Fittingly solid, if not exciting.
An experienced nonfiction writer ably summarizes the life of the 46th president.
Long political and personal preparation led to Joe Biden’s inauguration as U.S. president in 2021. Currie neatly fits the details of Biden’s public and private lives into the publisher’s format, dividing his information into five chapters covering the Scranton, Pennsylvania, native’s early years; his Delaware political experience and the deaths of his first wife and daughter; his years in the Senate; his years as vice president; and the successful 2020 presidential campaign. An introduction describes the four-day wait for results after Nov. 3, 2020, and offers an overview of Biden’s path to the presidency. The opening chapter stresses his modest origins compared to most of his predecessors. The author gives examples of Biden’s ability to work across political differences and of some actions which, looking back, caused controversy. He mentions the accusations of plagiarism that derailed his first presidential run in 1988 and the long but unsuccessful primary struggle in 2007-8 before he was offered the position of vice president on Barack Obama’s winning team. The final chapter focuses on the winning campaign of 2020. The writing is clear and evenhanded, documented with primary sources including Biden’s own memoir and a range of news sources. Occasional photographs, with family members as well as political opponents, support the generally positive tone.
Fittingly solid, if not exciting. (source notes, timeline, further research, index, picture credits) (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: June 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-67820-084-8
Page Count: 64
Publisher: ReferencePoint Press
Review Posted Online: April 7, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A concise depiction of the journey that broke many barriers for a driven woman of color.
A daughter of immigrants follows a path of social and political activism to become the first female, Black, and Asian American vice president of the United States.
Kamala Harris’ story is outlined here, from her childhood years to her rise in California politics and election as vice president. Her mother, who came from India, and her father, who is from Jamaica, met as graduate students in Berkeley. They were both interested in social justice, and some of Harris’ earliest memories are of attending protests. Her parents divorced when she was young, and her mother raised her daughters to identify with both sides of her family while recognizing that they would be perceived as Black. Harris attended the historically Black Howard University in Washington, D.C., before returning to California for law school. Despite distrust of prosecutors in marginalized communities, Harris chose that career path, believing in her ability to make change. Political success followed despite some criticism, such as when she refused to seek the death penalty following the killing of a police officer. Her qualifications led to her selection as running mate for 2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden. This brief, easy-to-read biography, enhanced with quotes and photographs, offers a solid introduction. Sidebars provide important background context, and the work as a whole provides a useful snapshot of the life of an important woman.
A concise depiction of the journey that broke many barriers for a driven woman of color. (source notes, timeline, further research, index) (Nonfiction. 12-16)Pub Date: June 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-67820-086-2
Page Count: 64
Publisher: ReferencePoint Press
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2021
Antarctica is undeniably cool, and this volume makes sure we know it.
One of the coldest and most remote places on Earth is brought into the spotlight with personal warmth, thrilling history, and bitter truths.
Henry presents a treasure trove of information about Antarctica as testimony to her late father George W. Gibbs Jr.’s impactful legacy as the first Black man to travel there in 1940 onboard the USS Bear as part of Richard E. Byrd’s expedition to establish permanent bases and further explore and map the continent. Excerpts from Gibbs’ diary frame stories of other intrepid explorers, the extreme challenges of the unique terrain, and the evolution of technology and equipment. Still, the story of Antarctica is at times unavoidably disheartening, as the same anti-Black racism that nearly erased from the history books Matthew Henson, a free Black man that played a pivotal role in Robert Peary’s famed 1909 expedition to the North Pole, is a point of focus here as Henry narrates her father’s own adventures and the historical context surrounding them. Fatal accidents, the mistreatment of wildlife, and negative human-made environmental impacts are also covered in this detailed description of the continent and our complicated relationship to it. This is an accessible look at the bio- and geo-diversity of our planet that focuses on a particular space full of relatively new discoveries and with much more still to teach us.
Antarctica is undeniably cool, and this volume makes sure we know it. (author’s note, glossary, source notes, bibliography, further reading, index, photo credits) (Nonfiction. 12-16)Pub Date: Oct. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5415-6095-6
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Twenty-First Century/Lerner
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2021
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