Kathleen Tracy (1) (1957–)

This is a slim overview of the life of Joseph McCarthy and the years during which he led his anti-communist crusade in the United States, aimed at upper elementary and middle school students (although several journal reviews have suggested grades 7-10). The book begins with the story of the Hollywood Ten, perhaps the group of blacklisted citizens most associated with the HUAC hearings, then moves through McCarthy's early years as circuit court judge (with attendant controversy) and onto the national stage as he picked up the Red Scare hysteria as a means to advance his career. McCarthy's downfall - and journalist Edward R. Morrow's prominent role in it - end the narrative, which is followed by notes, a chronology & timeline, a glossary and index.

On the whole this is a clear and concise (if somewhat dry) treatment of the matter, able to explain some complicated political situations and the paranoia of the time, including a nice tie-in with post 9/11 public and government mentality. It suffers to some extent in failing to fully address which elements of McCarthy's life may have led him to act the way he did (was it about power or patriotism?), but then again, this isn't meant as a biography. Plenty of high quality archival photos and other interesting graphics. No red flags.… (meer)

Fans of Blume will enjoy this biography that not only traces the author's personal history, but also chronicles her fight against censorship. There are interesting anecdotes of Blume's childhood, discussion of how she got many of her story ideas from her own life experiences and how she relies on her fantastic memory and great imagination to help convey those realistic characters. A lot of attention is paid to censorship from Blume's past battles to her current fears that children are losing their freedom, from the classroom to the public library, and beyond. The book is aimed at readers looking to research the author, but it is quite readable and a remarkable biography that could be enjoyed as nonfiction reading.… (meer)

The Life and Times of Homer is a biography about the Greek poet Homer. This book tells us about his background and gives information about his epic poetry. It includes a lot of interesting inforation about the time that Homer lived in.

I am an English major and have been studing Homer this semester. So I found this book interesting and it gave me information I had not received in my text book.

In the class room this book would be a good addition to a literary study of Homer and his work.… (meer)