In her day, Addams was one of the most famous women in America and was known around the world as a social activist, a pacifist, the author of 11 books and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. In a time before the federal government took little responsibility for the poor, Addams and Hull House in Chicago provided food, health care and educational programs. Like any good biography, this places its subject squarely in the context of her time, focusing on the major social movements of the early 20th century: the struggles for equal rights for African Americans, women’s rights and world peace. The volume covers a lot of ground, includes excellent archival photographs and offers good source notes. Solid reporting, but curiously dispassionate, given its subject. Still, it’s an important work that will introduce an important American to a new generation of readers. (afterword, bibliography, acknowledgments, index) (Nonfiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: Nov. 13, 2006
ISBN: 0-618-50436-2
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2006
After his recent Unconditional Surrender: Ulysses S. Grant and the Civil War (1993), Marrin returns with it's companion volume about that other great Civil War general, Robert E. Lee. The two men couldn't have been more different. Grant was a slovenly alcoholic who was only successful in warfare; Lee, on the other hand, was perfection—at least he was to hear Marrin talk about him. But Marrin's adulation is excusable. Lee was truly an extraordinary man: outstanding in school, at the top of his class in West Point, a brave and cunning soldier. Lee also became one of the most brilliant generals America has ever known. With a small and pitifully undersupplied army, he ran rings around the stronger North until, his supply lines cut, he ran out of troops and provisions. Marrin describes Lee's decisive battles clearly and with excitement. Lee was also beloved by his men and respected by all, a loving husband and father. Marrin shows Lee to be a Southern gentleman in the finest tradition. Comprehensive and coherent, a superb history. (Nonfiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-689-31838-3
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1994
One of those important pieces of history that somehow never made it into textbooks: the story of Maria Mitchell, a self-taught astronomer who discovered Comet Mitchell, served as an inspiring teacher, and was the first woman inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Mitchell grew up in the 1800s, a time when the President of Harvard believed that ``the minds of women are as different from men as are their bodies. . .They cannot bear the stress of hard study.'' She was brought up a Quaker and kept her own counsel, whether on education, science, religion, or the role of women in society. She took her gifts to Vassar College, and as the first professor of astronomy, taught generations of women to ``throw off this reverence for authority'' and ``come to truth through their investigations.'' For Mitchell, a spiritual person, studying the truth of science was a way of getting in touch with the Creator. Gormley (Ellie's Birthstone Ring, 1992, etc.) successfully paints a picture of a world that failed to mold Mitchell to its standards, focusing on the telling details that bring the story to life. Inspiring and incisive. (b&w photos, index, not seen) (Biography. 10-14)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-8028-5116-9
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Eerdmans
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1995
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
