The latest entry in the fine ``Black Americans of Achievement'' series introduces an evangelist who was so well known in his time that a postcard from overseas addressed to ``God/Harlem/USA'' was (properly—according to many of his followers) delivered to him. At the height of the Depression, Father Divine established a wildly successful ministry, informally known as the Peace Mission, that not only gave thousands of people jobs and a sense of purpose and community but also provided millions of hearty meals, set up scores of small businesses, and openly and peacefully promoted civil rights and racial integration. Weisbrot (the longer Father Divine and the Struggle for Racial Equality, 1983) paints an admiring portrait of a flashy, savvy, incorruptible preacher and social activist whose personal integrity and confrontational but nonviolent style won many friends and quiet victories. As Father Divine aged, the Peace Mission became less active; the author closes with a few words about its postwar activities and an analysis of Divine's place in the history of the civil-rights movement. Plenty of b&w photos; chronology; bibliography; index. (Biography. 12+)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-7910-1122-4
Page Count: 120
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1992
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S
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Brought together in what novelist Hansen (Which Way Freedom?, 1986) calls a ``great experiment,'' black troops in the Civil War faced not only enemy armies but their own side's vicious racism while proving their ability. They had already fought in every previous American war, but never in permanent units; faced with a manpower shortage, Lincoln overcame his reluctance and allowed black companies to form—though some had to assemble and march in secret to avoid civilian riots. Quoting frequently from contemporary sources, Hansen describes their recruitment, their struggle for proper pay, supplies, and training, and their heroic performance in dozens of actions. She contends that, for them, the war had no complex causes: first, last and always, it was a crusade against slavery. Her methodical, well-documented study is ranges wider than Cox's Undying Glory (about the Massachusetts 54th Regiment). Murky b&w photos and reproductions; notes; substantial bibliography; index. (Nonfiction. 12+)
Pub Date: April 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-531-11151-2
Page Count: 160
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1993
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S
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A low-wattage collection of original stories and poems, as unmemorable as it is unappealingly titled.
The collection was inspired by a perceived paucity of short science fiction for teen readers, and its production costs were covered by a Kickstarter campaign. The editors gather a dozen poems and 21 stories from a stable of contributors who, after headliners Jack McDevitt and Nancy Holder, will be largely unknown even to widely read fans of the genre. The tales place their characters aboard spacecraft or space stations, on other worlds or in future dystopias, but only rarely do the writers capture a credibly adolescent voice or sensibility. Standouts in this department are the Heinlein-esque “The Stars Beneath Our Feet,” by Stephen D. Covey & Sandra McDonald, about a first date/joyride in space gone wrong, and Camille Alexa’s portrait of a teen traumatized by a cyberspace assault (“Over It”). Along with a few attempts to craft futuristic slang, only Lavie Tidhar’s fragmentary tale of Tel Aviv invaded by successive waves of aliens, doppelgangers, zombies and carnivorous plants (“The Myriad Dangers”) effectively lightens the overall earnest tone. Aside from fictional aliens and modified humans, occasional references to dark skin (“Out of the Silent Sea,” Dale Lucas) are the only signs of ethnic diversity. Most of the free-verse poetry makes only oblique, at best, references to science-fictional themes.
A change of pace from the teeming swarms of fantasy and paranormal romance but too underpowered to achieve escape velocity. (author bios) (Science fiction/short stories. 12-14)Pub Date: Feb. 12, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-9847824-0-8
Page Count: 290
Publisher: Underwords
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2013
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S
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