A well-balanced, insightful biography of our most idealistic president, presenting his flaws as well as his important place in history. Beginning with the dramatic story of Wilson's most difficult decision—to ask for a declaration of war against Germany—Randolph contrasts his peaceful childhood and early idealism with his developing career, first as a lawyer too highly principled to succeed and then as a successful academic and politician. Throughout, the author documents his physical infirmities and moral rigidity, illuminating his motives in the struggle over entering WW I and his ultimate failure to persuade the US to join the League of Nations. Randolph effectively conveys the feelings of the time, including the bigotry and intolerance Wilson predicted before calling for war, and also presents Wilson's human side: his despair at the death of his first wife and ecstatic love for the second. Not for beginners at politics, but useful for anyone who wants to understand the difficulties facing those who try to live by their highest principles. (Biography. 12-18)
Pub Date: Jan. 8, 1992
ISBN: 0-8027-8143-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Walker
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1991
A biography that goes beyond static history, inspiring respect for Charlotte and encouraging writers and artists to defend...
This graphic biography presents Charlotte Brontë and her family as they persist through abundant struggles.
Readers see Charlotte grow from a cynical child in a family of six to an adult writer searching for a publisher. In telling her story, Fawkes includes lighthearted moments, like the reading posture necessitated by her nearsightedness or the dramatic fantasy world she and her siblings collectively imagined over the years. These temper the predominant, unavoidable melancholy over things such as the deaths of her two older siblings and the indentured drudgery of time as a teacher. Most successfully, Fawkes communicates the threat of poverty should Charlotte and her sisters be unable to secure financial independence, with few options available for Victorian women. Fawkes deftly weaves narration from Charlotte’s writings into appropriate biographical scenes. Despite setting notations, scene changes are sometimes jarring, and the ending is especially abrupt, cutting off at the moment of Charlotte’s success, as the title suggests. Fawkes’ illustrations appear as black-and-white, shaded pencil drawings in a style that cartoonist Alison Bechdel aptly describes in the introduction as “crisp and engaging.” A postscript by Fawkes explains her artistic and textual choices and personal “love” for Charlotte’s “persistence” and “imagination.” Sources for much of the narration and selected bibliography close.
A biography that goes beyond static history, inspiring respect for Charlotte and encouraging writers and artists to defend their work through adversity. (Graphic biography. 12-18)Pub Date: Sept. 24, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-368-02329-0
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 11, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
A story about what running really is: competing with other runners and not against them.
A story lost to history illuminates the unique way sports support feminism.
In 1967, the longest distance women could run in the Olympics was 800 meters. Doctors feared running long distances would destroy women’s reproductive organs; sports officials thought running was unladylike and set age limitations and capped distances females could run. But for Maureen Wilton, a white girl, running was how she felt most like herself and how she found her people. After three years of training, Maureen ran a marathon—and set a world record—at the age of 13. In her hometown of Toronto and beyond, Maureen became known as Mighty Moe, seen as part of the future of women’s competitive running. But with the growing pressure and the crumbling of her running community, Maureen stopped running. Shifting storylines sidetrack Maureen’s life to explain running techniques and history and explore how sports were another front in the battle for equality, which unfortunately undercuts the power of Maureen’s story and her eventual return to running. For when Maureen began running again in 2003, she rediscovered the community she had lost—the community that has seen people run races for fun and more women completing races than men.
A story about what running really is: competing with other runners and not against them. (Biography. 12-16)Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-374-31160-5
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
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