by Kevin Brown ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 1995
Dramatic book design and an analytical approach mark this biography of the so-called ``angriest black man in America.'' Brown characterizes Malcolm X's life as one of repeated radical transformations—from young social work case to glib street hustler to ascetic religious convert to increasingly articulate public figure—a man whose ideas also changed, and changed again, and were still in the process of changing at his death. The author places his subject in context, providing background histories of the Nation of Islam and the civil rights movement, and closes with savvy speculation about the man as an enduring symbol. Large, well- chosen b&w photos, plus a design that features display type on thick black bars, give the book a bold look. This isn't written with the passion of Walter Dean Myers's Malcolm X: By Any Means Necessary (1993), but it is a thoughtful, well-documented new entry in a crowded field. (notes, bibliography, index) (Biography. 11-15)
Pub Date: May 1, 1995
ISBN: 1-56294-500-9
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Millbrook
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1995
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by Susan Goldman Rubin ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 1999
This oversized, handsome book is an excellent introduction to one of America’s great photographers and her work, which influenced generations of others who followed her craft. Rubin (Toilets, Toasters, and Telephones, 1998, etc.) covers Bourke- White’s life chronologically, from her youth, when she wanted nothing more than to be a herpetologist, through her college years, when she first took a photography class, to her subsequent struggle to find her place in a largely male-dominated profession, photojournalism. By the time she was 30, Bourke-White had made her mark, and was able to earn a handsome living as she traveled the world, not only consorting with presidents and princes, but photographing some of the planet’s most wretched places, including concentration camps. Some of her most powerful photographs illustrate the book, and also give an insight into era in which she earned her place as an artist. Rubin makes clear that Bourke-White’s reputation continues to grow, providing researchers and browsers alike with a warm, admiring glimpse of a woman and her times. (notes, bibliography, index) (Biography. 10-13)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-8109-4381-6
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1999
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by Susan Goldman Rubin ; illustrated by Richie Pope
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by Livia Bitton-Jackson ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1999
In a sequel to the well-received I Have Lived a Thousand Years (1997, not reviewed), Bitton-Jackson writes of her life as Elli Friedmann in 1945, when she, her brother, and mother were liberated from Auschwitz and sent back to their former home in Czechoslovakia. Finding only a shell of the place they had known, they struggled to rebuild some semblance of life and waited for the return of Elli’s father. When they realized he was gone for good, their only hope through all their efforts was the prospect of obtaining papers that would allow them to emigrate to America. Through the long years that they waited, Elli found work teaching, and helping other Jews escape to Palestine, a dangerous and illegal undertaking. When they finally arrived in New York City, relatives welcomed them; an epilogue collapses most of the author’s adult life into a few paragraphs so readers will know the directions her life took. Interesting and inspiring, this story makes painfully clear how the fight to survive extended well beyond the war years; the discomforts and obstacles the author faced and articulates in such riveting detail will make readers squirm at the security and ease of their own lives. (Memoir. 12-14)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-689-82026-7
Page Count: 258
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1999
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