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
The life of one of the century's most influential political leaders, from birth and a lackluster academic career in India and England to emergence as a social activist who combated racism in South Africa and, later, India. Gandhi's personal transformation from a painfully shy, hesitant speaker to a charismatic proponent of what he called ``satyagraha,'' or ``truth-force,'' is such a fascinating subject that virtually any recounting of his life makes compelling reading. Directed toward middle school readership, Sherrow's account treads the ground between superficiality and depth. Personal problems such as Gandhi's difficult relationships with his sons and the wife from whom he demanded so much sacrifice and self-denial are mentioned but not dwelt on. The public man receives the weight of attention here; his motivations and methods are well, if briefly, examined, while the impact of his use of civil disobedience and nonviolent protest to effect social change is also discussed in relation to the US civil rights movement. Useful and thought-provoking. B&w photos; source notes; chronology; bibliography; index. (Biography. 11-14)
Pub Date: March 1, 1994
ISBN: 1-56294-335-9
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Millbrook
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1994
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A portrait of the turn-of-the-century explorer, scientist, author, and all-round Norwegian öbermensch. Jacobs's portrayal is so adulatory that it might have made even an old swaggerer like Fridtjof Nansen wince. There's no doubting that his adventures (the first crossing of Greenland, tousling polar bears during polar wanderings) are the stuff of legend; but should readers be asked to believe that Nansen never groused, wore a coat, or experienced pain (``Even when his mother used a razor to cut him free [from a fishhook in his lip], he didn't flinch''). What's the message here? The hype, because it's so hard to credit, undercuts Nansen's real achievements in exploration and scholarship. Still, Jacobs is a good storyteller. She keeps up an exciting pace, handles the events with dramatic flair, and includes lots of fascinating details. Notes; bibliography. Photos and index not seen. (Biography. 10-14)
Pub Date: May 4, 1994
ISBN: 0-399-22674-5
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1994
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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