Stefoff (Charles Darwin, 1996, etc.) blows the dust off 13 of archaeology's greatest triumphs, and the careers of the scientists and adventurers who forged them during the field's ``heroic age'' (from Napoleon's 1798 Egyptian expedition to Howard Carter's first glimpse of Tutankhamen's treasure in 1922) and beyond. To the often-told tales of Schliemann at Troy, Evans at Knossos, and Layard at Nineveh, Stefoff adds plenty of lesser-known discoveries, including Harriet Boyd's excavations at Gournia, known as ``the most perfectly preserved small Minoan town'', rancher Richard Wetherill's discovery of the cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde, and Nicholas Clapp's inspired use of satellite photography to locate the buried city of Ubar on the Arabian peninsula. From the discovery of Cop†n's royal tombs in the late 1980s to the even more recent excavation of a Byzantine church at Petra, many sites are yielding treasures even after decades of digging. Though the author includes too many general accounts of various civilizations that are more suited to textbook or encyclopedia articles, the currency of her information, the expertise with which she picks out intriguing details, plus the trenchant contrast she draws between the destructive methods of early treasure hunters and today's careful scientists, make this must reading for students of the past. Profusely illustrated with full-color and black-and-white photographs. (chronology, further reading, index) (Nonfiction. 12+)
Pub Date: March 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-19-509248-1
Page Count: 190
Publisher: Oxford Univ.
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1997
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Small but mighty necessary reading.
A miniature manifesto for radical queer acceptance that weaves together the personal and political.
Eli, a cis gay white Jewish man, uses his own identities and experiences to frame and acknowledge his perspective. In the prologue, Eli compares the global Jewish community to the global queer community, noting, “We don’t always get it right, but the importance of showing up for other Jews has been carved into the DNA of what it means to be Jewish. It is my dream that queer people develop the same ideology—what I like to call a Global Queer Conscience.” He details his own isolating experiences as a queer adolescent in an Orthodox Jewish community and reflects on how he and so many others would have benefitted from a robust and supportive queer community. The rest of the book outlines 10 principles based on the belief that an expectation of mutual care and concern across various other dimensions of identity can be integrated into queer community values. Eli’s prose is clear, straightforward, and powerful. While he makes some choices that may be divisive—for example, using the initialism LGBTQIAA+ which includes “ally”—he always makes clear those are his personal choices and that the language is ever evolving.
Small but mighty necessary reading. (resources) (Nonfiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09368-9
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
Brief yet inspirational, this story will galvanize youth to use their voices for change.
Testa’s connection to and respect for nature compelled her to begin championing animal causes at the age of 10, and this desire to have an impact later propelled her to dedicate her life to fighting plastic pollution. Starting with the history of plastic and how it’s produced, Testa acknowledges the benefits of plastics for humanity but also the many ways it harms our planet. Instead of relying on recycling—which is both insufficient and ineffective—she urges readers to follow two additional R’s: “refuse” and “raise awareness.” Readers are encouraged to do their part, starting with small things like refusing to use plastic straws and water bottles and eventually working up to using their voices to influence business and policy change. In the process, she highlights other youth advocates working toward the same cause. Short chapters include personal examples, such as observations of plastic pollution in Mauritius, her maternal grandparents’ birthplace. Testa makes her case not only against plastic pollution, but also for the work she’s done, resulting in something of a college-admissions–essay tone. Nevertheless, the first-person accounts paired with science will have an impact on readers. Unfortunately, no sources are cited and the lack of backmatter is a missed opportunity.
Brief yet inspirational, this story will galvanize youth to use their voices for change. (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-22333-8
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2020
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