A rare and exhilarating mix of hard science and seagoing terror.
Interwoven storylines link a triumphant technological advance with a harrowing tale of survival at sea.
In a real pleaser for readers with an expansive range of interests, Lantos twines a meaty account of the invention of radar with the story of how that device came into play in rescuing a raft crowded with the survivors of an American cargo ship torpedoed weeks before by a U-boat in shark-infested waters. He traces the history of radar from 18th-century Italian anatomy professor Luigi Galvani’s experiments with twitching frog legs to the powerful detection device that gave the Allies a significant, perhaps even decisive, advantage in World War II. Lantos also tells some absorbing side stories along the way. He not only describes the development of electromagnetic theory in specific but largely non-mathematical terms, but also—drawing from eyewitness accounts of raft survivors who were Christian missionaries returning from Ivory Coast—vividly captures the perils faced by those deemed enemy foreigners, trapped in countries suddenly under Nazi control. Likewise notable are his follow-up passages on radar’s myriad offspring from microwave ovens to GPS, as well as thrilling mentions of the still-unrecovered $50 million in Congolese gold that went down with the torpedoed cargo ship. The illustrations mix old photos and documents with Marks’ watercolor views of figures in West African and nautical settings in a mishmash that somehow suits the broad range of themes and topics. The bibliography and endnotes are likewise admirable in both bulk and scope.
A rare and exhilarating mix of hard science and seagoing terror. (image credits, index) (Nonfiction. 11-14)Pub Date: Sept. 24, 2024
ISBN: 9781623543457
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
Intrepid explorer Lourie tackles the “Father of Waters,” the Mighty Mississippi, traveling by canoe, bicycle, foot, and car, 2,340 miles from the headwaters of the great river at the Canadian border to the river’s end in the Gulf of Mexico. As with his other “river titles” (Rio Grande, 1999, etc.), he intertwines history, quotes, and period photographs, interviews with people living on and around the river, personal observations, and contemporary photographs of his journey. He touches on the Native Americans—who still harvest wild rice on the Mississippi, and named the river—loggers, steamboats, Civil War battles, and sunken treasure. He stops to talk with a contemporary barge pilot, who tows jumbo-sized tank barges, or 30 barges carrying 45,000 tons of goods up and down and comments: “You think ‘river river river’ night and day for weeks on end.” Lourie describes the working waterway of locks and barges, oil refineries and diesel engines, and the more tranquil areas with heron and alligators, and cypress swamps. A personal travelogue, historical geography, and welcome introduction to the majestic river, past and present. (Nonfiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2000
ISBN: 1-56397-756-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
If Freedman wrote the history textbooks, we would have many more historians. Beginning with an engrossing description of the Boston Tea Party in 1773, he brings the reader the lives of the American colonists and the events leading up to the break with England. The narrative approach to history reads like a good story, yet Freedman tucks in the data that give depth to it. The inclusion of all the people who lived during those times and the roles they played, whether small or large are acknowledged with dignity. The story moves backwards from the Boston Tea Party to the beginning of the European settlement of what they called the New World, and then proceeds chronologically to the signing of the Declaration. “Your Rights and Mine” traces the influence of the document from its inception to the present ending with Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. The full text of the Declaration and a reproduction of the original are included. A chronology of events and an index are helpful to the young researcher. Another interesting feature is “Visiting the Declaration of Independence.” It contains a short review of what happened to the document in the years after it was written, a useful Web site, and a description of how it is displayed and protected today at the National Archives building in Washington, D.C. Illustrations from the period add interest and detail. An excellent addition to the American history collection and an engrossing read. (Nonfiction. 9-13)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-8234-1448-5
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2000
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