Awkward attempts to improve on an inherently interesting topic undermine this otherwise fine account
A creative approach, strong on vivid details and words that appeal to the senses, animates this biography of Typhoid Mary.
It opens like a novel, with a scene in 1906 of a wealthy woman firing her cook. In “a terrible fix” to find a new one, she hires an Irish immigrant named Mary Mallon, who, unknowingly, turns out to be a typhoid-fever carrier later dubbed Typhoid Mary. The chapter’s title, “In Which Mrs. Warren Has a Servant Problem,” and its final one-sentence cliffhanger, “Mary’s life was about to change forever,” reflect literary techniques typically found in fiction, while art nouveau typeface for chapter titles and a closing “Photo Album” create an old-fashioned tone. The chronological narrative quotes from such primary sources as contemporary newspapers and books and incorporates information about the disease and the fight to eliminate it. In trying to supplement limited personal sources about Mallon, Bartoletti bogs down her writing with language like “perhaps,” “most likely,” “must have,” and “may have.” Responsible though such introductions to supposition are, the result is a narrative that feels uncertain and may have readers wondering about unvoiced alternative scenarios. One section, meant to tie the past to the present, misinterprets a Gallup poll, incorrectly stating that most Americans don’t trust their local governments.
Awkward attempts to improve on an inherently interesting topic undermine this otherwise fine account . (Nonfiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Aug. 4, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-544-31367-5
Page Count: 240
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2015
A solid introduction to a charismatic founding father.
The contributions and eventful life of founding father Alexander Hamilton are examined and explained.
The enthusiasm for Broadway hit and cultural phenomenon Hamilton, The Musical shows little signs of abating, and its popular cast album has generated interest in the country’s first treasury secretary among all ages. This brief biography seeks to answer questions about the talented founding father whose background was so unlike those of his peers. Beginning and ending with Hamilton’s duel with then–Vice President Aaron Burr, the remainder follows his life, focusing on many of the highlights that brought him to prominence. Of course, his efforts to determine the country’s economic system and the rivalry they spawned with Thomas Jefferson are prominent. Kanefield provides necessary context for the differing worldviews of the two men, cogently explaining the strong distrust between growing mercantile interests and the planter class. In much the same way, she compares the similarities between Hamilton and Burr as well as the political differences that eventually drove them to the duel. Given the target audience, there is no mention of the sex scandal that tarnished Hamilton’s public reputation, but there is some sense of his complicated personality. The strength of the book is the generous use of Hamilton’s own words, including a section with samples of his writings. Illustrations and sidebars add clarity to the readable narrative.
A solid introduction to a charismatic founding father. (timeline, chapter notes, bibliography, index) (Biography. 10-14)Pub Date: March 7, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4197-2578-4
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017
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Accessible, erudite, aesthetically appealing: a must-have.
It is no small task to create a book that summarizes over a century of U.S. history, gives a crash course in civics, and provides succinct, pithy biographies of numerous women who have served in the legislative and judicial branches of government. Cooper pulls it off.
She sets her tone with the introduction: “Guess how many women served in the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives from the first Congress in 1789 until the 65th Congress began in 1917. / 200? 100? 50? / Zero. Nada. None…. / What’s up with that?” Vigorous prose and well-chosen anecdotes, enhanced by elegant design, make for a continually engaging read. A double-page spread featuring a 1914 photograph of suffragists superimposed with a feisty Susan B. Anthony quotation precedes some general history of the suffrage movement, followed by short biographies of key women. Each subsequent chronological section similarly captures an era, with appropriate artwork. (Doves and flowers adorn the introduction to the 1960s). Throughout the cataloging of legislative triumphs—in a spectrum of issues far beyond women’s rights—there are documented anecdotes of struggles against racism and sexism, such as the day in the 1970s when a committee chairman insisted that the sole female representative and the sole African-American representative share a chair, as their votes “were worth only half of one regular Member.”
Accessible, erudite, aesthetically appealing: a must-have. (foreword, appendix, endnotes, bibliography, acknowledgments, index) (Nonfiction. 10-14)Pub Date: March 11, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4197-1036-0
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: Jan. 7, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2014
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