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Darraj, Susan Muaddi
10 Reviews
(4)
YA
Modern World Leaders series.
This series, part history and part biography, challenges readers to consider the concept of leadership by placing the featured individual in a historical context. Each title includes childhood experiences, rise to power, significant historical events, international relationships, and political ideology. Captioned photographs provide additional perspectives and break up the intimidatingly dense texts. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., ind. Review covers these Modern World Leaders titles: Ehud Olmert, Felipe Calderón, Roh Moo Hyun, and Kim Jong Il.
Reviewer: Tamara DePasquale
(3)
YA
Great Hispanic Heritage series.
These biographies of Latino sports figures are bound to interest sports-loving readers. Rob Maaddi is a sports journalist, and the books provide vivid details about baseball (Clemente) and boxing (De La Hoya). Also included are informative scene-setting historical details and background about two men who overcame great odds to become sports heroes. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., ind. Review covers these Great Hispanic Heritage titles: Oscar De La Hoya and Roberto Clemente.
Reviewer: Tim Wadham
(3)
YA
Great Hispanic Heritage series.
These biographies of Latino sports figures are bound to interest sports-loving readers. Rob Maaddi is a sports journalist, and the books provide vivid details about baseball (Clemente) and boxing (De La Hoya). Also included are informative scene-setting historical details and background about two men who overcame great odds to become sports heroes. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., ind. Review covers these Great Hispanic Heritage titles: Oscar De La Hoya and Roberto Clemente.
Reviewer: Tim Wadham
(4)
YA
Creation of the Modern Middle East series.
These books (Iraq and Palestinian have been revised and updated) are straightforward histories of Middle Eastern countries (though the area's volatility makes the series immediately out of date). The texts are dry, but they do an adequate job of providing background. Useful maps delineate the region's geography, and the many photographs add interest. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., ind. Review covers these Creation of the Modern Middle East titles: United Arab Emirates, The Palestinian National Authority, and Iraq.
Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt
(3)
YA
Asian Americans of Achievement series.
These volumes discuss the lives and achievements of some noted Asian Americans. An abundance of facts are included in each book, in addition to some fascinating personal details and histories of the native countries of each subject's family. The books also include dynamic photographs and sidebars with further information. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Asian Americans of Achievement titles: Amy Tan, Bruce Lee, Daniel Inouye, Margaret Cho, Vera Wang, and Yo-Yo Ma.
Reviewer: Barbara Barstow
(3)
YA
Baseball Superstars series.
These baseball biographies are unusually sophisticated in their analysis of each player within the context of his time and the state of Major League Baseball. Nuanced discussions of the player's strengths and personal failings round out the portraits. Judicious use of quotations and many photos, sidebars, and stats are included. There are eight other new books in this series. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Baseball Superstars titles: Jackie Robinson, Ichiro Suzuki, Mariano Rivera, Hank Aaron, and Ted Williams.
Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin
(4)
YA
Modern World Leaders series.
By placing the featured leader in a historical context, this series, part history and part biography, challenges readers to consider the concept of leadership. Each title includes a discussion of childhood experiences, rise to power, significant historical events, international relationships, and political ideology. Photographs provide additional perspectives and break up the dense text. Reading list, timeline. Bib., ind. Review covers these Modern World Leaders titles: Hamid Karzai, Viktor Yushchenko, Ariel Sharon, and Hosni Mubarak.
Reviewer: Tamara DePasquale
(3)
YA
Great Hispanic Heritage series.
A great deal of biographical information and some historical context is imparted in these volumes about influential Hispanic authors who write primarily for adults but are enjoyed by many sophisticated young-adult readers. The challenging vocabulary (aquiline, parvenu, epiphany) shows that the series authors are not talking down to their readers. Scattered throughout are many photographs and helpful boxed historical asides. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., ind. Review covers these Great Hispanic Heritage titles: Gabriel García Márquez and Isabel Allende.
Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin
(4)
YA
Modern Peacemakers series.
These biographies of Nobel Peace Prize winners provide windows into worldwide political and social issues. Triumphs and controversies surrounding the winners (e.g., inaccuracies in Menchú's autobiography) are covered using primary and secondary sources. More photographs would have been useful to break up long discussions of complex issues. There are six other spring 2007 books in this series. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., ind. Review covers these Modern Peacemakers titles: Desmond Tutu, Mairead Corrigan and Betty Williams, Shirin Ebadi, Mother Teresa, Elie Wiesel, and Rigoberta Menchú Tum.
Reviewer: Laura A. Woollett
(4)
YA
Women in Medicine series.
Four of these text-heavy books follow the same format: an initial dramatic scene; eight to ten chapters of text; chronological approach; a section of black-and-white photographs following chapter three. Mahoney is more a history of African American nursing than a biography, as there is little known about the subject. Reading list, timeline. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Women in Medicine titles: Margaret Sanger, Mary Eliza Mahoney and the Legacy of African-American Nurses, Karen Horney, Rita Levi-Montalcini, and Elisabeth Kübler-Ross.
Reviewer: Gail Hedges
10 reviews
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