Egyptian royalty is not easily sorted out in so brief a work. Throughout, though, there are spectacular photographs of ancient Egyptian artifacts, monuments, tomb paintings, jewels, and death masks that will appeal to young viewers. The photographs of the exposed mummies of Ramses II, King Tut, and Seti I are compelling. More useful for the hauntingly beautiful photos than the text. (brief bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-7922-7223-4
Page Count: 64
Publisher: National Geographic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2001
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by Melvin Berger & illustrated by S.D. Schindler
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by Richard Panchyk ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2016
Rabid fans might take a swing at this, but younger or less well-informed ones will get a better sense of how the game is and...
A crazy quilt of baseball high spots and memories, distilled from interviews with over 500 former major leaguers and managers.
Though stitched into chronological chapters and, despite the subtitle, covering 19th-century baseball too, Panchyk’s labor of love ends up less a coherent, unified whole than an anecdotal jumble of incidents, records, and firsts. He also seems determined to stuff as many names into his narrative as possible, so that familiar stars such as Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, and Ted Williams are nearly shouldered aside by a dizzying swarm of smaller fry. And though some offer personal reminiscences about how they broke into the major leagues, too many contribute only the vague platitudes that players still use. The illustrations are largely decades-old photos of players, tickets, and printed programs, and the history turns decidedly threadbare once it reaches the 21st century. Sidebars on nearly every spread mix miniessays on topics ranging from baseball nicknames to select no-hitters with at-times questionable hands-on activities; one suggests announcing part of a real game and then playing the recording back to an audience, which is possibly illegal, for instance.
Rabid fans might take a swing at this, but younger or less well-informed ones will get a better sense of how the game is and was played elsewhere. (index, timeline, resources) (Nonfiction. 10-13)Pub Date: March 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-61374-779-7
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2015
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