The heroic and bloody story of the Roman gladiators is retold in Watkins's debut work, a comprehensive and vividly illustrated guide that will impart his obvious passion for the subject to budding historians. Despite their sophistication in government and the arts, Romans had a cruel and crude taste for violence, and Watkins traces the growth of the games from the first combat in 264 b.c., at the funeral of Junius Brutus, to the elaborate spectacles that regularly entranced thousands at the Colosseum. A job that was first thought fit only for prisoners of war, slaves, and criminals, it became an honored profession that, at the height of the empire, was more than half-full of distinguished male volunteers (women gladiators were officially banned in a.d. 200). Watkins meticulously reviews the training of gladiators and also takes readers through an upbeat gallery of the various types of gladiators who played the games. The black-and-white drawings capture the elegance of the Roman Colosseum, and the excitement of the sea battles that were held at terrific expense; the renderings of the gladiators are consistently dramatic. (map, bibliography, further reading, glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 10-15)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-395-82656-X
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1997
BOOK REVIEW
A warm tribute to the WPA-funded “book women” (and men) who rode Kentucky’s backwoods in the 1930s and early ’40s, delivering library service to some of this country’s most impoverished citizens. Gathering information from archives, hard-to-find published sources, and interviews, the authors write feelingly of the Pack Horse Library Program’s origins and the obstacles its dedicated employees overcame. These ranged from the chronic scarcity of books and magazines (nearly all of which were donated) to the rigors of riding, generally alone, over rugged terrain in all weathers. Those rigors are made more immediate by a reconstructed account of a rider’s day: rising at 4:30, stopping at isolated hamlets, cabins, and one-room schools to drop off materials and, sometimes, to read aloud, then plodding wearily home through darkness and drizzle. Supported by a generous array of contemporary photos and sturdy lists of sources and Web sites to give interested readers a leg up on further inquiry, this adds unique insights not just to the history of library service, but of Appalachian culture, and of women’s work in general. (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: May 31, 2001
ISBN: 0-06-029135-4
Page Count: 64
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2001
An uncritical account.
In this graphic biography, Libby (the future Statue of Liberty, depicted as a young Black woman) and the future Uncle Sam (a young White man) narrate the life story of Mohandas K. Gandhi, India’s most famous freedom fighter.
The book begins with Gandhi’s birth in 1860s India, at the time under British rule. Young Gandhi’s highly religious mother instilled in him a dedication to Hinduism that would famously last his entire life. The book continues with a description of Gandhi’s wedding to Kasturba Makanji at the age of 13, his departure to England to study law, and his eventual move to South Africa. In South Africa, Gandhi developed the tactics that would make him famous in India, including the practices of satyagraha and ahimsa—truth seeking and nonviolence, respectively—and the founding of ashrams where he could live a life of simplicity. Following a survey of Gandhi’s leadership in the Indian independence movement, such as the founding of the noncooperation movement and the organization of salt marches, the book ends with Gandhi’s assassination and his influence on civil rights movements throughout modern history. While the book is thorough, it is entirely laudatory, never addressing Gandhi’s well-documented early anti-Blackness or his misogyny. Additionally, while the book mentions leaders Jawaharlal Nehru and Muhammad Ali Jinnah, it mentions no female or Dalit leaders, erasing the contributions of hundreds of freedom fighters who made Indian independence possible. Series companion Frida Kahlo: The Revolutionary Painter! publishes simultaneously.
An uncritical account. (Graphic biography. 10-15)Pub Date: Sept. 28, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-64517-409-7
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Portable Press
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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