BREAKING NEWS
Showing posts with label Biography. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Biography. Show all posts

Friday, March 23, 2018

Sitting Bull: An Immortal Spirit of Resistance (Review)



Learn about an amazing Native American in 60 minutes

Book Details:

Book Title: Sitting Bull: An Immortal Spirit of Resistance
Genre: Biography, 37 pages
Publisher: in60Learning
Release date: February 3, 2018
Content Rating: G

Book Description:

Sitting Bull lives on in legacy as a Native American chief who fought against white oppression. When the U.S. government broke land treaties to seek gold in the Black Hills, Sitting Bull took a stand against the desecration of this sacred land. He led his people, the Hunkpapa Lakota, through a period of resistance amidst crisis. He persisted through the end of the Great Sioux Wars, famously facing off against George Armstrong Custer in the 1876 Battle of the Little Bighorn. Though shot and killed in 1890, Sitting Bull’s immortal spirit of resistance continues to inspire oppressed groups to this day.
My Review:
Reviewed by Sandra Olshaski

This is a biography that enables the reader to learn the essential details of its larger-than-life subject in just 60 minutes.

Sitting Bull was an important figure in the 19th century, respected both by his own people as well as in white popular culture. Because he led his people through a very grave time he will be an immortal figure in American history.

Who knew that Sitting Bull liked to sing? I learned that in this book. Also, Sitting Bull became a celebrity as he was closely involved with Annie Oakley, whom he thought of as an adopted daughter, and Bill Cody's "Wild West Show." They toured the United States and even traveled into Montreal where they posed for pictures together, the only known photos of Cody and sitting Bull together. During the last year of Sitting Bull's life he was accompanied by a Swiss immigrant woman who became his champion and personal secretary.

I particularly enjoyed the chapter on the Dakota, a word meaning friend or ally. Sitting Bull's people came from a division or tribe of the Dakota called the Hunkpapa Lakota. Lakota life was centered on extended families. Children were taught to trust other people, to value belonging to a community and to live in harmony. The Lakota worked together to achieve common goals. Strength and bravery were highly valued as were humility, honor, love, compassion, generosity, and wisdom. Their nomadic way of life came to an end by 1861 when most Lakota were living on reservations. It breaks my heart to think of 153 Lakota people being massacred at Wounded Knee on the Pine Ridge Reservation in 1890, three weeks after Sitting Bull was murdered. A hundred years later the United States Postal Service recognized Sitting Bull as a "Great American" and placed him on a 28-cent stamp.

There is a wealth of information to learn about this amazing man in just 60 short minutes. I highly recommend this excellent biography.

Sandra Olshaski's disclosure: Thanks to Tyler from from in60Learning for sending me this book for review. I was not compensated in any other way, nor told how to rate or review this product.


About the Publishers:

Get smarter in just 60 minutes with in60Learning. Concise and elegantly written non-fiction books and audiobooks help you learn the core subject matter in 20% of the time that it takes to read a typical book. Life is short, so explore a multitude of fascinating historical, biographical, scientific, political, and financial topics in only an hour each. Visit in60Learning.com



Thursday, March 15, 2018

Leland Stanford: The Double Life of a Railroad Tycoon (Review)



In 60 minutes learn why Leland Stanford lived a double life.

Book Details:

Book Title: Leland Stanford: The Double Life of a Railroad Tycoon (Biographyin60)
Category: Biography, 41 pages
Publisher: In60Learning.com
Release date: January 30, 2018
Content Rating: G

Book Description:

Leland Stanford retains a double legacy as both a robber baron and a great philanthropist. He got his start in business as a merchant during the California Gold Rush, but he worked his way up to president of both the Central and Southern Pacific Railroad companies by 1861. He became a railroad mogul, a leading force in an under regulated industry wherein he gained a reputation for corrupt and greedy practices. Yet, he and his wife benevolently founded Stanford University in memory of their deceased son. This biography unravels the complicated threads of Stanford’s life, showing how in some ways the man operated just like the machines of his business empire, and in others, he was as human as the rest of us.


My Review:

Reviewed by Sandra Olshaski

Leland Stanford, born in 1824 in New York State, was the founder of the prestigious Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, opened in October of 1891 as a way to honor and memorialize his son. The town/city of Palo Alto began as a "community" for his 100 beloved horses who were moved from one place to another in a special train car built for their comfort! He was immensely rich, much of that due to shady business deals. On the other hand, he was a generous benefactor to charities of his day. As a man of many talents, he practised law for a while, opened grocery stores, was closely involved in opening the West through the railroad, and ran for political office. He was a complicated, taciturn, often misunderstood man to friend and foe alike. He died at the age of 69 having accomplished so much in his lifetime.

I love the concept of learning provided in a book readable in 60 minutes. The writing style of this book is concise, detailed, and informative. In our busy world there is no better way to learn so much in so short a time.

I wholeheartedly recommend the in60Learning books that range from biographies, to histories to audio books. Fantastic!

Sandra Olshaski's disclosure: Thanks to Tyler from in60Learning.com for sending me this book for review. I was not compensated in any other way, nor told how to rate or review this product.

About the Publishers:

Get smarter in just 60 minutes with in60Learning. Concise and elegantly written non-fiction books and audiobooks help you learn the core subject matter in 20% of the time that it takes to read a typical book. Life is short, so explore a multitude of fascinating historical, biographical, scientific, political, and financial topics in only an hour each. Visit in60Learning.com.


Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Assata Shakur: A 20th Century Escaped Slave by Barbara Casey (Review and Giveaway)


Before reading this book I had no idea who Assata Shakur was. Why was she on the FBI's list of Most Wanted Terrorists and what had she done to get there? This was a sobering book because it shows the struggle of the black community against prejudice and racism.

Book Details:

Book Title: Assata Shakur: A 20th Century Escaped Slave by Barbara Casey
Category: Adult Non-Fiction, 210 pages
Genre: Biography/True Crime
Publisher: Strategic Media Books
Release date: February 15, 2017
Tour dates: April 10 to 28, 2017
Content Rating: PG-13 (There is occasional use of bad language and it deals with crime including killings.)

Book Description:

In May 1973, Assata Olugbala Shakur was involved in a shootout on the New Jersey Turnpike in which she was accused of killing New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster and assaulting Trooper James Harper. This resulted in her indictment of first-degree murder of Foerster and seven other felonies related to the shootout. A member of the Black Panther Party, she became a prime target of the Federal Bureau of Investigations Counterintelligence Program. When she joined the Black Liberation Army and went into hiding, between 1973 and 1977, she was placed on the FBI's Most Wanted List for three bank robberies, the kidnapping and murder of two drug dealers, and the attempted murder of two New Jersey police officers.

In March 1977 Assata Shakur was convicted of murdering state trooper Werner Forrester and was imprisoned. Two years later she broke out of the maximum-security wing of Clinton Correctional Facility in New Jersey, pistol in hand, as she and three cohorts sped out of the prison grounds. In 1984 she was granted political asylum in Cuba where she has lived ever since. On May 2, 2013, the FBI added her to the Most Wanted Terrorist List, the first woman to be listed. Assata Shakur: A 20th Century Escaped Slave is the story of Assata Shakur, before she became a fugitive and since.

Buy the book: 



My Review:
Reviewed by Laura Fabiani

Before reading this book I had no idea who Assata Shakur was. Why was she on the FBI's list of Most Wanted Terrorists and what had she done to get there? Author Barbara Casey has written a biography on the life of Joanne Chesimard a.k.a. Assata Shakur, who considers herself a Black revolutionary.

While reading this book I was motivated to do research and I learned that Assata is considered a folk hero among the black community because of her continued fight for freedom from the influence of white supremacists. In the 1970s she was part of the Black Liberation Army, who used any means viable for their cause such as robbing banks to support their activities. She was found guilty of the murder of New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster and sentenced to life, even though she was unarmed. She states she is not guilty of that crime. She escaped to Cuba where she was legitimately granted political asylum and where she still lives.

Barbara Casey covers some of Assata's early life but most of the book is on how she got involved with her political activities and the infamous trial that put her 4 years in a men's prison where she was mistreated, beaten and lived under inhumane conditions before she was found guilty. She was also kept 18 months in solitary confinement. During this time she was also pregnant and gave birth to her daughter. This was one tough woman to have endured such treatment that would have broken a weaker person.

This book was interesting to me because it showed how flawed and racist the American judicial system is and how using violence and hate to fight a corrupt system is no better than the system itself. Those who fought racism and injustice with peace such as Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. understood that hate begets hate and violence begets violence.

Anyone interested in human rights, the judicial system, the law, political history, and the struggle of the black community would be interested in this book. Barbara Casey has done extensive research and based her information on "federal and state court records and files, FBI memoranda and documents, secret service files, police records, and information in the media." She includes a bibliography and an index that is helpful.

This book is a good study of a very controversial and infamous case that could become once again a headliner now that USA has restored some diplomatic relations with Cuba and wants Assata returned.

To read more reviews, please visit Barbara Casey's page on iRead Book Tours. 

Disclosure: Thanks to the author for sending me this book for review. I was not told how to rate or review this product.

About the Author:


Barbara Casey is the author of several award-winning novels for both adults and young adults, as well as book-length works of nonfiction true crime and numerous articles, poems, and short stories. Her previous nonfiction true crime work, Kathryn Kelly: The Moll behind Machine Gun Kelly, has been optioned for a major film and television series. In addition to her own writing, she is an editorial consultant for independent publishers and writers, and president of the Barbara Casey Agency, established in 1995, representing authors throughout the United States, Great Britain, Canada, and Japan. Barbara lives on a mountain in Georgia with her husband and three dogs who adopted her: Benton, a hound-mix; Fitz, a miniature dachshund; and Gert, a Jack Russel terrier of sorts.

Connect with the author: Website


Enter the Giveaway!
Ends May 6

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Thursday, January 26, 2017

I Am Jackie Robinson by Brad Meltzer ( #ReadYourWorld)


I am thrilled today to be showcasing and reviewing I Am Jackie Robinson as part of Multicultural Children's Book Day,  whose mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in home and school bookshelves.

This special book is part of Ordinary People Change the World, an engaging and fun series that bring American history to life, providing young children with inspiring role models, supplementing the Common Core learning in classrooms, and, best of all, inspiring them to dream and achieve.

Book Details:

 Book Title: I Am Jackie Robinson by Brad Meltzer
Illustrator: Christopher Eliopoulos
Series: Ordinary People Change the World
Category: Children's Fiction,  40 pages
Genre: Biographies / Sports & Recreation
Publisher: Dial Books
Release date: January 8, 2015
Content Rating: G

Book Description:

This New York Times Bestselling picture book biography series by Brad Meltzer has an inspiring message: We can all be heroes.

 Jackie Robinson always loved sports, especially baseball. But he lived at a time before the Civil Rights Movement, when the rules weren't fair to African Americans. Even though Jackie was a great athlete, he wasn't allowed on the best teams just because of the color of his skin. Jackie knew that sports were best when everyone, of every color, played together. He became the first black player in Major League Baseball, and his bravery changed African-American history and led the way to equality in all sports in America.




Our Review:
Reviewed by Laura Fabiani

What does it mean to "Be brave"? Those two words can convey so much. Jackie Robinson states no one is born brave and that it's okay to be afraid, just don't let it stop you. These words came to define him.

My whole family was impressed with how well author Brad Meltzer brought to life Jackie Robinson's life in this picture book/graphic novel. With skillful writing, humor and fantastic illustrations, the story of how Jackie Robinson came to lead the way to equality in sports in America was lively and a page-turner, even for us adults. My husband saw this book on the kitchen table and began reading it. "This is a good book," he said with a look of respect on his face. My son too, now a young teen, loved it, from the way the story and message were relayed to the "cool" illustrations.

From childhood to early adulthood, this book depicts how Jackie had to deal with racial prejudice in his life. With the wisdom displayed by his mother and a local mechanic, Jackie learned some valuable lessons that led him to be the person he became. Jackie was an ordinary kid who loved sports. And this love of sports and his exceptional skills at playing led him to be courageous as he braved the insults and barriers he had to push aside in order to redefine sportsmanship.


This all comes through beautifully with vocabulary and situations both boys and girls can relate to. It's a kid's book appropriate for ages 4 to 100. Chris Eliopoulos' comic drawings are fun, lively and full of emotions. There was one drawing that brought tears to my eyes. A black man in the stadium audience who has his arm around his young son as they both watch the game. A tear is tricking down his cheek. Powerful.

Although my hometown city Montreal is known for its legendary National Hockey League team, it made history in 1946 when the Montreal Royals, the Brooklyn Dodgers farm team, broke the color barrier when they played Jackie Robinson. Montreal fans cheered and accepted the first black player who made history with his famous home run. This was mentioned in the book.


What an inspiring important book this is! I highly recommend it as a tool to teach American history, social studies, moral ethics and sports history. This one is a gem.

Disclosure: Thanks to Brad Meltzer and Dial Books for sending us this book for review. We were not compensated in any other way, nor told how to rate or review this product.


About the Author:



Brad Meltzer is the New York Times bestselling author of The Inner Circle and several other top selling political thrillers. In addition to his fiction, Brad has been on the bestseller list for his nonfiction, advice, children’s books, and graphic books. He is the host of Brad Meltzer’s Decoded on the History Channel, and Brad Meltzer’s Lost History on H2. He earned his law degree from Columbia University, where he was on the Columbia Law Review.

Connect with Brad: Website  ~  Twitter  ~  Facebook  ~  Instagram
About the Illustrator:


Chris Eliopoulos has worked in every aspect of comic book creation. He’s most known as a prolific letterer, but in recent years has begun writing and drawing comics, some of which have been nominated for Eisner and Harvey awards.

He’s created books like Franklin Richards: Son of a Genius and the Pet Avengers for Marvel. He’s also created a webcomic called Misery Loves Sherman.

Connect with Chris: Website



Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2017 (1/27/17) is in its fourth year and was founded by Valarie Budayr from Jump Into A Book and Mia Wenjen from PragmaticMom. Our mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in home and school bookshelves while also working diligently to get more of these types of books into the hands of young readers, parents and educators. 
Despite census data that shows 37% of the US population consists of people of color, only 10% of children’s books published have diversity content. Using the Multicultural Children’s Book Day holiday, the MCBD Team is on a mission to change all of that.

Current Sponsors:  MCBD 2017 is honored to have some amazing Sponsors on board. Platinum Sponsors include Scholastic, Barefoot Books and Broccoli. Other Medallion Level Sponsors include heavy-hitters like Author Carole P. Roman, Audrey Press, Candlewick Press,  Fathers Incorporated, KidLitTV, Capstone Young Readers, ChildsPlayUsa, Author Gayle Swift, Wisdom Tales Press, Lee& Low Books, The Pack-n-Go Girls, Live Oak Media, Author Charlotte Riggle, Chronicle Books and Pomelo Books



We’d like to also give a shout-out to MCBD’s impressive CoHost Team who not only hosts the book review link-up on celebration day, but who also works tirelessly to spread the word of this event. View our CoHosts HERE.
MCBD Links to remember:
MCBD site: http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/
Free Multicultural Books for Teachers: http://bit.ly/1kGZrta
Free Kindness Classroom Kit for Homeschoolers, Organizations, Librarians and Educators: http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/teachers-classroom-kindness-kit/
Free Diversity Book Lists and Activities for Teachers and Parents: http://bit.ly/1sZ5s8i


If you want to share this post and this event please use #ReadYourWorld.

Thanks so much!

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Simply Dickens by Paul Schlicke




This is one of the best introductions to Dickens' life and work.
 
 
Simply Dickens by Paul Schlicke
ISBN: 9781943657025
Published: May 9, 2016
Published by: Simply Charly
Kindle edition: 97 pages
Content rating: G

 

Book description

The quintessential Victorian author, Charles Dickens not only created some of the most vivid characters in English classic literature, but he also lived his own life with a zest and drama that were novelistic in their intensity. In Simply Dickens, author Paul Schlicke explores the fascinating link between Dickens the writer and Dickens the person - a dynamic and driven social reformer who worked to improve the living conditions of the poor.

 

My review
Reviewed by Sandra Olshaski
 
I enjoyed this 97-page foray into the life of the noted author Charles Dickens. The author, a Dickens' scholar, has presented a brief yet insightful look into one of the greatest novelists of all time. I learned that the early deaths of relatives as well as being separated from his family caused Dickens to consider childhood as precious and precarious – hence he wrote convincingly of the worlds of David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, and Little Nell. The reader learns that in David Copperfield, Dickens drew upon his own past more directly than anywhere in his published writing.

Dickens was a journalist all his life besides being a prolific, successful author and actively engaged with the theater. During travels in American, "he crossed over into Canada, where he immersed himself in theatricals in Montreal." Public readings of his work not only provided an income for his growing family, but also resulted in increased intimacy and popularity with his admirers. During these public readings, Dickens had an amazing ability to bring his characters to life just through voice and gestures, "impersonation, in which he stepped out of his own self and assumed the personality and mannerisms of each of his characters."

I highly recommend this scholarly yet very readable overview of Charles Dickens, the author and the man.

Sandra Olshaski's disclosure: Thanks to Simply Charly for sending me this book for review. I was not compensated in any other way, nor told how to rate this book.

 
 
About the author
 


 
Paul Schlicke, an internationally renowned Dickens scholar, celebrates 200 years since the birth of one of Britain's most popular authors. He draws together an unparalleled diversity of information on one of Britain's greatest writers, covering his life and work,. He throws new and often unexpected light on the most familiar of Dickens' work, and explores the experiences, events, and literature which influenced him. Prior to his retirement in 2010, Dr. Schlicke taught English at the University of Aberdeen for 40 years.

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Life Outside the Box by Marilyn R. Wilson (Review & Giveaway!)

Life Outside the Box: The Extraordinary Journeys of 10 Unique Individuals by Marilyn R. Wilson
Influence Publishing
ISBN: 978-1771410663
Published: Feb 1, 2015
Trade paperback, 236 pages

My Review:
Reviewed by Laura Fabiani

I love reading about people who are leading extraordinary lives because of working hard, persevering, and thinking differently. Marilyn R. Wilson uses her talent of interviewing to bring us the mini-biographies of such ten unique individuals. I enjoyed, learned from, and felt inspired reading these stories!

Continue reading this post...

Monday, May 2, 2011

The Paper Garden: An Artist Begins Her Life's Work at 72 by Molly Peacock (TLC Tours Review and Giveaway)

The Paper Garden: An Artist Begins her Life’s Work at 72 by Molly Peacock (Rated: C)
ISBN 9781608195237
Bloomsbury USA
Published April 2011
Hardcover, 397 pages

Reviewed by Sandra

How can I begin to capture the wonder and admiration I felt on delving into this book! To begin with, how does a 72-year-old-woman have the energy and the manual dexterity to cut, shape and assemble 985 exquisite life-like paper flowers over a period of 10 years?

Mary Granville Pendarves Delany began her creation of cut-paper botanicals at the age of 72, in 1772, and finished the last one in her 83rd year. At the age of 77 she was cutting out her “mosaicks”, as she called them, at the rate of one per day! These flowers were all done on deep black backgrounds. She drenched the front of white paper with black watercolor, then pasted onto these backgrounds hundreds of the tiniest dots, squiggles, scoops, moons, slivers, islands, and loops of brightly colored paper, slowly building up a replica of a flower. For example, one flower, a rose, is composed of at least 71 minute pieces of paper, including 23 paper thorns. “I have invented a new way of imitating flowers,” she wrote to her niece. As her artistic reputation grew, exotic plants from around the globe arrived in profusion for her to copy.

The author refers to one of the tools used to create these paper flowers as “a pair of filigree-handled scissors – the kind that must have had a nose so sharp and delicate that you could almost imagine it picking up a scent.” Mrs. D also used tweezers (who knew they were available then?), a bodkin (an embroidery tool for making holes), brushes of various kinds, pieces of glass or board to fix her papers, pins to hang her papers to dry….a very labor-intensive job, for it was more than a hobby.

On nearly every flower Mrs. D wrote the Latin name, the vernacular name, the place and date the work was done. They were mounted into 10 leather volumes which were donated to the British Museum in 1895 by a relative of the artist. Today they are housed in the Print and Drawings Study Room of the Museum and can be viewed by making an appointment to see them. I checked the website of the British Museum and simply typed in “Mary Delany’s paper flowers” and was able to view them at leisure!

This is not a dry, documentary-style description of handiwork done in the 1700’s but rather a very poignant retelling of a woman’s life – a 68-year-old woman who had to overcome sadness and grief following the death of her beloved sister and husband. She began to rebuild her life bit by bit with the production of her beautiful flowers. The author gives us insight into Mrs. Delany’s feelings, viewpoints, and challenges throughout her life. We also glimpse into the day-to-day life of individuals, albeit aristocratic ones, in the 1700’s.

If you appreciate flowers, art, craft, and/or handiwork of any sort, as well as history, then you will enjoy this book. At the very least, it is a wonderful testimony to the human spirit.

Buy The Paper Garden on Amazon.com:
The book's website: http://www.peacockpapergarden.com/


And now for the giveaway! I have one copy of this book to give away. Entering is easy.
1. Leave a comment telling me why you want to win this book. Please include your email.
2. Open to US and Canada.
3. Giveaway ends May 9, 2011.

Extra Entries:
1. Consider following our blog. Leave a second comment telling me if you are a new or current follower.
2. Like Laura Fabiani on Facebook. Leave another comment stating you did.

About the Author:

Born in Buffalo, New York, Molly received a B.A. magna cum laude from Harpur College (Binghamton University, SUNY) and an M.A. with honors from The Writing Seminars at The Johns Hopkins University. A transplanted New Yorker and a dual American-Canadian citizen, she now lives with her husband, James Joyce scholar Michael Groden, in Toronto. To learn more about this author, visit http://www.mollypeacock.org/.





Disclosure: Thanks to TLC Tours and Bloomsbury for sending me this book for review. I was not compensated in any other way, nor told how to rate or review this product.
Subscribe to: Posts ( Atom )

Visit Us Today

Visit Us Today
iRead: getting your book in the hands of readers
 
Back To Top
Copyright © 2009-2017 Laura Fabiani Library of Clean Reads . Designed by OddThemes OddThemes