(4) 4-6 Disasters--People in Peril series. Illustrated with effective stock photos, these books offer overviews of tragedies that shattered America's sense of security in the 1990s. Relying heavily on popular magazine articles and news websites, the authors recount the immediate mayhem, touch on the aftermaths, and present biographical sketches of the perpetrators. Columbine concludes with gun control arguments; Oklahoma discusses domestic terrorism. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Disasters--People in Peril titles: {cf2]Forty-Nine Minutes of Madness and Homegrown Terror.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(4) YA Business Leaders series. These biographies focus on the technologies that their youthful subjects developed--Facebook, Google, Amazon.com, and Twitter--and the way each company has changed from small startup to international phenomenon. The subjects' lives and inventions are explained in clear language with embedded definitions when necessary; some details are more important than others. Numerous photos (mostly relevant, some not) support the texts. Timeline, websites. Bib., ind. Review covers these Business Leaders titles: Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg, Google Founders, Jeff Bezos, and Twitter.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(4) YA Business Leaders series. These books highlight the lives of three entrepreneurs: Dell, developer and CEO of Dell Computers; Winfrey, popular TV talk-show host and successful businesswoman; and world-renowned fashion designer Ralph Lauren. Each person's rise to wealth and fame is described in straightforward text. Photographs add interest to these not particularly inspired but readable biographies. Timeline, websites. Bib., ind. Review covers these Business Leaders titles: Michael Dell, Oprah Winfrey, and Ralph Lauren.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(3) YA Black Americans of Achievement, Legacy Edition series. The original book published about Woods emphasized his closeness with his father; this revised and updated volume opens with a chapter titled "The Toughest Loss," about Earl Woods's death in 2006. Hasday goes beyond the typical personal information to provide relevant social history, and captioned photographs and boxed inserts enhance the conversational text. Reading list, timeline, websites. Ind.

Reviewer: Henrietta M. Smith

(4) YA Africa: Continent in the Balance series. These books begin with the same introduction, then delve into a country's history, culture, government, economy, and geography; Union gives information about the African Union's background and goals. Though the layout and writing are uninspired, there is a lot of useful information in each book. Many photographs, some graphic (e.g., dead bodies in Rwanda) are included. There are seven other fall 2007 books in this series. Reading list, timeline, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Africa: Continent in the Balance titles: Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Mozambique, Senegal, and The African Union.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(3) YA Asian Americans of Achievement series. Fans of ice skaters Yamaguchi and Kwan will find an abundance of details about their training and interim competitions as they worked toward the Olympics, and some information about their post-Olympic careers. Each book includes dynamic action photographs and sidebars of additional information. Yamaguchi also presents an informative history of Japanese Americans. Kwan has a glossary. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., ind. Review covers these Asian Americans of Achievement titles: Kristi Yamaguchi and Michelle Kwan.

Reviewer: Barbara Barstow

(3) YA Milestones in American History series. This book provides background information about the history of slavery and race relations in the United States before describing the process, development, and passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964. The text is earnest and engaging, using many direct quotations, sidebars, and photographs to support the progression--by turns frustrating, frightening, despairing, and inspiring--of historical events. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Cindy Lombardo

(3) YA Black Americans of Achievement, Legacy Edition series. Each updated biography (Cochran, King, Parks) explains its well-known subject's rise from adversity to national and/or international recognition, working for social justice in his or her own way. Glover's volume details his past and present-day career as a tap dancer. Captioned photographs and boxed inserts enhance the conversational texts. Reading list, timeline, websites. Ind. Review covers these Black Americans of Achievement, Legacy Edition titles: Johnnie Cochran, Coretta Scott King, Savion Glover, and Rosa Parks.

Reviewer: Henrietta M. Smith

(3) YA Great Hispanic Heritage series. These biographies provide substantive portraits of their subjects: Ochoa, the first Hispanic woman to travel in space; Martí, the poet and a hero of Cuban independence; and Huerta, a union activist who fought for the right of farm workers. The well-documented texts effectively combine anecdotes, quotations, and historical details. Many photographs, some drawings, and sidebars are also included. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., ind. Review covers these Great Hispanic Heritage titles: Ellen Ochoa, José Martí, and Dolores Huerta.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(4) YA Nobel Prize-Winning Scientists series. Beginning strangely with Curie's rumored affair with Paul Langevin in 1911, this biography then settles into a chronological account of her life and accomplishments, from her early years in Poland through her study at the Sorbonne, her marriage to Pierre, their discovery of radium, and its aftermath. Well-documented prose illustrated with black-and-white photos and diagrams also highlights Curie's social concerns. Reading list, timeline, websites. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(4) YA Nobel Prize-Winning Scientists series. After a first chapter explaining their subjects' overall scientific contributions, these books relate the events surrounding their Nobel award. Although a bit dry, the writing is generally balanced and fluid, except for the awkward Einstein volume. Black-and-white photos and occasional diagrams illustrate the books, and a few simple experiments are included. Reading list, timeline, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Nobel Prize-Winning Scientists titles: James Watson, Albert Einstein, Linus Pauling, and Enrico Fermi.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(3) YA American Mosaic: African-American Contributors series. Hasday does an adequate job chronicling one of the most successful military experiments in the nation's history--the training and deployment of the Tuskegee Airmen during WWII. Believed to be inferior by most military and political leaders, the Airmen proved that the color of one's skin had no influence on one's skill as a pilot. The book is illustrated with archival photographs. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Deborah L. Thompson

(3) YA Women in the Arts series. Each book opens with a pivotal moment in a female artist's life and then steps back to tell its subject's story chronologically. Numerous photos enliven the text. Scattered sidebars--e.g., on the civil rights movement or modernism in literature--add historical and artistic context. List of works, reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., ind. Review covers these Women in the Arts titles: Nina Simone, Agnes de Mille, and Virginia Woolf.

Reviewer: Norah Piehl

(4) 4-6 Great Disasters: Reforms and Ramifications series. Each of the books in this series begins with an account of the disaster it concerns, followed by background, including what is known of the causes, how those causes were determined, and what remedies were attempted. Illustrated with black-and-white photos and a few diagrams, the detailed but uneven texts reward close reading. Chronologies end the books. Chernobyl has a glossary. Bib., ind. [Review covers these Great Disasters: Reforms and Ramifications titles: The Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster, The Irish Potato Famine, The Holocaust.]

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(4) 4-6 Overcoming Adversity series. The series usually focuses on individuals facing personal challenges; this is the first volume that centers around a historic event. The book gets off to a slow start, recounting the early years of the space program, but finds its pace when detailing the near-disastrous flight of Apollo 13. Average-quality photographs accompany the text. A time line is included. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta

(4) 4-6 Great Disasters: Reforms and Ramifications series. This account of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor focuses on outlining the history of Japan as a nation but doesn't fully examine the international consequences of this event. Standard black-and-white photographs of the bombing and some of the key participants accompany the serviceable text. A time line is included. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta

(3) 4-6 Black Americans of Achievement series. Five notable figures in American popular culture, whose talents crisscross the fields of acting, singing, dancing, and modeling, are profiled in clearly written volumes illustrated with black-and-white photographs. Although personal lives are somewhat sanitized to emphasize positive traits, the books' main focus is on the professional careers of each individual and the determination and talent that have led to their achievements. Time lines are included. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta

(3) 4-6 Junior Drug Awareness series. Generally informative and clear, with an obvious "just say no" message throughout, this series will provide helpful information for students seeking up-to-date facts, whether for personal reasons or for school reports. Each volume includes color photos and charts and appended lists of websites and organizations to contact. Bib., glos., ind.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(3) 4-6 Women of Achievement series. Published spring 1998.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(3) 4-6 Overcoming Adversity series. Known today for his mellifluous and authoritative voice, James Earl Jones was a childhood stutterer who spent his formative years as a near-mute to hide his speech problems. Illustrated with black-and-white photographs, the biography shows how Jones used educational opportunities and an interest in acting to overcome his impediment and achieve fame and personal fulfillment as a performer. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.