ANDREW JOHNSON, Tailor from Tennessee

No longer spurned, Johnson has been the subject of five previous Juvenile biographies since 1962, three of them (Severn, Lomask, Hoyt) quite successful; this can Best and most appropriately be characterized in relation to them. Like the three, it is a full-scale life and generally sound, less dependent on invented (and extraneous) conversation than the Lomask, definitely more sympathetic than the Hoyt, closest in concept and coverage to the Severn. Because his tone is younger and his politics are less probing, Lomask is probably the best choice for the slightly younger child; because he analyzes events more fully, Hoyt is valuable for the historically-minded student; because he writes better, Severn has an edge over Crane--which leaves Crane in undeserved limbo. He's done his own research, come up with sensible interpretations of a stormy career, and told it all straightforwardly--if you need another.