This latest entry in the Library of American Indian History series chronicles the life of the courageous Shawnee leader, Tecumseh, a gifted, charismatic, and ``brilliant, spellbinding orator'' who attempted to unite the Native Americans into an intertribal confederacy and an independent nation against newcomers. Stefoff (Finding the Lost Cities, 1997, etc.) recounts with sympathy and empathy, how Tecumseh ``was determined to keep white settlers out of the Indian lands north of the Ohio River.'' Tecumseh's impressive, historic encounter with William Henry Harrison, the governor of the Indiana Territory, showed that he was not someone to be easily manipulated as were other native people who sold lands they did not own for trinkets and alcohol. One of the lessons of this compassionate biography is that essential differences regarding land-owning made it impossible for Native Americans and non-natives to understand one another. Tecumseh attempted ``to establish a principle that the lands should be considered common property and none sold without the consent of all.'' Despite Tecumseh's brilliant communication and negotiation skills, he was unsuccessful ultimately as a warrior and a leader and was mortally wounded during the Battle of the Thames in 1813. In Stefoff's work, his legend of integrity and courage, as well has his ``remarkable brilliance, dignity, and honor,'' lives on. (b&w photographs, maps, index, not seen, chronology, further reading, notes) (Biography. 11-13)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-8160-3648-9
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Facts On File
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1998
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A brief discussion of the development and persistence of gender roles acts as an introduction to this excellent overview of what it has meant to be a girl in this country, from pre-colonial times to the present. Colman (Rosie the Riveter, 1995, etc.) never resorts to a generic ideal or tells the story as if she is speaking of an “everygirl”; instead, she allows a narrative to emerge from the histories and words of real people, from every social, ethnic, and economic level in the US. Some of the subjects and speakers are well-known, others are not (although they probably ought to be), but all are interesting and inspiring. Alice Greenough, daughter of “Packsaddle Ben” Greenough, grew up in the turn-of-the- century Montana wilderness where she did all the things her brothers did; Mary Elizabeth Bowser, a young black woman, worked with Elizabeth Van Lew, a middle-aged white woman, as spies for the Union army; Lilac Chen, a former prostitute in 19th- century San Francisco, tells how her own father sold her into slavery in China when she was only 6; and Yvonne “Eve” Blue, an obviously anorexic 14-year-old, maintained her gaunt frame by limiting herself to 140 calories a day—in 1926. These and dozens of other fascinating people offer more insight into gender roles better than any history text or sociological treatise, in lively writing that is greatly enhanced by page after page of black-and-white photographs, an extensive list of further reading, and a good index. A must-have for most collections. (Nonfiction. 8-12)
Pub Date: March 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-590-37129-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
After years of normal living, a teenager learns he has epilepsy and has to cope not just with the disease, but with the side effects, including the hostility of his peers. High schooler Lefty has an epileptic seizure while hanging out with his best friend, Reuben, and must subsequently learn to live with the disease, deal with medication, make lifestyle changes, overcome his own fear, as well as that of family and friends, and face his peers. What little action there is in this marathon talkfest concerns Lefty and his friends (including his 12-year-old brother) smoking and drinking. In his tough, working-class neighborhood this is considered perfectly normal, and the author never counters that. Most of readers’ efforts may be spent trying to keep track of the many characters: Lefty’s friends and brothers, his mother’s tough-as-nails girlfriends, neighbors, classmates, medical personnel, etc. When Lefty, a budding writer, pens an imaginary dialogue between two elderly neighbors and a would-be mugger, the story picks up; otherwise this is a flat and emotionally distant bull session that, though extended, leads nowhere. (Fiction. 11-13)
Pub Date: Jan. 15, 2000
ISBN: 1-55143-166-1
Page Count: 215
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
