TIME FOR BIOGRAPHY

Expanding upon a section in Time for True Tales and Almost True, the editors have added thirty-two excerpts to thesixteen in the earlier volume and appended remarks on theevaluation and use of juvenile biography. The orientation andmost of the selections are traditional/inspirational; Genevieve Foster, Clara Ingram Judson and James Daugherty areexplicitly cited as masters of the genre. The concludingdiscussion, while stressing a balanced view and an appropriatestyle, does not take up such problems as nature and degree offictionalization, and the selections themselves abound inwords that were never spoken (""The time has come to serve thepeople in our native land and you will help me, my brave girl, just as you have here""--Gandhi to his wife re leaving SouthAfrica for England and ultimately India). Within theselimitations the book has potential as an introductoryanthology, subdivided as per Explorers, Presidents of theU.S., Heroes of American History, American Men of Science (alltechnologists, as the editors acknowledge), Communicators(Benj. West, Thoreau, Twain, Toscanini [at 19, from Teen-agersWho Made History], Mary McLeod Bethune, Helen Keller), TheWorld View (including pure scientists), Heroes of the OldTestament (the latter in adaptations by Mrs. Arbuthnot).Besides suggesting approaches to competence in evaluation, theterminal tips feature guidelines for assignments that areeminently practical (like a reminder of the virtualnonexistence of elementary school age autobiography).