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FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT

From the The Making of America series

A solid account for both history buffs and report-writers.

A conversational examination of the life of the 32nd president.

Kanefield provides readers with an intimate examination of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, following the president from his birth in Hyde Park, New York, to his death in Warm Springs, Georgia. Along the way, readers discover Roosevelt’s complexities, his personal life, and his policies. These include well-known shining moments, such as his electoral victory in 1932 and the political and gender diversity of his cabinet, as well as darker moments in his life, including his ongoing affair with Lucy Mercer and his lavish lifestyle as a young man. Although Kanefield’s storytelling isn’t always smooth, overall it flows in a friendly and welcoming style that reluctant readers will appreciate. Photographs and supplemental boxes of contextual information interrupt when additional background information is needed. The backmatter is also helpful, and it includes a timeline, bibliography, notes on the chapters, and selections of FDR’s writing for curious readers. Those readers will need to flip back and forth between narrative and endnotes for sourcing information, however, as they are not directly anchored to the text. Those familiar with Kanefield’s other biographical works will not be disappointed.

A solid account for both history buffs and report-writers. (Biography. 9-12)

Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-4197-3402-1

Page Count: 256

Publisher: Abrams

Review Posted Online: July 27, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019

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THE 25 GREATEST BASEBALL PLAYERS OF ALL TIME

In no particular order and using no set criteria for his selections, veteran sportscaster Berman pays tribute to an arbitrary gallery of baseball stars—all familiar names and, except for the Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez, retired from play for decades. Repeatedly taking the stance that statistics are just numbers but then reeling off batting averages, home-run totals, wins (for pitchers) and other data as evidence of greatness, he offers career highlights in a folksy narrative surrounded by photos, side comments and baseball-card–style notes in side boxes. Readers had best come to this with some prior knowledge, since he casually drops terms like “slugging percentage,” “dead ball era” and “barnstorming” without explanation and also presents a notably superficial picture of baseball’s history—placing the sport’s “first half-century” almost entirely in the 1900s, for instance, and condescendingly noting that Jackie Robinson’s skill led Branch Rickey to decide that he “was worthy of becoming the first black player to play in the majors.” The awesome feats of Ruth, Mantle, the Gibsons Bob and Josh, Hank Aaron, Ty Cobb and the rest are always worth a recap—but this one’s strictly minor league. (Nonfiction. 10-12)

Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2010

ISBN: 978-1-4022-3886-4

Page Count: 138

Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2010

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POCAHONTAS

A LIFE IN TWO WORLDS

From the Sterling Biographies series

A spirited biography untangles the accretion of myth and story around Pocahontas and makes clear what little is actually known and what fragments of the historical record are available. The text is rich in illustration and in sidebars (on longhouses, colonial diet, weaponry and so on) that illuminate the central narrative. Whether Pocahontas saved John Smith’s life directly or as part of an elaborate ritual might not matter, argues Jones. Pocahontas and her people were certainly responsible for keeping the English settlement of Jamestown from starvation. Relations between English settlers and Native people were uneasy at best, and the author traces these carefully, relating how Pocahontas was later kidnapped by the British and held for ransom. When none was forthcoming, she was converted both to English ways and the Christian religion, marrying the widower John Rolfe and traveling to England, where Pocahontas saw John Smith once again and died at about the age of 21. An excellent stab at myth busting and capturing the nuances of both the figure and her times. (glossary, bibliography, source notes, index) (Biography. 9-12)

 

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2010

ISBN: 978-1-4027-6844-6

Page Count: 124

Publisher: Sterling

Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2010

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