An anemic retread.
An overview of medical practices and advances from early days to…somewhat later days.
The co-authors define technology as “the use of knowledge and inventions to make human life better” and continue on, in that same blandly optimistic vein, to survey the state of classical and traditional medicine in various cultures from ancient Greece and Rome to India, China, and the Americas (“thousands of different cultures” are acknowledged, although the seven-page overview offers little room for differentiation); except for Egypt, Africa doesn’t make the cut. Readers may be surprised to learn that doctors in ancient India used giant biting ants to suture ruptured intestines, thus preventing infections, and that ancient Greek surgeons could “safely amputate limbs.” But the authors neglect to mention that wholesale bloodletting wasn’t just an ancient practice but common up through the late 19th century. Those hoping for a glimpse of modern medical wonders will be disappointed since, notwithstanding a moderate amount of editing to the text, this refurbished version of the Woods’ 2011 volume Ancient Medical Technology rushes through the 18th and 19th centuries and stops at the discovery of antibiotics in 1928—with not much beyond an annotated list of more recent books tacked on to the end of the original edition’s stale selected bibliography, covering the last century or so of innovation. The illustrations offer an assortment of ancient sites and artifacts.
An anemic retread. (timeline, glossary, index, photo credits) (Nonfiction. 11-18)Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9798765610039
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Twenty-First Century/Lerner
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Brief yet inspirational, this story will galvanize youth to use their voices for change.
Testa’s connection to and respect for nature compelled her to begin championing animal causes at the age of 10, and this desire to have an impact later propelled her to dedicate her life to fighting plastic pollution. Starting with the history of plastic and how it’s produced, Testa acknowledges the benefits of plastics for humanity but also the many ways it harms our planet. Instead of relying on recycling—which is both insufficient and ineffective—she urges readers to follow two additional R’s: “refuse” and “raise awareness.” Readers are encouraged to do their part, starting with small things like refusing to use plastic straws and water bottles and eventually working up to using their voices to influence business and policy change. In the process, she highlights other youth advocates working toward the same cause. Short chapters include personal examples, such as observations of plastic pollution in Mauritius, her maternal grandparents’ birthplace. Testa makes her case not only against plastic pollution, but also for the work she’s done, resulting in something of a college-admissions–essay tone. Nevertheless, the first-person accounts paired with science will have an impact on readers. Unfortunately, no sources are cited and the lack of backmatter is a missed opportunity.
Brief yet inspirational, this story will galvanize youth to use their voices for change. (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-22333-8
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2020
Though not the most balanced, an enlightening look back for the queer future.
An adaptation for teens of the adult title A Queer History of the United States (2011).
Divided into thematic sections, the text filters LGBTQIA+ history through key figures in each era from the 1500s to the present. Alongside watershed moments like the 1969 Stonewall uprising and the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 1990s, the text brings to light less well-known people, places, and events: the 1625 free love colony of Merrymount, transgender Civil War hero Albert D.J. Cashier, and the 1951 founding of the Mattachine Society, to name a few. Throughout, the author and adapter take care to use accurate pronouns and avoid imposing contemporary terminology onto historical figures. In some cases, they quote primary sources to speculate about same-sex relationships while also reminding readers of past cultural differences in expressing strong affection between friends. Black-and-white illustrations or photos augment each chapter. Though it lacks the teen appeal and personable, conversational style of Sarah Prager’s Queer, There, and Everywhere (2017), this textbook-level survey contains a surprising amount of depth. However, the mention of transgender movements and activism—in particular, contemporary issues—runs on the slim side. Whereas chapters are devoted to over 30 ethnically diverse gay, lesbian, bisexual, or queer figures, some trans pioneers such as Christine Jorgensen and Holly Woodlawn are reduced to short sidebars.
Though not the most balanced, an enlightening look back for the queer future. (glossary, photo credits, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 11, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-8070-5612-7
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Beacon Press
Review Posted Online: March 12, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
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