Bristling with patriotic fervor, Kent's (The Civil War, p. 480) undigested account of the Persian Gulf War pits heroic multinational coalition forces against the menacing but overrated troops of a vicious dictator, all in the cause of freedom. To say that the author pours it on thickly is to put it mildly. After opening with CNN's famous eyewitness account of the attack on Baghdad (``the reporters voices exclaimed `Oooooh,' then `Oooow' ''), he rapidly sketches the historical background before describing the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait (``A few gallant Kuwaitis defended the palace'') and the barbaric behavior of the occupying troops. Operation Desert Storm and the ensuing Iraqi rout are covered in some detail, laced with justifications from President Bush, Saddam Hussein's bluster, sound bites from various generals and frontline soldiers, plus the parades of numbers and ordnance (``The pilots unleashed their laser-guided Hellfire antitank missiles, 2.75-inch rockets, and 30mm. guns''). Kent does touch on both sides' strategy and tactics, cultural clashes within the coalition, postwar cleanup, the foiled 1993 assassination plot against President Bush, and plenty of other topics, but he brings neither insight nor perspective to the conflict. A decidedly superficial view of this brief but violent episode. (Chronology; notes; limited bibliography; index) (Nonfiction. 11-15)
Pub Date: Dec. 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-89490-528-7
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Enslow
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1994
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Few topics are more intrinsically interesting to young readers than disasters. Guiberson casts her net wide to examine ten natural and man-made disasters chronologically from smallpox in colonial America to Hurricane Katrina. The 20-page chapters, broken into subsections, describe the events with quotations from contemporary accounts and plenty of grim details. Photographs, drawings and diagrams, all usefully captioned, extend the lively text. The author analyzes causes of the disasters and factors that exacerbated them, such as building on landfill in 1906 San Francisco. In most chapters, she explores steps that could prevent or reduce future catastrophes, although only a brief introduction ties the chapters together. A Notes section highlights major sources for each chapter, without specific references, followed by an extensive bibliography but no further reading suggestions as such. Good for pleasure reading and as a starting point for research. (index, not seen) (Nonfiction. 11-14)
Pub Date: June 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-8050-8170-1
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano/Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The author of Alexander the Great Rocks the World (2006) offers a lively, informative and aggressively informal portrait of Egypt’s last and most famous pharaoh. Shecter effectively makes the case that Cleopatra was a far more capable and powerful ruler than she has been depicted in art, film and literature. Ascending to the throne at 17, Cleopatra proved herself a brilliant negotiator who used her considerable intelligence and charisma to forge alliances that kept her in power and in control of her kingdom. Describing Julius Caesar as a “dude [with] a reputation for being a player” and calling Marc Antony a “Roman redneck” are examples of Shecter’s relentlessly flippant style, which seems more appropriate for a gossip magazine than a biography. Young readers are likely, however, to appreciate the irreverent approach and goofy puns. Attractively designed, the book is abundantly illustrated throughout with color representations of art works, maps and photographs of artifacts. (source notes, chronology, glossary, bibliography, index) (Biography. 11-15)
Pub Date: Aug. 15, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-59078-718-2
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: June 2, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2010
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