Rousing tales of heroic deeds for causes just or otherwise.
Tributes to the courage of over two dozen secret agents of the World War II era and afterward—not all of them on the same side.
Drawing largely from the annals of Britain’s Special Operations Executive, historian Long highlights the daring exploits of roughly equal numbers of men and women plus one homing pigeon, with briefer mentions of several others. Most worked to support the French Resistance, but Roald Dahl, for instance, spied for the British on the then-neutral U.S. in the war’s early days. The roster also includes double agents who played both sides; Klaus Fuchs, who shared nuclear secrets with the USSR; and war criminal Adolf Eichmann’s Mossad kidnapper, Zvi Aharani. Except for renowned entertainer Josephine Baker and radio operator Noor Inayat Khan, the cast is all White. If the three-to-four–page entries are skimpy on biographical specifics and no sources are given, there’s no shortage of thrilling feats, narrow escapes, tragic fates, and occasional insights into character or motive. Few of these figures are familiar today; of those who ought to be better known, Charles Fraser-Smith may lead the pack as inventor of the exploding rat and other ingenious gear for spies and saboteurs. Along with attractive, full-color portraits and spot art with a retro feel, Po adds modest quantities of visual drama with painted scenes of explosions, parachutes, and neatly dressed agents hiding from or calmly posing with enemy soldiers.
Rousing tales of heroic deeds for causes just or otherwise. (epilogue) (Nonfiction. 10-13)Pub Date: Aug. 9, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-571-36184-7
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
A breezy, bustling bucketful of courageous acts and eye-popping feats.
Why should grown-ups get all the historical, scientific, athletic, cinematic, and artistic glory?
Choosing exemplars from both past and present, Mitchell includes but goes well beyond Alexander the Great, Anne Frank, and like usual suspects to introduce a host of lesser-known luminaries. These include Shapur II, who was formally crowned king of Persia before he was born, Indian dancer/professional architect Sheila Sri Prakash, transgender spokesperson Jazz Jennings, inventor Param Jaggi, and an international host of other teen or preteen activists and prodigies. The individual portraits range from one paragraph to several pages in length, and they are interspersed with group tributes to, for instance, the Nazi-resisting “Swingkinder,” the striking New York City newsboys, and the marchers of the Birmingham Children’s Crusade. Mitchell even offers would-be villains a role model in Elagabalus, “boy emperor of Rome,” though she notes that he, at least, came to an awful end: “Then, then! They dumped his remains in the Tiber River, to be nommed by fish for all eternity.” The entries are arranged in no evident order, and though the backmatter includes multiple booklists, a personality quiz, a glossary, and even a quick Braille primer (with Braille jokes to decode), there is no index. Still, for readers whose fires need lighting, there’s motivational kindling on nearly every page.
A breezy, bustling bucketful of courageous acts and eye-popping feats. (finished illustrations not seen) (Collective biography. 10-13)Pub Date: May 10, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-14-751813-2
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Puffin
Review Posted Online: Nov. 10, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2015
The life of Manjiro Nakahama, also known as John Mung, makes an amazing story: shipwrecked as a young fisherman for months on a remote island, rescued by an American whaler, he became the first Japanese resident of the US. Then, after further adventures at sea and in the California gold fields, he returned to Japan where his first-hand knowledge of America and its people earned him a central role in the modernization of his country after its centuries of peaceful isolation had ended. Expanding a passage from her Commodore Perry in the Land of the Shogun (1985, Newbery Honor), Blumberg not only delivers an absorbing tale of severe hardships and startling accomplishments, but also takes side excursions to give readers vivid pictures of life in mid-19th-century Japan, aboard a whaler, and amidst the California Gold Rush. The illustrations, a generous mix of contemporary photos and prints with Manjiro’s own simple, expressive drawings interspersed, are at least as revealing. Seeing a photo of Commodore Perry side by side with a Japanese artist’s painted portrait, or strange renditions of a New England town and a steam train, based solely on Manjiro’s verbal descriptions, not only captures the unique flavor of Japanese art, but points up just how high were the self-imposed barriers that separated Japan from the rest of the world. Once again, Blumberg shows her ability to combine high adventure with vivid historical detail to open a window onto the past. (source note) (Biography. 10-13)
Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2001
ISBN: 0-688-17484-1
Page Count: 80
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2000
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