A compelling, entertaining, and informative introduction to a sinister aspect of human history.
The roles poisons have played in history from ancient times to the present are presented in this frequently ghoulish, occasionally cheeky chronicle.
Albee explains that “as long as humans have lived in social groups, poisons have played a part.” She explores the impacts poisons, both natural and manufactured, have had on history, crime, medicine, science, religion, slavery, jobs, advertising, and everyday life. Poison was used to end the lives of such famous and infamous figures as Socrates, Alexander the Great, Rasputin, Joseph Stalin, and Yasser Arafat, numerous Roman emperors, and more than a few popes. With poisons such as arsenic and strychnine easily available in pharmacies until the early 20th century, murder by poison was not limited to the notable and powerful. Poisoning fell out of favor with advances in forensic science and toxicology. Albee also discusses the applications of poisons in medical treatment; these were often detrimental or fatal to the patient but could be beneficial, as in chemotherapy for cancer. The countless lives affected by greedy “snake oil” salesmen, food contaminants, and industrial toxins are also explored. Complementing the narrative are sidebars highlighting specific poisons, unresolved questions, and unsolved mysteries. Albee’s approach to the subject is lively, accessible, and likely to inspire many readers to delve deeper.
A compelling, entertaining, and informative introduction to a sinister aspect of human history. (timeline, glossary, resources, notes, bibliography) (Nonfiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-101-93223-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: June 4, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Deftly written and informative; a call for vigilance and equality.
An examination of the history of Chinese American experiences.
Blackburn opens with a note to readers about growing up feeling invisible as a multicultural, biracial Chinese American. She notes the tremendous diversity of Chinese American history and writes that this book is a starting point for learning more. The evenly paced narrative starts with the earliest recorded arrival of the Chinese in America in 1834. A teenage girl, whose real name is unknown, arrived in New York Harbor with the Carnes brothers, merchants who imported Chinese goods and put her on display “like an animal in a circus.” The author then examines shifting laws, U.S. and global political and economic climates, and changing societal attitudes. The book introduces the highlighted people—including Yee Ah Tye, Wong Kim Ark, Mabel Ping-Hua Lee, and Vincent Chen—in relation to lawsuits or other transformative events; they also stand as examples for explaining concepts such as racial hierarchy and the model minority myth. Maps, photos, and documents are interspersed throughout. Chapters close with questions that encourage readers to think critically about systems of oppression, actively engage with the material, and draw connections to their own lives. Although the book covers a wide span of history, from the Gold Rush to the rise in anti-Asian hate during the Covid-19 pandemic, it thoroughly explains the various events. Blackburn doesn’t shy away from describing terrible setbacks, but she balances them with examples of solidarity and progress.
Deftly written and informative; a call for vigilance and equality. (resources, bibliography, image credits) (Nonfiction. 10-14)Pub Date: March 26, 2024
ISBN: 9780593567630
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
Hot on the heels of the well-received Leonardo da Vinci (2005) comes another agreeably chatty entry in the Giants of Science series. Here the pioneering physicist is revealed as undeniably brilliant, but also cantankerous, mean-spirited, paranoid and possibly depressive. Newton’s youth and annus mirabilis receive respectful treatment, the solitude enforced by family estrangement and then the plague seen as critical to the development of his thoughtful, methodical approach. His subsequent squabbles with the rest of the scientific community—he refrained from publishing one treatise until his rival was dead—further support the image of Newton as a scientific lone wolf. Krull’s colloquial treatment sketches Newton’s advances in clearly understandable terms without bogging the text down with detailed explanations. A final chapter on “His Impact” places him squarely in the pantheon of great thinkers, arguing that both his insistence on the scientific method and his theories of physics have informed all subsequent scientific thought. A bibliography, web site and index round out the volume; the lack of detail on the use of sources is regrettable in an otherwise solid offering for middle-grade students. (Biography. 10-14)
Pub Date: April 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-670-05921-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2006
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