A riveting, completely engrossing true survival story.
Olson tells the harrowing true story of how eight men in three tiny inflatable rafts, lost in 68 million square miles of shark-infested Pacific Ocean without food or water and near enemy-held territory, survived three weeks before being rescued.
Instead of a combat mission, Capt. Bill Cherry’s B-17 bomber was transporting one of America’s greatest living war heroes, World War I flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker. Rickenbacker, second only to Charles Lindbergh in fame as a flyer, was to visit Guadalcanal and other bases of operation in the Pacific war zone on a secret fact-finding mission for the Pentagon. Unable to locate its refueling stop, the plane ditched in the ocean, deep in the battle zone. In a dramatic, intensely compelling narrative, Olson chronicles how everyone aboard the B-17 managed to survive three agonizing weeks of dehydration, malnutrition, exposure, threatening tiger sharks, and increasingly waning morale as they desperately waited for rescue. Olson does a particularly fine job conveying the personalities of these men, especially Rickenbacker, who is depicted as harsh and overbearing but perhaps indispensable in keeping up the other men’s spirits. As heroic as all these men were in helping each other survive the ordeal, none were immune to human foibles. Archival photos and other materials punctuate the text, such images as a photo of a lifeboat demo and a war-rationing poster providing valuable context.
A riveting, completely engrossing true survival story. (glossary, author‘s note, bibliography) (Nonfiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Oct. 25, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-92811-3
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
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
A balanced, well-written, and compelling survey of broad significance and usefulness.
Fairbanks (Anishinaabe) skillfully narrates the complex history of the treatment of Indigenous people in the present-day U.S. from the pre-colonization era to contemporary cultural revitalization.
Although this book is focused on boarding schools, the author begins the narrative long before their creation, offering crucial background knowledge by introducing readers to cultural values that guided daily life and intertribal relations in the Americas before the arrival of European colonizers. She carefully outlines the frameworks that affected the relationships between tribes and early explorers, settlers, and the federal government, such as the Doctrine of Discovery and Manifest Destiny. Next, breaking down the treatment of Indigenous peoples into seven eras from the 1770s through today, she discusses the many shifts in attitudes, treaties, and laws, including harsh efforts to “civilize” Native children. Written in a conversational style, the substantive narrative helps readers comprehend the policies that led to the establishment of boarding schools and understand how they were run. While Fairbanks doesn’t shy away from describing children’s mistreatment in the schools, she includes stories of survivors who went on to excel in their careers despite these experiences. The narrative is interspersed with occasional historical photographs, vignettes, and poems that add to an understanding of the boarding school experience. Each chapter ends with engaging questions that support deeper discussions. Text boxes furnish definitions of terms like Indigenous, genocide, treaties, assimilation, and self-determination.
A balanced, well-written, and compelling survey of broad significance and usefulness. (author’s note, list of boarding schools, resources, bibliography) (Nonfiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Aug. 18, 2026
ISBN: 9780593811399
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
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